Following the publication and success of The Wasp Factory (1984), Banks began to write on a full-time basis. His first science fiction book, Consider Phlebas, was released in 1987, marking the start of the popular The Culture series. His books have been adapted for theatre, radio and television. In 2008, The Times named Banks in their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"
Easton Press Iain M. Banks books
Who was Iain M. Banks?
Banks was born in Dunfermline, Fife, to a mother who was a professional ice skater and a father who was an officer in the Admiralty. An only child, Banks lived in North Queensferry until the age of nine, near the naval dockyards in Rosyth where his father was based. Banks's family then moved to Gourock due to the requirements of his father's work. After attending Gourock and Greenock High Schools, Banks studied English, philosophy and psychology at the University of Stirling (1972–1975). He wrote his second novel TTR during his first year at university.Following graduation Banks chose a succession of jobs that left him free to write in the evenings. These posts supported his writing throughout his twenties and allowed him to take long breaks between contracts, during which time he travelled through Europe, Scandinavia and North America. He was an expediter analyser for IBM, a technician (for British Steel) and a costing clerk for a Chancery Lane, London law firm during this period of his life.
Banks met his first wife, Annie, in London before the 1984 release of his first book. The couple lived in the south of England, then split up in 1988. Banks returned to Edinburgh. The couple later resumed their relationship and moved to Fife. They got married in Hawaii in 1992. In 2007, after 15 years of marriage, they announced their separation.
In 1998 Banks had been in a near-fatal accident when his car rolled off the road. In February 2007, Banks sold his extensive car collection, including a 3.2 litre Porsche Boxster, a Porsche 911 Turbo, a 3.8 litre Jaguar Mark II, a 5 litre BMW M5 and a daily use diesel Land Rover Defender whose power he had boosted by about 50%. Banks exchanged all of the vehicles for a Lexus RX 400h hybrid – since replaced by a diesel Toyota Yaris – and said in the future he would fly only in emergencies.
Banks lived in North Queensferry, on the north side of the Firth of Forth, with the author and founder of the Dead by Dawn film festival Adele Hartley. Banks and Hartley commenced their relationship in 2006, and married on 29 March 2013[30] after he asked her to 'become his widow'.
Writing
Banks decided to become a writer at the age of 11 and completed his first novel The Hungarian Lift-Jet at 16.
Following the publication and success of The Wasp Factory (1984), Banks began to write full-time. His editor at Macmillan, James Hale, advised him to write one book a year and Banks agreed to this schedule.
Banks's first literary book The Wasp Factory was published in 1984 when he was 30, and his first science fiction book Consider Phlebas was released in 1987. The Crow Road (1992) was adapted as a BBC television series and Espedair Street (1987) was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. Banks cited Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Brian Aldiss, M. John Harrison and Dan Simmons as literary influences.
Banks published work under two names. His parents had intended to name him "Iain Menzies Banks", but his father made a mistake when registering the birth and "Iain Banks" became the officially registered title. Despite this error, Banks continued to use his middle name and submitted "Iain M. Banks" for the publication of The Wasp Factory. Banks's editor enquired about the possibility of omitting the 'M' as it appeared "too fussy" and the potential existed for confusion with Rosie M. Banks, a romantic novelist in the Jeeves novels by P.G. Wodehouse; Banks agreed to the omission. Following three mainstream novels, Banks's publishers agreed to publish his first science fiction (SF) novel Consider Phlebas. To create a distinction between the mainstream and SF novels, Banks suggested the return of the 'M' to his name and the author's second title was consequently confirmed.
By his death in June 2013 Banks had published 26 novels. His twenty-seventh novel The Quarry was published posthumously.
Death
On 3 April 2013, Banks announced on his website that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer of the gallbladder and was unlikely to live beyond a year. In his announcement, Banks stated that he would be withdrawing from all public engagements and that The Quarry would be his last novel. The dates of publication of The Quarry were brought forward at Banks's request, to 20 June 2013 in the UK and 25 June 2013 in the US. Banks died on 9 June 2013.
Fiction as Iain Banks
1984 – The Wasp Factory
1985 – Walking on Glass
1986 – The Bridge
1987 – Espedair Street
1989 – Canal Dreams
1992 – The Crow Road
1993 – Complicity
1995 – Whit
1997 – A Song of Stone
1999 – The Business
2002 – Dead Air
2007 – The Steep Approach to Garbadale
2009 – Transition – published in the U.S.A. as Iain M. Banks
2012 – Stonemouth
2013 – The Quarry
Science fiction as Iain M. Banks
The Culture series
1987 – Consider Phlebas
1988 – The Player of Games
1990 – Use of Weapons
1996 – Excession
1998 – Inversions
2000 – Look to Windward
2008 – Matter
2010 – Surface Detail
2012 – The Hydrogen Sonata
Other novels
1993 – Against a Dark Background
1994 – Feersum Endjinn
2004 – The Algebraist
Short fiction collections
The State of the Art (1991)
The Spheres (2010)
Non-fiction
Raw Spirit (2003)
Iain M. Banks quotes
"Our destination is the same in the end, but our journey part chosen, part determined is different for us all, and changes even as we live and grow."
"I think the easiest people to fool are ourselves."
"Yes of course I know it's all a dream. Isn't everything?"
"One should never regret one's excesses, only one's failures of nerve."
"This is not a long bridge, but it goes on for ever. I am not far from the bank, but I will never get there. I walk but I never move. Fast or slow, running, turning, doubling back, jumping, throwing myself or stopping; nothing makes any difference."
Source and additional information: Iain Banks