About
Iain Banks was a Scottish writer born in Dunfermline in 1954. A graduate of the University of Stirling, he published his first novel, The Wasp Factory, in 1984, which became a critical success. He wrote under two names: Iain Banks for literary fiction and Iain M. Banks for science fiction, notably the Culture series. His novel The Crow Road was adapted into a BBC television series in 1996. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2009. Diagnosed with terminal gall bladder cancer, he died in 2013; his final novel, The Quarry, was published posthumously.
* 1954-02-16 — † 2013-06-09
Major works
- The Wasp Factory (1984)novel
- Consider Phlebas (1987)novel
- The Crow Road (1992)novel
- The Quarry (2013)novel
Key milestones
- 1993Named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists.
- 2009Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
- 2013Died of gall bladder cancer; his final novel was published posthumously.
Themes
Science fictionIdentitySociety and politicsDeath and mortalityScotland
Sources: rsliterature.org · stir.ac.uk · oxforddnb.com