View source for Iain Banks

{{Short description|Scottish writer (1954–2013)}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
|name = Iain Banks
|image = IainBanks2009.jpg
|caption = Banks at the [[Edinburgh International Book Festival]], 2009
|pseudonym = Iain M. Banks
|birth_name = Iain Menzies Banks
|birth_date = 16 February 1954
|birth_place = [[Dunfermline]], [[Fife]], Scotland
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|6|9|1954|02|16|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Kirkcaldy]], Fife, Scotland
|occupation = Writer
|period = 1984–2013
|education = [[University of Stirling]] (BA)
|genre = {{Flatlist|
*[[Science fiction]]
*[[Literary fiction]]
}}
|subject = 
|movement = 
|spouse = {{marriage|Annie Blackburn|1992|2007|end = divorced}}<ref>{{Cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-106888 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/106888 |year=2017 |last1=McDermid |first1=Val |title=Banks, Iain (1954–2013), author and composer }}</ref><ref>''Iain Banks: A Biography''. Craig Cabell, 2014. Kindle edition, location 472.</ref><ref>Dunfermline Court (9727) Serial Number: 7674</ref><br/>{{marriage|Adele Hartley|2013}}
|signature = 
|module = {{Listen |embed=yes |filename=Iain banks bbc radio4 open book 23 08 2009 p00dh7qy.flac |title=Iain Banks's voice |type=speech |description=from the BBC programme ''[[Open Book (radio)|Open Book]]'', 23 October 2009<ref name="BBC-p00dh7qy">{{Cite episode |title=Iain Banks |series= Open Book |series-link=Open Book (Radio) |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00dh7qy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150127023009/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00dh7qy |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 January 2015 |access-date=18 January 2014 |station=[[BBC Radio 4]] |date=23 October 2009 }}</ref>}}
|website = {{URL|iain-banks.net}}
}}
'''Iain Menzies Banks''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=Menzies.ogg|ˈ|m|ɪ|ŋ|ᵻ|z}}; 16 February 1954 – 9 June 2013) was a Scottish author, writing [[Literary fiction|mainstream fiction]] as '''Iain Banks''' and [[science fiction]] as '''Iain M. Banks'''. After the success of ''[[The Wasp Factory]]'' (1984), he began to write full time. His first science fiction book, ''[[Consider Phlebas]]'', appeared in 1987, marking the start of the [[Culture series|''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 literature|British writers]] since 1945.<ref name="timesonline"/>

In April 2013, Banks revealed he had inoperable cancer and was unlikely to live beyond a year.<ref name="personal statement"/> He died on 9 June 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22835047 |title=Author Iain Banks dies |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=9 June 2013}}</ref>

==Early life==
Banks was born in [[Dunfermline]], [[Fife]], to a mother who was a professional [[ice skater]] and a father who was an officer in the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]]. An only child, he lived in [[North Queensferry]] until the age of nine, near the naval dockyards in [[Rosyth]], where his father was based.<ref name="business"/><ref name=five/> The family then moved to [[Gourock]] due to his father's work.<ref name="BBC"/> When someone introduced him to science fiction by giving him ''[[Kemlo|Kemlo and the Zones of Silence]]'' by [[Reginald Alec Martin]], he continued reading the series, which encouraged him to write science fiction himself.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://efanzines.com/Banksoniain/Banksoniain19.pdf |title=The Banksoniain #19 - eFanzines.com |website=efanzines.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://notthedayjob.tumblr.com/post/8914135987/interview-iain-m-banks-whats-in-an-m |title=Interview: Iain (M) Banks – What's in an M?|work=Not The Day Job}}</ref> Banks attended Gourock and Greenock High Schools. From 1972 to 1975, Banks studied [[English literature|English]], [[philosophy]], and [[psychology]] at the [[University of Stirling]].<ref name="BBC"/><ref name="council"/>

After graduation, Banks took a succession of jobs that left him free to write in the evenings. These supported his writing throughout his twenties and allowed him to take long breaks between contracts, during which time he travelled through [[Europe]] and [[North America]]. During this period, he worked as an [[IBM]] 'Expediter Analyser' (a kind of procurement clerk), a testing technician for the [[British Steel Corporation]], and a costing clerk for a law firm in London's [[Chancery Lane]].<ref name="business"/>

==Career==
===Writing career===
Banks took up writing at the age of 11. He completed a first novel, ''The Hungarian Lift-Jet'', at 16 and a second, ''TTR'' (also entitled ''The Tashkent Rambler'') in his first year at Stirling University in 1972.<ref name="business"/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U9J7BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 |title=The Culture Series of Iain M. Banks: A Critical Introduction |first=Simone |last=Caroti |date=26 July 2018 |publisher=McFarland |page=24 |via=Google Books |isbn=978-1-4766-2040-4}}</ref> Though he saw himself mainly as a science fiction author, his publishing problems led him to pursue mainstream fiction. His first published novel ''[[The Wasp Factory]]'', appeared in 1984, when he was thirty.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sandm.co.uk/mary/sfjournm/Iain_Banks/iain_banks.html |title=What's in an M (or) What a difference an M makes |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928164721/http://www.sandm.co.uk/mary/sfjournm/Iain_Banks/iain_banks.html}}</ref> After the success of ''The Wasp Factory'', Banks began to write full time. His editor at Macmillan, James Hale, advised him to write a book a year, which he agreed to do.<ref name="business"/>

His second novel ''[[Walking on Glass]]'' followed in 1985, then ''[[The Bridge (Banks novel)|The Bridge]]'' in 1986, and in 1987 ''[[Espedair Street]]'', which was later broadcast as a series on BBC Radio 4.<ref name="council"/> His first published science fiction book, ''[[Consider Phlebas]]'', emerged in 1987 and was the first of several in the acclaimed [[Culture series]]. Banks cited [[Robert A. Heinlein]], [[Isaac Asimov]], [[Arthur C. Clarke]], [[Brian Aldiss]], [[M. John Harrison]] and [[Dan Simmons]] as influences.<ref name="CNN"/> ''[[The Crow Road]]'', published in 1992, was adapted as a BBC television series.<ref name="Spike"/> Banks continued to write both science fiction and mainstream works. In 2004, Banks wrote ''[[Raw Spirit]]'' (subtitled ''In Search of the Perfect [[Dram (volume)#Unit of volume|Dram]]''), a [[Travel literature|travel book]] of Banks's visits to the [[Single malt Scotch|single malt]] distilleries of Scotland in search of the finest whisky, including his musings on other subjects such as roads, cars and politics.<ref name="The Guardian 2003">{{Cite news |last=Horspool |first=David |title=Scotch on the rocks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/dec/06/travel.highereducation |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=18 June 2013 |location=London |date=6 December 2003}}</ref> 

Banks published work under two names. His parents had named him "Iain Menzies Banks", but his father mistakenly omitted the middle name when registering his son. Banks still used the middle name and submitted ''The Wasp Factory'' for publication as "Iain M. Banks". Banks's editor inquired 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. After three mainstream novels, Banks's publishers agreed to publish his first science fiction novel ''Consider Phlebas''. To create a distinction between the mainstream and the science fiction, Banks suggested returning the 'M' to his name, which was then used in all of his science fiction works.<ref name="five"/><ref name="Lawson"/> Banks was due to be a guest of honour at the 2014 World Science Fiction Convention, [[Loncon 3]] but died the previous year.<ref name="x111">{{cite web | title=In the Wake of the British Boom: The 72nd World Science Fiction Convention | website=Los Angeles Review of Books | date=2014-09-01 | url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/wake-british-boom-72nd-world-science-fiction-convention/ | access-date=2025-10-06}}</ref> 
[[File:Ian M. Banks 2005.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Banks book signing at the [[63rd World Science Fiction Convention]] in Glasgow, August 2005]]

By his death in June 2013, Banks had published 26 novels. His final novel [[The Quarry (Iain Banks novel)|''The Quarry'']] appeared in June 2013, the month of his death published posthumously as his 27th novel.<ref name="jboog"/> His final work, a poetry collection, appeared in February 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/14/iain-banks-prose-poems-ken-macleod |title='Readers of Iain Banks's prose will find in his poems much that is familiar' |last=MacLeod|first=Ken |date=14 February 2015 |work=The Guardian |access-date=9 December 2015}}</ref> In an interview in January 2013, he also mentioned he had the plot idea for another novel in the Culture series, which would most likely have been his next book and was planned for publication in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/the-future-might-be-a-hoot-how-iain-m-banks-imagines-utopia/267211/ |title='The Future Might Be a Hoot': How Iain M. Banks Imagines Utopia |first=Scott |last=Beauchamp |date=16 January 2013 |website=theatlantic.com}}</ref> Banks wrote in various categories, but had said that he enjoyed science fiction most.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/may/21/iain-banks-updates-fans-cancer |title=Iain Banks posts new update to fans on his cancer |author=Alison Flood |newspaper=the Guardian |quote=Until the last few years or so, when the SF novels started to achieve something approaching parity in sales, the mainstream always out-sold the SF – on average, if my memory isn't letting me down, by a ratio of about three or four to one. I think a lot of people have assumed that the SF was the trashy but high-selling stuff... while I wrote the important, serious, non-genre literary novels. Never been the case, and I can't imagine that I'd have lied about this sort of thing, least of all as some sort of joke. The SF novels have always mattered deeply to me – the Culture series in particular – and while it might not be what people want to hear (academics especially), the mainstream subsidised the SF, not the other way round. |date=21 May 2013}}</ref> 

In February 2018, a project to publish Banks's unseen early drawings, maps and sketches from the Culture universe alongs with his writings and notes on the setting was underway.<ref name="Iain M Banks's drawings of the Culture universe to be published in 2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/feb/15/iain-m-bankss-drawings-of-the-culture-universe-to-be-published-in-2019| title=Iain M Banks's drawings of the Culture universe to be published in 2019|last=Flood|first=Allison|date=15 February 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]| access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> In 2021, the delayed single volume of ''The Culture: Notes and Drawings'' was cancelled and replaced with two separate volumes: a landscape artbook of ''The Culture: The Drawings'' and a companion volume containing notes, excerpts and new text from [[Ken MacLeod]].<ref name="An update regarding THE CULTURE: NOTES AND DRAWINGS by Iain M. Banks and Ken MacLeod">{{cite web|url=https://www.orbitbooks.net/2021/06/15/an-update-regarding-the-culture-notes-and-drawings-by-iain-m-banks-and-ken-macleod/| title=An update regarding THE CULTURE: NOTES AND DRAWINGS by Iain M. Banks and Ken MacLeod|date=15 June 2021|work=[[Orbit Books]]| access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref> ''The Culture: The Drawings'' was released on 7 November 2023, while the still-untitled companion volume was scheduled for late 2024.<ref name="THE CULTURE: THE DRAWINGS by Iain M. Banks">{{cite web|url=https://www.orbitbooks.net/2023/04/21/the-culture-the-drawings-by-iain-m-banks/| title=THE CULTURE: THE DRAWINGS by Iain M. Banks|date=21 April 2023|work=[[Orbit Books]]| access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-05 |title=The Culture: The Drawings |url=https://www.orbit-books.co.uk/landing-page/orbit/the-culture-the-drawings/ |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=Hachette UK |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Radio and television===
Banks was the subject of ''The Strange Worlds of Iain Banks'' ''[[The South Bank Show|South Bank Show]]'' (1997), a TV documentary that examined his mainstream writing, and was an in-studio guest for the final episode of [[Marc Riley]]'s ''Rocket Science'' radio show, broadcast on [[BBC Radio 6 Music]].<ref name="Simon"/> An audio version of ''The Business'', set to contemporary music, arranged by [[Paul Oakenfold]], was broadcast in October 1999 on Galaxy Fm as the tenth [[Urban Soundtracks]].
Banks's ''The State of the Art,'' adapted for radio by [[Paul Cornell]], was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] in 2009 with Nadia Molinari producing and directing.<ref name="State of the Art"/><ref name="State of the Art Radio 4"/> In 1998 ''Espedair Street'' was dramatised as a serial for Radio 4, presented by [[Paul Gambaccini]] in the style of a Radio 1 documentary.

In 2011 Banks featured on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Saturday Live''. Banks reaffirmed his atheism in this appearance, explaining death as an important "part of the totality of life" that should be treated realistically instead of feared.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web|title=Saturday Live 21/05/2011|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0118bgr|work=BBC Radio 4|publisher=BBC|access-date=6 April 2013|author=Richard Coles}}</ref><ref name="atheism"/>

Banks appeared on the BBC television programme ''[[Question Time (television)|Question Time]]'', a show that features political discussion. In 2006 he captained a team of writers to victory in a special series of [[BBC Two]]'s ''[[University Challenge: The Professionals|University Challenge]]''. Banks also won a 2006 edition of [[BBC One]]'s ''[[Mastermind (television)|Celebrity Mastermind]]''; the author selected "Malt whisky and the distilleries of Scotland" as his specialist subject.<ref name="Simon"/><ref name="Jeffries2007"/>

His final interview was with [[Kirsty Wark]], broadcast on BBC2 Scotland as ''Iain Banks: Raw Spirit'' 12 June 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b02xf70k |title=Iain Banks: Raw Spirit – BBC Two|website=BBC}}</ref>

BBC One Scotland and BBC2 broadcast an adaptation of his novel ''[[Stonemouth]]'' in June 2015.

===Theatre===
Banks was involved in the stage production ''The Curse of Iain Banks'', written by Maxton Walker<ref name="Gilded Balloon"/> and performed at the [[Edinburgh Fringe]] festival in 1999. Banks collaborated frequently with its soundtrack composer [[Gary Lloyd]], for instance on a song collection they co-composed as a tribute to the fictional band ''Frozen Gold'' from Banks's novel ''Espedair Street''. Lloyd also scored for a spoken word and music production of his novel ''The Bridge'',<ref name="Lloyd"/> which Banks himself voiced and which featured a cast of 40 musicians, released on CD by Codex Records in 1996. Lloyd recorded Banks for including in the play as a disembodied voice of himself in one of the cast member's dreams. Lloyd explained his collaboration with Banks on their first versions of ''Espedair Street'' (later versions being dated between 2005 and 2013) in a ''Guardian'' article prior to the opening of ''The Curse of Iain Banks'':

<blockquote>When he [Banks] first played them to me, I think he was worried that they might not be up to scratch (some of them dated back to 1973 and had never been heard). He needn't have worried. They're fantastic. We're slaving away to get the songs to the stage where we can go into the studio and make a demo. Iain bashes out melodies on his state-of-the-art Apple Mac in Edinburgh and sends them down to me in Chester where I put them onto my Atari.<ref name="Lloyd"/></blockquote>

==Politics==
Banks's political stance has been termed "left of centre"<ref name="economist">{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/moreover/1997/04/24/scots-writers-spurn-their-neighbours |title=Scots writers spurn their neighbours |newspaper=The Economist |date=24 April 1997 |access-date=9 April 2013}}</ref> and in 2002 he endorsed the [[Scottish Socialist Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.scottishsocialistparty.org/iain-banks-the-ssp-gets-my-vote-and-i-buy-the-scottish-socialist-voice/ |title=Iain Banks: 'The SSP gets my vote....' » Scottish Socialist Party |date=10 June 2013 |website=scottishsocialistparty.org}}</ref>

He was an Honorary Associate of the [[National Secular Society]] and a Distinguished Supporter of the [[Humanist Society Scotland]]. As a signatory to the [[Declaration of Calton Hill]],<ref name="archive"/> he supported [[Scottish independence]].<ref name="guardian"/> In November 2012, Banks backed the campaign group emerging from the Radical Independence Conference held in that month. He opined that the independence movement was marked by cooperation: "Scots just seem to be more [[Communitarianism|communitarian]] than the consensus expressed by the UK population as a whole."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Radicals threaten Salmond and Scottish independence campaign |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/radicals-threaten-salmond-and-scottish-independence-campaign-8347545.html |access-date=25 February 2014 |newspaper=The Independent |date=24 November 2012 |author=Hamish Macdonell}}</ref>

In late 2004, Banks joined a group of UK politicians and media figures campaigning to have Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] impeached after the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. In protest, he cut up his passport and posted it to [[10 Downing Street]]. In a ''[[Socialist Review]]'' interview, Banks explained that his passport protest occurred after he had "abandoned the idea of crashing my Land Rover through the gates of Fife dockyard, after spotting the guys armed with machine guns."<ref name="Jeffries2007"/><ref name="socrev"/> Banks relayed his concerns about the Iraq invasion in his book ''[[Raw Spirit]]'' and through the protagonist Alban McGill in the novel ''[[The Steep Approach to Garbadale]]'', who confronts another character with arguments of a similar kind.<ref name="Jeffries2007"/><ref name=socrev/> 

In 2010, Banks called for a cultural and educational boycott of Israel after the [[2010 Gaza flotilla raid|Gaza flotilla raid]] incident. In a letter to ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Banks said he had instructed his agent to turn down any further book translation deals with Israeli publishers:

<blockquote>Appeals to reason, international law, U. N. resolutions and simple human decency mean – it is now obvious – nothing to Israel... I would urge all writers, artists and others in the creative arts, as well as those academics engaging in joint educational projects with Israeli institutions, to consider doing everything they can to convince Israel of its moral degradation and ethical isolation, preferably by simply having nothing more to do with this outlaw state.<ref name="Letters"/></blockquote>

An extract from Banks's contribution to the written collection ''Generation Palestine: Voices from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement'', entitled "Our People", appeared in ''The Guardian'' in the wake of the author's cancer revelation. The extract conveys the author's support for the [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] (BDS) campaign issued by a Palestinian civil society against Israel until the country complies with what it holds are international law and Palestinian rights. This commenced in 2005 and applies lessons from Banks's experience with South Africa's [[apartheid]] era. The continuation of Banks's boycott of Israeli publishers for the sale of rights to his novels was confirmed in the extract and Banks further explained, "I don't buy Israeli-sourced products or food, and my partner and I try to support Palestinian-sourced products wherever possible."<ref name="boycott of Israel"/>

==Personal life==
Banks met his first wife Annie in London before the 1984 release of his first book.<ref name="Jeffries2007"/> They lived in [[Faversham]] in the south of England, then split up in 1988. Banks returned to [[Edinburgh]] and dated another woman for two years. Iain and Annie were reconciled a year later and they moved to Fife.<ref name="Raw Spirit"/> They were married in Hawaii in 1992,<ref name="Jeffries2007"/> but in 2005, after 15 years of marriage, they separated.<ref name="novel factory"/>

In 1998 Banks was in a near-fatal accident when his car rolled off the road.<ref name="business"/> In February 2007, Banks sold his extensive car collection, including a 3.2-litre [[Porsche Boxster]], a [[Porsche 911|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 per cent. All these Banks exchanged for a [[Lexus RX 400h]] hybrid – later replaced by a diesel [[Toyota Yaris]], and said in future he would fly only in emergencies.<ref name="Jeffries2007" /><ref name="Bye-bye Porsches"/>

[[File:Mr Iain M Banks accepting a T shirt conferring the title Acting Honorary Non-Executive Figurehead President Elect pro tem (trainee) of the ScienceFictionBookClub.org - October 2012.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Piccadilly, London, 2012]]

In April 2012 Banks became the "Acting Honorary Non-Executive Figurehead President Elect pro tem (trainee)" of the Science Fiction Book Club based in London. The title was his creation and on 3 October 2012 Banks accepted a T-shirt inscribed with it.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org |title=Iain M. Banks became President of Science Fiction Book Club, London England |publisher=Web |author=Gerard Earley |date=3 October 2012 |location=London}}</ref>

From 2006 Banks lived in [[North Queensferry]] on the north side of the [[Firth of Forth]], with his girlfriend Adele Hartley, an author and founder of the [[Dead by Dawn (film festival)|Dead by Dawn]] film festival.<ref name="Jeffries2007"/> She and Banks met in 1990,<ref name="Jeffries2007"/> and married on 29 March 2013<ref name="scotsman">{{Cite news |title=Iain Banks marries in his favourite place |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/features/iain-banks-marries-in-his-favourite-place-1-2882190 |access-date=10 May 2013 |newspaper=The Scotsman |date=8 April 2013 |author=Stephen McGinty|agency=Johnston Publishing Ltd |quote=The couple's wedding certificate shows that Banks, 59, of North Queensferry, married 42-year-old Miss Hartley at the five-star hotel [Inverlochy Castle Hotel, The Highlands], in a short humanist ceremony on Good Friday.}}</ref> after he asked her to "do me the honour of becoming my widow."<ref name="personal statement"/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/apr/04/iain-banks-marriage-debate |title=In one sentence, Iain Banks speaks volumes about marriage |newspaper=The Guardian |author=Andrew Brown |date=4 April 2013 |access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref>

===Illness and death===
On 3 April 2013, Banks revealed that he had been diagnosed with [[terminal illness|terminal]] [[gallbladder cancer]] and was unlikely to live beyond a year.<ref name="personal statement"/> He stated he would be withdrawing from all public engagements and that ''[[The Quarry (Iain Banks novel)|The Quarry]]'' would be his last novel.<ref name="terminal cancer"/><ref name="Months To Live"/> The dates of publication of ''The Quarry'' were brought forward at Banks's request,<ref name="BBC-death">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22835047 |title=Iain Banks dies of cancer aged 59 |publisher=BBC News |date=9 June 2013 |access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref> to 20 June 2013 in the UK<ref name="quarry">{{Cite web |url=http://upcoming4.me/news/book-news/iain-banks-the-quarry-cover-art-release-date-and-synopsis-reveal |title=Iain Banks – The Quarry cover art, release date and synopsis reveal |publisher=Upcoming4.me |access-date=30 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507031134/http://upcoming4.me/news/book-news/iain-banks-the-quarry-cover-art-release-date-and-synopsis-reveal |archive-date=7 May 2013}}</ref> and 25 June 2013 in the US<ref name="jboog">{{Cite web |title=Ian Banks to publish 'The Quarry' in June |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/iain-banks-to-publish-the-quarry-in-june_b69907 |work=GalleyCat |publisher=MediaBistro |access-date=10 May 2013 |author=Jason Boog |date=6 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221014515/http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/iain-banks-to-publish-the-quarry-in-june_b69907 |archive-date=21 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ldeutsch">{{Cite news |title=Book Buzz: New Iain Banks coming in June |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/05/07/book-buzz/2141051/ |newspaper=USA TODAY |access-date=10 May 2013 |author=Lindsay Deutsch |date=7 May 2013}}</ref> and Canada.<ref name="hachette">{{Cite book |url=https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/iain-m-banks/the-quarry/9780316281843/ |title=The Quarry by Iain M. Banks |publisher=Hachette Book Group  |date=27 June 2017 |isbn=9780316281843 |access-date=18 May 2020}}</ref> He died on 9 June 2013.<ref name="BBC death"/>

===Remembrance and tribute===
Banks's publisher called him "an irreplaceable part of the literary world". This was reaffirmed by fellow Scottish author and friend since secondary school [[Ken MacLeod]]: his death "left a large gap in the Scottish literary scene as well as the wider English-speaking world."<ref name="BBC death"/> British author [[Charles Stross]] wrote, "One of the giants of 20th and 21st century Scottish literature has left the building."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2013/06/fuck-every-cause-that-ends-in-.html |title='Fuck every cause that ends in murder and children crying' – Iain Banks, 1954–2013 – Charlie's Diary |publisher=Antipope.org |access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref> Other authors including [[Neil Gaiman]], [[Ian Rankin]], [[Alastair Reynolds]] and [[David Brin]] also paid tribute in blogs and elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2013/06/iain-banks-with-or-without-m.html |last=Gaiman |first=Neil |website=Neil Gaiman's Journal |title=Iain Banks. With or without the M |date=5 November 2011 |access-date=10 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Alistair |url=http://approachingpavonis.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/iain-banks-1954-2013.html |website=Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon |title=Iain Banks 1954–2013|date=9 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22838993 |publisher=BBC News |title=Iain Banks: Tributes paid to author |date=10 June 2013 |access-date=17 June 2013}}; quotes from Ian Rankin, Val MacDermid, and Neil Gaiman</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brin |first=David |url=http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2013/06/science-fiction-lament-then-optimism.html |title=Science Fiction: A lament – then Optimism and the Next Generation / First: Sad News |website=Contrary Brin|date=10 June 2013 |access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref>

The asteroid [[5099 Iainbanks]] was named after him shortly after his death.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://minorplanetcenter.net/blog/sci-fi-author-iain-m-banks-gets-asteroid-named-after-him/ |title=Sci-Fi Author Iain M. Banks Gets Asteroid Named after Him |work=[[Minor Planet Center]] |access-date=8 December 2015}}</ref> On 23 January 2015, [[SpaceX]]'s CEO [[Elon Musk]] named two of the firm's [[autonomous spaceport drone ship]]s ''Just Read The Instructions'' and ''Of Course I Still Love You'', after ships in Banks's novel ''The Player of Games''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailydot.com/geek/elon-musk-drone-iain-m-banks/ |title=Elon Musk's new drone ships pay tribute to a revered sci-fi author |last=Baker-Whitelaw |first=Gavia |date=24 January 2015 |access-date=8 December 2015}}</ref> Another, ''A Shortfall of Gravitas'', began construction in 2018. This refers to the ship ''Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall'', first mentioned in ''Look to Windward''.<ref name=ft20180212>{{Cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Emre |title=Elon Musk: New SpaceX drone ship, A Shortfall of Gravitas, coming to East Coast |url=https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2018/02/12/elon-musk-new-spacex-drone-ship-coming-east-coast-port-canaveral/330356002/ |access-date=13 February 2018 |work=Florida Today |date=12 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

''The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia'', the 2016 graphic biography of [[Louise Michel]] by [[Mary M. Talbot]] and [[Bryan Talbot]], is "Dedicated to the memory of Iain (M) Banks, friend and sorely missed creator of socialist utopias."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Talbot |first=Mary M. |author2=Bryan Talbot |date=2016 |title=The Red Virgin and the Vision of Utopia |location=Milwaukie, OR |publisher=Dark Horse Books |at=Dedication Page |isbn=978-1-5067-0089-2 |oclc=928479924}}</ref>

''Empire Games'', the seventh book in ''[[The Merchant Princes]]'' series by [[Charles Stross]] published in 2017, is dedicated "For Iain M. Banks, who painted a picture of a better way."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stross |first=Charles |title=Empire Games|date=2017 |isbn=978-0-7653-3756-6 |pages=Dedication Page |publisher=Macmillan |oclc=1107414199}}</ref>

On 13 May 2019, the [[Victor Vescovo#Five Deeps Expedition|Five Deeps Expedition]] broke the deepest ocean dive record in the ''[[DSV Limiting Factor]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Morelle |first1=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |title=Mariana Trench: Deepest-ever sub dive finds plastic bag |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48230157 |access-date=13 May 2019 |work=BBC News |date=13 May 2019}}</ref> The support ship was named ''[[DSSV Pressure Drop]]''. Both vessels were named after ships in the Culture series, which is much admired by the explorer [[Victor Vescovo]], also the financial sponsor behind ''Limiting Factor''{{'}}s design and construction. They also have landers named "Flere," "Skaff," and "Closp," named after Culture drones.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Technology |url=https://fivedeeps.com/home/technology/ |website=The Five Deeps Expedition |access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
Iain Banks received the following literary awards and nominations:<ref name="Iain M. Banks - Award Bibliography">{{cite web|title=Iain M. Banks – Award Bibliography|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/eaw.cgi?100|department=ISFDb database|publisher=Al von Ruff|access-date=6 April 2013|year=1995–2011}}</ref><ref name="Banks, Iain M."/>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1988|event=[[British Science Fiction Association]] Award for ''The Player of Games'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1990|event=British Science Fiction Association Award for ''Use of Weapons'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1991|event=[[Arthur C. Clarke Award]] for ''Use of Weapons'' (nomination)}}<ref name="Arthur C.Clarke Award Shortlists">{{cite web|title=Arthur C.Clarke Award Shortlists|url=http://www.clarkeaward.com/previous-awards/shortlists/|publisher=The Arthur C Clarke Award|access-date=6 April 2013|year=2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106124621/http://www.clarkeaward.com/previous-awards/shortlists/|archive-date=6 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1991|event=[[Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis]] for Foreign Novel ''The Bridge'' (winner)}}<ref name="Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis"/>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1992|event=Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for Foreign Novel ''The Wasp Factory'' (winner)}}<ref name="Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis"/>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1993|event=Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for Foreign Novel ''Use of Weapons'' (winner)}}<ref name="Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis"/>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1994|event=British Science Fiction Association Award for ''Feersum Endjinn'' (winner)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1994|event=[[Locus Poll Award]] for ''Against a Dark Background'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1996|event=British Science Fiction Association Award for ''Excession'' (winner)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1997|event=[[University of St Andrews]] honorary degree}}<ref name="thes">{{cite news|url=http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/101683.article
|work=Times Higher Education|title=Honorary degrees|date=17 March 1997|access-date= 27 June 2013}}</ref>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1997|event=University of Stirling honorary doctorate}}<ref name="UofS">{{cite news|url=http://www.externalrelations.stir.ac.uk/events/honorary-graduates/1988-1997.php|publisher=University of Stirling (Development and External Affairs)|title=Honorary Graduates1988-1997|access-date=27 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903233142/http://www.externalrelations.stir.ac.uk/events/honorary-graduates/1988-1997.php|archive-date=3 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1997|event=[[British Fantasy Award]] for ''Excession'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=1998|event=[[British Science Fiction Award]] for ''Inversions'' (nomination)}}<ref name="Premio Italia"/>
*{{Timeline-event|date=1998|event=[[Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis]] for Foreign Novel ''Excession'' (winner)}}<ref name="Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis"/>
*{{Timeline-event|date=2001|event=Locus Poll Award for ''Look to Windward'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2004|event=Premio Italia Science Fiction Award in the Best International Novel category for ''Inversions'' (winner)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2005|event=[[Hugo Award]] for ''The Algebraist'' (nomination)}}<ref name="Hugo Awards 2005"/>
*{{Timeline-event|date=2005|event=Locus Poll Award for ''The Algebraist'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2009|event=Locus Poll Award for ''Matter'' (second place)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2009|event=[[Prometheus Award]] for ''Matter'' (nomination)}}<ref name="Prometheus Award for Best Novel -- Nominees">{{cite web|title=Prometheus Award for Best Novel – Nominees|url=http://lfs.org/novel_nominees.shtml|work=Libertarian Futurist Society|publisher=LFS|access-date=6 April 2013|year=2003–2012}}</ref>
*{{Timeline-event|date=2010|event=[[Open University]] honorary doctorate}}<ref name="OU">{{Cite news |url=http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/files/ceremonies/file/Doctor%20of%20the%20University%201973-2011.pdf |publisher=The Open University |title=Doctor of the University 1973–2011 |access-date=9 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213042428/http://www.open.ac.uk/students/ceremonies/files/ceremonies/file/Doctor%20of%20the%20University%201973-2011.pdf |archive-date=13 December 2013}}</ref>
*{{Timeline-event|date=2010|event=[[John W. Campbell Memorial Award]] for ''Transition'' (finalist)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2010|event=Locus Poll Award for ''Transition'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2011|event=Locus Poll Award for ''Surface Detail'' (nomination)}}
*{{Timeline-event|date=2013|event=Honorary Fellow of the [[Association for Scottish Literary Studies]]}}<ref name="ASLS">{{Cite web |url=http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/ScotLit/ASLS/HonFels.html |publisher=Association for Scottish Literary Studies |title=ASLS Honorary Fellowships |access-date=5 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113085406/http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/ScotLit/ASLS/HonFels.html |archive-date=13 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Publications==
===Non-SF works ===
Banks's non-SF work comprises fourteen novels and one non-fiction book. Many of his novels contain elements of autobiography,<ref name="Telegraph 2013">{{Cite news |last=Kerridge |first=Jake |title=Iain Banks: an honest, funny and compassionate writer who beguiled 21st-century readers |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/10109125/Iain-Banks-an-honest-funny-and-compassionate-writer-who-beguiled-21st-century-readers.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/10109125/Iain-Banks-an-honest-funny-and-compassionate-writer-who-beguiled-21st-century-readers.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=18 June 2013|location=London|date=9 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and feature various locations in his native Scotland.<ref name="Q&A 2008">{{Cite web |title=Iain Banks email Q&A July 2008 |date=21 July 2008 |url=http://www.iain-banks.net/2008/07/21/iain-banks-email-qa-july-2008/ |publisher=Little, Brown Books Group |access-date=18 June 2013}}</ref> 
====Fiction====
* ''[[The Wasp Factory]]'' (1984). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-36380-9}}.
* ''[[Walking on Glass]]'' (1985). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-37986-1}}.
* ''[[The Bridge (Banks novel)|The Bridge]]'' (1986). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-41285-0}}.
* ''[[Espedair Street]]'' (1987). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-44916-9}}. [[Espedair Street (radio)|Adapted]] for [[BBC]] radio in 1998 (directed by Dave Batchelor).
* ''[[Canal Dreams]]'' (1989). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-51768-7}}.
* ''[[The Crow Road]]'' (1992). London: Scribners. {{ISBN|0-356-20652-1}}. [[The Crow Road (TV series)|Adapted]] for BBC TV in 1996 (directed by [[Gavin Millar]]).
* ''[[Complicity (novel)|Complicity]]'' (1993). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|0-316-90688-3}}. [[Complicity (film)|Filmed]] in 2000 (directed by [[Gavin Millar]]); retitled ''Retribution'' for its US DVD/video release.
* ''[[Whit (novel)|Whit]]'' (1995). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|0-316-91436-3}} .
* ''[[A Song of Stone]]'' (1997). London: Abacus. {{ISBN|0-316-64016-6}}.
* ''[[The Business (novel)|The Business]]'' (1999). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|0-316-64844-2}}.
* ''[[Dead Air (novel)|Dead Air]]'' (2002). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|0-316-86054-9}}.
* ''[[The Steep Approach to Garbadale]]'' (2007). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|978-0-316-73105-8}}.
* ''[[Stonemouth]]'' (2012). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|978-1-4087-0250-5}}. Adapted for [[BBC]] TV for broadcast in 2015 (directed by [[Charles Martin (director)|Charles Martin]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02qxkvz|title=BBC One – Stonemouth|work=BBC}}</ref>
* ''[[The Quarry (Iain Banks novel)|The Quarry]]'' (2013). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|978-1-4087-0394-6}}.

====Non-fiction====
*''[[Raw Spirit]]'' (2003). London: Century. {{ISBN|1-84413-195-5}} – a travelogue of Scotland and its [[Scotch whisky|whisky]] distilleries.
*''Poems'' (with [[Ken MacLeod]]) (2015). London: Little, Brown Group. {{ISBN|978-1-4087-0587-2}}.

===Science fiction===
Banks wrote thirteen SF novels, nine of which were part of the [[Culture series]], and a short story collection called ''[[The State of the Art]]'' (1991), which includes some stories set in the same universe. These works focus upon characters that are usually on the margins of the Culture, a [[post-scarcity]] [[Anarchism|anarchist]] [[utopia]].<ref name="Culture notes">{{Cite web |last=Banks |first=Iain M. |author-link=Iain Banks |date=10 August 1994 |title=A Few Notes on the Culture |url=http://www.vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm}} Originally posted on rec.arts.sf newsgroup.</ref> In the same universe are other civilizations, which the Culture sometimes attempts to influence or "contact", occasionally resulting in conflict.<ref>{{cite book|title=Look to Windward|date=29 January 2019 |url=https://www.iain-banks.net/titles/iain-m-banks-3/look-to-windward/9780748110032/|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=9780748110032 }}</ref> The culture has achieved utopia by handing control of all of their worlds and ships over to [[Sentience|sentient]] [[artificial intelligence]]s referred to as "Minds".<ref name="Culture notes"/>

====The Culture====
#''[[Consider Phlebas]]'' (1987). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-44138-9}}
#''[[The Player of Games]]'' (1988). London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|0-333-47110-5}}
#''[[The State of the Art]]'' novella (1989). Willimantic,CT: Ziesing. {{ISBN|0-929480-06-6}} – ''also included below in short fiction collections, but included here because it is considered part of the Culture series.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pe.cgi?504+None|title=Internet Speculative Fiction Database |date=1 August 2019}}</ref>
#''[[Use of Weapons]]'' (1990). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|0-356-19160-5}}
#''[[Excession]]'' (1996). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|1-85723-394-8}}
#''[[Inversions (novel)|Inversions]]'' (1998). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|1-85723-626-2}}
#''[[Look to Windward]]'' (2000). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|1-85723-969-5}}
#''[[Matter (novel)|Matter]]'' (2008). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|978-1-84149-417-3}}
#''[[Surface Detail]]'' (2010). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|978-1-84149-893-5}}
#''[[The Hydrogen Sonata]]'' (2012). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|978-0-356-50150-5}}

=====The Culture reference books=====
*''The Culture: The Drawings'' (2023). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|978-0-356-51942-5}}

====Other novels====
*''[[Against a Dark Background]]'' (1993). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|1-85723-031-0}}
*''[[Feersum Endjinn]]'' (1994). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|1-85723-235-6}}
*''[[The Algebraist]]'' (2004). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|1-84149-155-1}}
*''[[Transition (novel)|Transition]]'' (2009). London: Little, Brown Book Group. {{ISBN|978-0-316-73107-2}}. (Published in the United States as Iain M. Banks.)

====Short fiction collections====
*''[[The State of the Art]]'' (1991). London: Orbit. {{ISBN|0-356-19669-0}}
**Includes three short works set in [[the Culture]] universe. It also includes works of fiction more characteristic of Banks's writing published as Iain Banks. A radio version of the title story was transmitted by Radio 4 in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hv1dz|title=BBC Radio 4 – Afternoon Drama, Iain M Banks – The State of the Art|work=BBC}}</ref>
*''The Spheres'' (Birmingham Science Fiction Group, 2010)
**Includes 'The Spheres', excised from the original draft of ''Transition''; and 'The Secret Courtyard', excised from ''Matter''. Limited edition of 500, to mark [[Novacon|Novacon 40]].

===Introductions===
Banks wrote introductions for works by other writers including:
*''[[Viriconium]]'' (1988) by [[M. John Harrison]], the Unwin edition, {{ISBN|0-04-440245-7}}.
*''[[The Adventures of Luther Arkwright]]: Book 3, Götterdämmerung'' (1989) by [[Bryan Talbot]] from Proutt Publishing, {{ISBN|0-907865-03-8}}.
*''The Orbit Science Fiction Yearbook Three'' (1990) edited by [[David S. Garnett]], {{ISBN|0-07-088833-7}}.
*''The Human Front'' (2001) by [[Ken MacLeod]], the PS Publishing edition, {{ISBN|1-902880-30-7}} (hbk) and {{ISBN|1-902880-31-5}} (pbk).

==References==
{{Reflist|25em|refs=
<ref name="business">{{Cite news |title=Doing the Business |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/1999/aug/07/fiction.iainbanks |access-date=6 April 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 August 1999}}</ref>
<ref name="five">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-20181130 |title=Five Minutes With: Iain M Banks |publisher=BBC News |date=3 November 2012 |access-date=9 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="personal statement">{{Cite web |title=A personal statement from Iain Banks |url=http://www.iain-banks.net/2013/04/03/a-personal-statement-from-iain-banks/ |access-date=6 April 2013 |publisher=Iain M Banks |date=3 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406024845/http://www.iain-banks.net/2013/04/03/a-personal-statement-from-iain-banks/|archive-date=2013-04-06}}</ref>
<ref name="terminal cancer">{{Cite news |title=Author Iain Banks has terminal cancer |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22015175 |access-date=6 April 2013|publisher=BBC News |date=3 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="BBC death">{{Cite news |title=Iain Banks dies of cancer aged 59 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-22835047 |access-date=8 December 2020|publisher=Web |author= BBC |date=9 June 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="Banks, Iain M.">{{Cite web |title=Banks, Iain M. |url=http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit7.html#259 |work=The LOCUS Index to SF Awards |publisher=Mark R. Kelly and Locus Publications |access-date=6 April 2013 |year=2000–2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120020814/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit7.html#259 |archive-date=20 November 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="Bye-bye Porsches">{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227130651/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1434667.ece |archive-date=27 February 2007 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1434667.ece |url-status=dead |title=Bye-bye Porsches, says green convert Iain Banks |newspaper=Times |author=Mark Macaskill and Robert Booth |date=25 February 2007 |location=London}}</ref>
<ref name="CNN">{{Cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/05/15/iain.banks/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517223643/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/05/15/iain.banks/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 May 2008 |title=Author Iain M. Banks: 'Humanity's future is blister-free calluses!' |publisher=CNN |date=6 January 2009 |access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="council">{{Cite web |url=http://literature.britishcouncil.org/iain-banks |title=Iain Banks |publisher=British Council |access-date=3 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926150113/http://literature.britishcouncil.org/iain-banks |archive-date=26 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Months To Live">{{Cite news |title=Iain Banks Announces He Has 'Months' To Live |url=http://news.sky.com/story/1073353/iain-banks-announces-he-has-months-to-live |access-date=6 April 2013 |newspaper=Sky News |date=3 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="novel factory">{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/iain-banks-the-novel-factory-436865.html |title=Iain Banks: The novel factory |newspaper=The Independent|date=18 February 2007 |author=Liz Hoggard |location=London}}</ref>
<ref name="boycott of Israel">{{Cite news |title=Iain Banks: why I'm supporting a cultural boycott of Israel |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/apr/05/iain-banks-cultural-boycott-israel |access-date=6 April 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 April 2013 |author=Iain M Banks}}</ref>
<ref name="Jeffries2007">{{Cite news |title=A man of culture |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/may/25/hayfestival2007.hayfestival |access-date=6 April 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=25 May 2007 |author=Stuart Jeffries}}</ref>
<ref name="Lawson">{{Cite web |url=http://bbc.ask-adders.com/series/Mark+Lawson+Talks+to+Iain+Banks/ |publisher=BBC Backstage |title=Mark Lawson Talks to Ian Banks on BBC TV and Radio |date=17 November 2006 |access-date=9 May 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="Letters">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jun/03/boycott-israel-iain-banks |newspaper=The Guardian |title=Letters: Small step towards a boycott of Israel |date=2 June 2010 |author=Banks, Iain |access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="Lloyd">{{Cite news |title=Work in progress |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/jul/22/features11.g21 |access-date=6 April 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=22 July 1999 |author=Gary Lloyd}}</ref>
<ref name="Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis">{{Cite web |title=Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis 1992 |url=http://www.kurd-lasswitz-preis.de/1992/KLP_1992_Preistraeger.htm |publisher=Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis |access-date=9 April 2013 |language=de |year=1992}}</ref>
<ref name="Premio Italia">{{Cite web |title=Premio Italia |url=http://www.fantascienza.com/italcon/albo_premio_italia.php?anno=2004 |work=Italcon |publisher=Delos Books e World SF |access-date=6 April 2013 |language=it |year=2004}}</ref>
<ref name="Hugo Awards 2005">{{Cite web |title=Hugo Awards 2005 |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2005-hugo-awards/ |publisher=Hugo Awards |access-date=8 April 2016 |year=2005}}</ref>
<ref name="Raw Spirit">{{Cite book |last=Banks |first=Iain |title=Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram |year=2003 |publisher=Century |pages=102–103 |location=London |isbn=978-1-84413-195-2}}</ref>
<ref name="Simon">{{Cite web |title=When is Iain Banks next appearing on TV/Radio? |url=http://www.iainbanksfaq.co.uk/2008/12/when-is-iain-banks-next-appearing-on.html |work=Iain Banks FAQ |publisher=Google, Inc |access-date=6 April 2013 |author=Simon Johnson |year=2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505021807/http://www.iainbanksfaq.co.uk/2008/12/when-is-iain-banks-next-appearing-on.html |archive-date=5 May 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="Spike">{{Cite web |url=http://www.spikemagazine.com/0996bank.php |title=Iain Banks: Whit and Excession: Getting Used To Being God |publisher=Spike Magazine |date=3 September 1996 |access-date=3 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="State of the Art">{{Cite web |title=The State of the Art |url=http://www.paulcornell.com/2009/03/state-of-art.html |work=PaulCornell.com |publisher=Google, Inc |access-date=6 April 2013 |author=Paul Cornell |date=1 March 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130413102500/http://www.paulcornell.com/2009/03/state-of-art.html |archive-date=13 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="State of the Art Radio 4">{{Cite web |title=The State of the Art Radio Radio 4 dramatisation page |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hv1dz |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 April 2013 |author=BBC |date=5 March 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="Gilded Balloon">{{Cite news |title=Theatre: The Curse of Iain Banks, Gilded Balloon |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/theatre-the-curse-of-iain-banks-gilded-balloon-1.277604 |access-date=6 April 2013 |newspaper=The Herald Scotland |date=11 August 1999}}</ref>
<ref name="archive">{{Cite web |url=http://www.scottishsocialistparty.info/archive/2004_10_03_newsarchive.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929020643/http://www.scottishsocialistparty.info/archive/2004_10_03_newsarchive.html |archive-date=29 September 2007 |title=SSP News: News from the Scottish Socialist Party |date=29 September 2007 |access-date=9 April 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="BBC">{{Cite web |title=Saturday Live 21/05/2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0118bgr |work=BBC Radio 4 |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 April 2013 |author=Richard Coles}}</ref>

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<ref name="economist">{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/moreover/1997/04/24/scots-writers-spurn-their-neighbours |title=Scots writers spurn their neighbours |newspaper=The Economist |date=24 April 1997 |access-date=9 April 2013}}</ref>
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<ref name="guardian">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/aug/28/scottish-independence-snp-iain-banks?INTCMP=SRCH |title=Scotland and England: what future for the Union? &#124; Culture &#124; The Observer |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 August 2011 |access-date=4 September 2011 |location=London |first1=AL |last1=Kennedy |first2=Janice |last2=Galloway}}</ref>
<ref name="socrev">{{Cite web |url=http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=10267 |title=Interview: Changing society, imagining the future |publisher=Socialistreview.org.uk |access-date=9 April 2013 |archive-date=14 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014234904/http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=10267 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="atheism">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22780003 |title=Author Iain Banks: In his own words |publisher=BBC News |date= 9 June 2013 |access-date=9 June 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="timesonline">{{Cite news |url=https://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127837.ece |title=The 50 greatest British writers since 1945 |newspaper=The Times |date=5 January 2008 |access-date=10 February 2010 |archive-date=5 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091005103315/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article3127837.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box}}
* Simone Caroti: ''The Culture Series of Iain M. Banks: A Critical Introduction'', McFarland, April 2015, {{ISBN|978-0-7864-9447-7}}.
* Nick Hubble, [[Esther MacCallum-Stewart]] and Joseph Norman (eds.):''The Science Fiction of Iain M. Banks'', Gylphi Limited, January 2018, {{ISBN|978-1-78024-054-1}}.
* [[Paul Kincaid]]: ''Iain M. Banks'', University of Illinois Press, May 2017, {{ISBN|978-0-252-04101-3}}.
* The [[Science Fiction Foundation]] have published an analysis of Ken MacLeod's work titled [http://www.sf-foundation.org/publications/criticalworks/kenmacleod.html ''The True Knowledge of Ken MacLeod''] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008042656/http://www.sf-foundation.org/publications/criticalworks/kenmacleod.html |date=8 October 2018 }}; 2003; {{ISBN|0-903007-02-9}}), edited by [[Andrew M. Butler]] and [[Farah Mendlesohn]]. As well as critical essays and material on MacLeod, it includes MacLeod's introduction to the German edition of Banks's ''[[Consider Phlebas]]'' and essays comparing the works of the two authors.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{British council|id=iain-banks|name=Iain Banks}}
* {{IBList |type=author|id=43|name=Iain Banks}}
* {{Discogs artist}}
* {{IMDb name|0052169}}
* {{ISFDB name|100}}
* [https://azadthegame.com AZAD the Game]—The Boardgame development website

{{Iain Banks}}
{{The Culture series by Iain M. Banks}}
{{Authority control}}

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