Author Gibson returns to birthplace

CONWAY — Cyberpunk author William Gibson was born in this small coastal town 60 years ago, but he hadn't returned since his family left when he was 5.

Now the man who coined the word 'cyberspace' in his 1984 novel 'Neuromancer' has an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Coastal Carolina University.

'I was born here in the middle of the previous century, and spent the last 30 years writing about imaginary versions of the current century,' Gibson said in a short address at the college's commencement. 'Somehow, I never expected to see Conway in the 21st century. I think it looks very good indeed, and I'm proud to be born here.'

Gibson's family moved around with his father's work, and he ended up in British Columbia, where he still lives. He said he has thought of South Carolina only in passing, usually when a customs officer looks at his passport and asks where he was born.

'It's nice to find such a nice place,' Gibson said of his return.

Gibson said he doesn't think Conway had any influence on his fiction, but he is sure that nearby Myrtle Beach has crept in.

'This would have been my first sense of the beach,' Gibson said.

Staff and wire reports