Author returns to S.C. for honorary degree

Cyberpunk author William Gibson was born in Conway 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 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 an airport customs officer looks at his passport and asks where he was born.