Iain M. Banks cover gallery

I have been planning to produce a cover gallery for Iain M. Banks for some time. His announcement that he has terminal cancer made me realise that time can sometimes run away from us. I probably first thought about doing this in 2011 and it's now 2013. See how time flies?

I have never spoken to Iain, but I did run an extract from one of his books in a magazine I edited way back in 2000. The third issue of Science Fiction World contained the prologue of Look to Windward, along with an interview with Iain. I remember talking to his agent Mic Cheetham and running the idea of an extract past her. She suggested a price which was substantially more than the budget for the whole magazine. We eventually settled on a figure the magazine could actually afford, although I think I had to write a few more reviews and whatnots to make up the cost. 

For more on Iain's message and how to leave messages for him, visit his official website. Information about Banks and his books – both SF and non-SF – can be gleaned from Wikipedia and the Science Fiction Encyclopedia.

Original Mark Salwowski artwork for some of Banks' novels can be found here.

Consider Phlebas (London, Macmillan, 1987)
Futura/Orbit 0708-83707-7, 1988, 471pp, £4.99. Cover by John Burns
---- [2nd imp.] 1988; [3rd imp.] 1988; [4th imp.] 1988; [5th imp.] 1989; [6th imp.] 1990.
Orbit 978-1857-23138-0, 1991.
---- [2nd imp.] 1992; [3rd imp.] 1992; [4th imp.] 1993; [5th imp.] 1993; [6th imp.] 1994; [7th imp.] 1995; [8th imp.] 1996; [9th imp.] 1996; [10th imp.] 1997; [11th imp.] 1998; [12th imp.] 1999; [13th imp.] 2000; [14th imp.] 2001; [15th imp.] 2002; [16th imp.] 2003.
Orbit 978-1857-23138-0 [17th imp.] 2005, 471pp, £8/99. Cover design by blacksheep
---- [18th imp.] 2005; [19th imp.] 2005; [20th imp.] 2006; [21st imp.] 2007; [22nd imp.] 2008.

The Player of Games (London, Macmillan, 1988)
Orbit, 1989
---- [2nd imp.] 1990; [3rd imp.] 1991; [4th imp.] 1992; [5th imp.] 1992; [6th imp.] 1993; [7th imp.] 1993; [8th imp.] 1994; [9th imp.] 1995; [10th imp.] 1996; [11th imp.] 1996; [12th imp.] 1997; [13th imp.] 1998; [14th imp.] 2000; [15th imp.] 2002; [16th imp.] 2003
Orbit 1857-23146-5, 2005 [17th imp.], 309pp, £7.99. Cover design by blacksheep
---- [18th imp.] 2005; [19th imp.] 2006; [20th imp.] 2006

The State of the Art (Willimantic, CT, Mark V. Ziesing, 1989)
Orbit 1857-23030-2, 1993, 216pp, £5.99. Cover by Mark Salwowski
---- [2nd imp.] 1994; [3rd imp.] 1995; [4th imp.] 1996; [5th imp.] 1996; [6th imp.] 1997

Use of Weapons (London, Orbit, 1990)
Orbit, 1992
---- [2nd imp.] 1992; [3rd imp.] 1993; [4th imp.] 1994; [5th imp.] 1994; [6th imp.] 1995; [7th imp.] 1996; [8th imp.] 1996; [9th imp.] 1997; [10th imp.] 1998; [11th imp.] 1999; [12th imp.] 2000; [13th imp.] 2002; [14th imp.] 2003; [15th imp.] 2004
Orbit 0185-23135-X [16th imp.] 2005, 411pp, £8.99. Cover design by blacksheep
---- [17th imp.] 2006; [18th imp.] 2007; [19th imp.] 2008

Against a Dark Background (London, Orbit, 1993)
Orbit 1857-23179-1, 1995, 487pp, £7.99. Cover by Mark Salwowski
---- [2nd imp.] 1995; [3rd imp.] 1996; [4th imp.] 1997; [5th imp.] 1998; [6th imp.] 1998; [7th imp.] 2000; [8th imp.] 2001; [9th imp.] 2003;
---- [10th imp.] 2005, 487pp, £7.99. Cover design by blacksheep
---- [11th imp.] 2005

Feersum Endjinn (London, Orbit, 1994)
Orbit 1857-23273-9, 1995
---- [2nd imp.] 1997; [3rd imp.] 1998; [4th imp.] 1999, £6.99; [5th imp.] 2001; [6th imp.] 2002; [7th imp.] 2004; [8th imp.] 2004.
---- [9th imp.] 2005, 279pp, £8.99. Cover design by blacksheep
---- [10th imp.] 2005; [11th imp.] 2005; [12th imp.] 2006; [13th imp.] 2007; [14th imp.] 2008; [15th imp.] 2009

Excession (London, Orbit, 1996)
Orbit 1857-23457-X, 1997, 451pp, £6.99. Cover by Mark Salwowski
---- [2nd imp.] 1997; [3rd imp.] 1997; [4th imp.] 1998; [5th imp.] 1999; [6th imp.] 2001; [7th imp.] 2002; [8th imp.] 2003; [9th imp.] 2004.
---- [10th imp.] 2005, 451pp, £8.99. Cover by Bruce Coleman / design by blacksheep
---- [11th imp.] 2005; [12th imp.] 2006; [13th imp.] 2007; [14th imp.] 2008; [15th imp.] 2008

Inversions (London, Orbit, 1998)
Orbit 1857-23763-3, 1999, 393pp, £6.99. Cover by Mark Salwowski
---- [2nd imp.] 2000; [3rd imp.] 2001; [4th imp.] 2003
---- [5th imp.] 2005, 393pp, £7.99. Cover design by blacksheep

Look to Windward (London, Orbit, 2000)
Orbit 1841-49059-8, 2001, 403pp, £7.99. Cover by Mark Salwowski
---- [2nd imp.] 2003; [3rd imp.] 2004.
---- [4th imp.] 2005, 403pp, £8.99. Cover design by blacksheep
---- [5th imp.] 2005; [6th imp.] 2006; [7th imp.] 2007; [8th imp.] 2008; [9th imp.] 2008; [10th imp.] 2009; [11th imp.] 2010

The Algebraist (London, Orbit, 2004)
Orbit 1841-49229-9, Jul 2005, 534pp, £7.99. Cover design by blacksheep
---- [2nd imp.] 2005; [3rd imp.] 2005; [4th imp.] 2005; [5th imp.] 2005; [6th imp.] 2005; [7th imp.] 2005; [8th imp.] 2006; [9th imp.] 2006;

Matter (London, Orbit, 2008)
Orbit 978-1841-49419-7, 2009, 593pp, £7.99. Cover by Debra Lill

Surface Detail (London, Orbit, 2010)
Orbit 978-1841-49895-9, 2011, 627pp, £8.99. Cover design by Lauren Panepinto

The Hydrogen Sonata (London, Orbit, 2012)
Orbit 978-1841-50149-9, 2013, 630pp, £8.99.
---- [2nd imp.] 2013; [3rd imp.] 2014; [4th imp.] 2014; [5th imp.] 2014.