John Shirley papers
Finding aid prepared by Carlota Ramirez, Student Processing Assistant.
Special Collections & University Archives
The UCR Library
P.O. Box 5900
University of California
Riverside, California 92517-5900
Phone: 951-827-3233
Fax: 951-827-4673
Email: specialcollections@ucr.edu
URL: http://library.ucr.edu/libraries/special-collections-university-archives
© 2017
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: John Shirley papers
Date (inclusive): 1975-1989, undated
Collection Number: MS 398
Creator:
Shirley, John, 1953-
Extent:
0.42 linear feet
(1 box)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Abstract: The John Shirley papers consist of material related to Shirley's 1989 collection of short stories,
Heatseeker, and includes galley proofs and annotated typescripts. Also included is the original introduction to the work written and
printed out by author William Gibson.
Languages: The collection is in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & Archives. Distribution
or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the
copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable
rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], [date if possible]. John Shirley papers (MS 398). Special Collections & University Archives, University
of California, Riverside.
Acquisition Information
Gift of John Shirley, 2016.
Processing History
Processed by Carlota Ramirez, Student Processing Assistant, 2017.
Processing of the John Shirley papers was completed by undergraduate students from the University of California, Riverside
as part of the Special Collections & University Archives Backlog Processing Project started in 2015. This project was funded
by the UCR Library and administered by Jessica Geiser, Collections Management Librarian.
Biographical Note
John Shirley is an American writer of novels, short stories, television scripts, screenplays and songs. He is considered to
be one of the originators of cyperpunk fiction, a subgenre of science fiction characterized by advanced technological societies
in a dystopian future, or "high tech low life." He is also known for writing horror fiction, singing in a number of punk bands,
and writing songs for the band Blue Öyster Cult.
Collection Scope and Contents
The John Shirley papers consist of material related to Shirley's 1989 collection of short stories,
Heatseeker, originally called "Wild Child" by Shirley after the Lou Reed song. Materials in the collection include galley proofs, annotated
typescripts and texts, and Shirley's handwritten title and dedication pages. Also included is the original introduction to
the work written and printed out by author William Gibson, and an additional short story called "Screens" that did not appear
in the final draft.
Collection Arrangement
The collection is arranged topically, with short stories placed in the order they appear in the final work.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Gibson, William, 1948-
Sterling, Bruce
Cyberpunk fiction
Literature publishing
Science fiction
Science fiction -- Authorship
Genres and Forms of Materials
Galley proofs
Typescripts
Box 1, Folders 1-2
Heatseeker - Galley Proof
1989
Box 1, Folder 3
Introduction by William P. Gibson
1988
Box 1, Folder 4
Forward by Stephen P. Brown
1988
Box 1, Folder 5
Wild Child - Title Page and Dedication
undated
Box 1, Folder 7
"Under the Generator"
undated
Box 1, Folder 9
"Tahiti in Terms of Squares"
1978
Box 1, Folder 11
"The Almost Empty Rooms"
1977
Box 1, Folder 13
"Uneasy Chrysalids, Our Memories"
1975
Box 1, Folder 14
"Recurrent Dreams of Nuclear War Lead B.T. Quizenbaum into Moral Dissolution"
undated
Box 1, Folder 15
"Six Kinds of Darkness"
1987
Box 1, Folder 16
"The Unfolding" - with Bruce Sterling
undated
Box 1, Folder 17
"The Peculiar Happiness of Professor Cort"
undated
Box 1, Folder 18
"Ticket to Heaven"
Undated
Box 1, Folder 19
"Wolves of the Plateau"
undated
