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ⓘ About Iain M. Banks
Iain M. Banks was a Scottish author of fiction. He used this as his pen name for science fiction and goes by Iain Banks for some of his books. The Crow Road was turned into a 1996 t.v. miniseries. Complicity became a film in 2000 and a t.v. series called Stonemouth came out based on his novel. Banks was born on February 16, 1954 in Fife, Scotland. His father was an Admiralty officer and his mother ice skated professionally. He attended the University of Stirling and studied philosophy, psychology, and English literature. After school, Banks decided that he would move to London. He resided in the southern area of England until he decided to move in 1988 to Scotland. He lived in Edinburgh before eventually moving to Fife.
All Book Series by Iain M. Banks
The Culture: The Drawings
Latest in the series · book 11 of 11 · published 2023
Against a Dark Background
Book 8 of 18 · published 1993 Pen name · Iain M. Banks
Shoreline of Infinity 1
Series opener · book 1 of 41 · published 2015 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 2
Book 2 of 41 · published 2015 Pen name · Iain M. Banks, With: Anton Rose,Duncan Lunan,Megan Neumann,Steve Green,Ian Hunter,Noel Chidwick,Ken Poyner,Iain Maloney,Ken McLeod,Michael Fontana,Tyler J Petty,Ryan L. Daly,Bethany Ruth Anderson,Steve Simpson,Kathy Steinemann,Ann Craig,Elsa Bouet,Russell Jones
Shoreline of Infinity 3
Book 3 of 41 · published 2016 Anthology · Jane Yolen,Edd Vick,Marge Simon,David Lindsay,Ian Hunter,Noel Chidwick,Guy Stewart,Sára Júlia,J.K. Fulton,Miriam Johnson,Thomas Broderick,Tracey S. Rosenberg,Dee Raspin,Sara Ljeskovac
Shoreline of Infinity 4
Book 4 of 41 · published 2016 Anthology · Ken MacLeod,Holly Schofield,Tricia Sullivan,Gary Gibson,Ruth E.J. Booth,Shelly Bryant,Robert Neilson,Paul Holmes,Noel Chidwick,Andrew J. Wilson,Caroline Grebbell,Michael Stroh,Clive Tern,Lewis Grassic Gibbon,Benjamin Dodds,Sára Júlia,J. Leslie Mitchell
Shoreline of Infinity 5
Book 5 of 41 · published 2016 Anthology · Craig Thompson,George MacDonald,Ruth E.J. Booth,ThomasClark,Paul Holmes,Noel Chidwick,Sára Júlia,Monica Burns,Iain Maloney,Andrew Blair,Rob Butler,Adam Connors,Jack Schouten,Simon Mordem,Ruth Aylett,Stuart Beel,Net Newman,Daniel Rosen,Gary Dalkin
Shoreline of Infinity 7
Book 7 of 41 · published 2017 Anthology · Andrew Lang,Shannon Connor Winward,May Kendall,David L. Clements,Ruth E.J. Booth,Tim Major,Paul Holmes,Noel Chidwick,Monica Burns,Dan Grace,Davyne DeSye,Katie Gray,Mark Toner,Terry Jackman,Daniel Soule,Steve Pickering
Shoreline of Infinity 8½
Book 9 of 41 · published 2017 Pen name · Iain M. Banks, With: Jane Yolen,Charles Stross,Ken MacLeod,Adam Roberts,Nalo Hopkinson,Jo Walton,Marge Simon,Gary Gibson,Ada Palmer,Ruth E.J. Booth,ThomasClark,Noel Chidwick,Pippa Goldschmidt,Andrew J. Wilson,Caroline Grebbell,Benjamin Dodds,Iain Maloney,Des Raspin,Katie Gray,Mark Toner,Shelley Bryant,Grahame Barrasford Young,Russell Jones
Shoreline of Infinity 9
Book 10 of 41 · published 2017 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 10
Book 11 of 41 · published 2017 Anthology · Die Booth,Noel Chidwick,Ephiny Gale,Daniel Rosen,Marija Smits,Matthew Castle,SK Farrell,Serna Johe,K.E. Macphee,Chris Baily
Shoreline of Infinity 11
Book 12 of 41 · published 2018 Anthology · Karen Heuler
Shoreline of Infinity 12
Book 13 of 41 · published 2018 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 13
Book 14 of 41 · published 2018 Anthology · Premee Mohamed,Bo Balder,Tim Major,Noel Chidwick,Preston Grassmann,Rachel Armstrong,Caroline Grebbell,Esme Carpenter,Laura Young
Shoreline of Infinity 14
Book 15 of 41 · published 2019 Anthology · Ken MacLeod,Neil Williamson,Cat Hellisen,Andrew Reichard,Noel Chidwick,Eris Young,Thomas Broderick,Emma Levin,Rhiannon Grist,Vicki Jarrett
Shoreline of Infinity 15
Book 16 of 41 · published 2019 Anthology · Gareth L. Powell,Callum McSorley,Tim Major,Tiffany Meuret,Noel Chidwick,Teika Marija Smits,DA D’Amico,Lidia Molina Whyte,E.M. Faulds,J.G. Sarmiento
Shoreline of Infinity 16
Book 17 of 41 · published 2019 Anthology · Allen Ashley,Ahmed A. Khan,Noel Chidwick,Rachel Plummer,Helen French,Laura Duerr,Petra Kuppers,Kate Macdonald,Vicki Jarrett,Calum L Macleoid
Shoreline of Infinity 17
Book 18 of 41 · published 2020 Anthology · Chris Beckett,Bo Balder,Ruth E.J. Booth,Noel Chidwick,Brian M. Milton,Dave Ring,Simon Fung,S.A.M. Rundell,Peyman Saremian,Jeremey Nelson
Shoreline of Infinity 18
Book 19 of 41 · published 2020 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 19
Book 20 of 41 · published 2020 Anthology · Ian Watson,Tony Ballantyne,Chris Beckett,F.J. Bergmann,Sherry Shahan,Raman Mundair,Noel Chidwick,Pippa Goldschmidt,Davide Mana,Mariah Montoya,Teika Marija Smits,Hûw Steer,Anya Ow,Gregory A. Austin
Shoreline of Infinity 20
Book 21 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 21
Book 22 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 22
Book 23 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 23
Book 24 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 24
Book 25 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 25
Book 26 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Elana Gomel,Gary Gibson,Cat Hellisen,Noel Chidwick,E. M. Faulds,David L Clements,Simon Nagel,Alex Storer
Shoreline of Infinity 27
Book 28 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Callum McSorley,Noel Chidwick,Christopher Collingwood,Alex Storer,Jack Schouten,Jo Ross-Barrett,RV Neville
Shoreline of Infinity 29
Book 30 of 41 · published 2021 Anthology · Noel Chidwick
Shoreline of Infinity 30
Book 31 of 41 · published 2022 Anthology · Eric Brown,Gary Gibson,Cat Hellisen,Noel Chidwick,Christopher R. Muscato,Teika Marina Smits,Raymond W Gallacher
Shoreline of Infinity 31
Book 32 of 41 · published 2022 Anthology · Ken MacLeod,Andy McKell,Chris Barnham,Bo Balder,Ruth E.J. Booth,Heather Valentine,Noel Chidwick,Lindz McLeod,Adam Marx
Shoreline of Infinity 32
Book 33 of 41 · published 2022 Anthology · Jane Yolen,Adam Roberts,Sofia Samatar,Cat Hellisen,Noel Chidwick,Teika Marija Smits,Dave Weaver,Bethany Davis,Laura Scotland,Woody Dismukes,Edmind Fines
Shoreline of Infinity 33
Book 34 of 41 · published 2022 Anthology · T.L. Huchu,Callum McSorley,Noel Chidwick,Benjamin C. Kinney,Lucy Zhang,Brent Baldwin,M.H. Ayinde,M. Luke McDonell,David Lawrie,Jesse Rowell
Shoreline of Infinity 34
Book 35 of 41 · published 2023 Anthology · Ian Whates,Vaughan Stanger,Eris Young,L.R. Lam,Lyndsey Croal,Moussa Ould Ebnou,Robert Bagnall,Louis Evans,Emma Levin
Shoreline of Infinity 35
Book 36 of 41 · published 2023 Anthology · Ken MacLeod,Eric Brown,John Buchan,Callum McSorley,Noel Chidwick,Rachel Plummer,Jeda Pearl,T.H. Dray,Beth Nuttall
Shoreline of Infinity 36
Book 37 of 41 · published 2023 Anthology · Kim Stanley Robinson,Noel Chidwick,Christopher R. Muscato,Lyndsey Croal,Tania Chen,Rhiannon Grist,Gessica Sakamoto Martini,Knighton Knighton,Sara Kate Ellis,Greta Colombani
Shoreline of Infinity 37
Book 38 of 41 · published 2024 Anthology · Andrew Knighton
Shoreline of Infinity 38
Book 39 of 41 · published 2024 Anthology · Tim Major,David McGillveray,Ruth E.J. Booth,Noel Chidwick,Paul McQuade,Andrew Kozma,Jeda Pearl,Bram E. Gieben,Anna Ziemons-McLean,Anna Cheung,Dylan Kwok,LeeAnn Perry,M.A.R. Rinaldi,S.J. Groenewegen
Shoreline of Infinity 39
Book 40 of 41 · published 2025 Anthology · Eugen Bacon,Noel Chidwick,Douglas Gwilym,Kenzie Lappin,Jamie M Boyd,M Shedric Simpson,Darryl A Smith,Caitriana NicNeacail,Ruth EJ Booth
Shoreline of Infinity 40
Latest in the series · book 41 of 41 · published 2026 Anthology · Chris Kelso,Noel Chidwick,Pippa Goldschmidt,Hiron Ennes,John J Kennedy,Scott Payne,T. Lucas Earle,Franki Halliwell,Timothy Quinn,Joyce Bingham
Shoreline of Infinity 8½: Edinburgh International Book Festival Special Edition
Latest in the series · book 8 of 8 · published 2017
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Iain M. Banks?
Iain M. Banks was a Scottish author of fiction. He used this as his pen name for science fiction and goes by Iain Banks for some of his books. The Crow Road was turned into a 1996 t.v. miniseries.
Which Iain M. Banks series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Culture series, the earliest of Iain M. Banks's multi-book series: it opens with Consider Phlebas (1987) and runs to 11 books across 1987–2023, ending with The Culture: The Drawings (2023).
How many books has Iain M. Banks written?
Iain M. Banks has 80 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1984 and 2026. 52 of them belong to 2 named series — the largest being the Culture series with 11 books — and 28 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Iain M. Banks's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Iain M. Banks's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Culture (1987–2023, 11 books).
How are Iain M. Banks's books organised into series?
This guide splits Iain M. Banks's 80 books into 2 named series and 28 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Culture (11 books, 1987–2023); Shoreline of Infinity Science Fiction Magazine (41 books, 2015–2026).