| "The Winter Market" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by William Gibson | |||
| Country | Canada | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Science fiction | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Burning Chrome | ||
| Publication type | Anthology | ||
| Publisher | Arbor House | ||
| Publication date | April 1986 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
"The Winter Market" is a science fiction short story written by William Gibson and published as part of his Burning Chrome short story collection. The story was commissioned in 1985 by Vancouver Magazine, who stipulated that Gibson – who at the time was "unquestionably the leading Vancouver author on the international literary scene"[1] – set it in the city (thereby making it unique among the author's works until 2007, when he set the final third of Spook Country in and around the Port of Vancouver).[2]
The market of the title was modelled on that of Granville Island, though in a state of bohemian decay.[1] As the author commented in a 2007 blog post: "Vancouver's Granville Island, centered around Granville Island Market (produce and food fair) is a very successful (and pleasant) retrofit of an under-bridge urban island that previously was heavily industrial. When the story was written, the retrofit was recent, and I dirtied it up for requisite punky near-future effect."[3]