Editing Iain Banks (section)

==Early life==
Banks was born in [[Dunfermline]], [[Fife]], to a mother who was a professional [[ice skater]] and a father who was an officer in the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]]. An only child, he lived in [[North Queensferry]] until the age of nine, near the naval dockyards in [[Rosyth]], where his father was based.<ref name="business"/><ref name=five/> The family then moved to [[Gourock]] due to his father's work.<ref name="BBC"/> When someone introduced him to science fiction by giving him ''[[Kemlo|Kemlo and the Zones of Silence]]'' by [[Reginald Alec Martin]], he continued reading the series, which encouraged him to write science fiction himself.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://efanzines.com/Banksoniain/Banksoniain19.pdf |title=The Banksoniain #19 - eFanzines.com |website=efanzines.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://notthedayjob.tumblr.com/post/8914135987/interview-iain-m-banks-whats-in-an-m |title=Interview: Iain (M) Banks – What's in an M?|work=Not The Day Job}}</ref> Banks attended Gourock and Greenock High Schools. From 1972 to 1975, Banks studied [[English literature|English]], [[philosophy]], and [[psychology]] at the [[University of Stirling]].<ref name="BBC"/><ref name="council"/>

After graduation, Banks took a succession of jobs that left him free to write in the evenings. These supported his writing throughout his twenties and allowed him to take long breaks between contracts, during which time he travelled through [[Europe]] and [[North America]]. During this period, he worked as an [[IBM]] 'Expediter Analyser' (a kind of procurement clerk), a testing technician for the [[British Steel Corporation]], and a costing clerk for a law firm in London's [[Chancery Lane]].<ref name="business"/>