Editing John Brunner (author) (section)

==Literary works==
At first writing conventional [[space opera]], Brunner later began to experiment with the novel form. His 1968 novel ''[[Stand on Zanzibar]]'' exploits the fragmented organizational style that American writer [[John Dos Passos]] created for his ''[[U.S.A. (trilogy)|U.S.A.]]'' trilogy, but updates it in terms of the [[Media studies|theory of media]] popularised by Canadian academic [[Marshall McLuhan]], a major cultural figure of the period.

''[[The Jagged Orbit]]'' (1969) is set in a United States dominated by [[Arms race|weapons proliferation]] and [[Ethnic conflict|interracial violence]]. Its 100 numbered chapters vary in length from a single syllable to several pages. ''[[The Sheep Look Up]]'' (1972) depicts ecological catastrophe in America.

Brunner is credited with coining the term "[[Computer worm|worm]]" (in computing) and predicting the emergence of [[computer virus]]es<ref name="obit" /> in his 1975 novel ''[[The Shockwave Rider]]'', in which he used the term to describe software that reproduces itself across a computer network. Brunner's work has also been credited for prefiguring modern developments such as [[genetic engineering]], [[same-sex marriage]], [[online encyclopedia]]s, the [[Legality of cannabis|legalization of cannabis]], and the development of [[Sildenafil|Viagra]].<ref name=BBCAnderson/>

These four novels ''Stand on Zanzibar'' (1968), ''The Jagged Orbit'' (1969), ''The Sheep Look Up'' (1972) and ''The Shockwave Rider'' (1975), have been called the "Club of Rome Quartet", named after the [[Club of Rome]], whose 1972 report ''[[The Limits to Growth]]'' warned of the dire effects of overpopulation.<ref name=Bisson>{{cite web|last=Bisson|first=Simon|title=Science fiction: Why it's a must read for IT pros|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/science-fiction-why-its-a-must-read-for-it-pros/|publisher=ZDNet|access-date=29 March 2013|date=13 July 2012}}</ref>

Brunner's pen names include K. H. Brunner (Kilian Houston Brunner), Gill Hunt, John Loxmith, Trevor Staines, Ellis Quick,<ref name=BBCAnderson>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190509-the-1968-sci-fi-that-spookily-predicted-today|title=The 1968 sci-fi that spookily predicted today|last=Anderson|first=Hephzibah|publisher=BBC|language=en|access-date=2019-05-11}}</ref> Henry Crosstrees Jr., and Keith Woodcott.<ref name="encyc" />

In addition to fiction, Brunner wrote poetry and published many unpaid articles in a variety of venues, particularly [[fanzine]]s. He also published 13 letters to the ''[[New Scientist]]'' and an article about the educational relevance of science fiction in ''[[Physics Education]]''.<ref name=PhysEd>John Brunner, "The educational relevance of science fiction", ''Physics Education'' (1971), volume 6, pp. 389–391.</ref> Brunner was an active member of the organisation [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]] and wrote the words to "The H-Bomb's Thunder", which was sung on the [[Aldermaston Marches]]. He was a linguist, translator, and Guest of Honour at the first [[Eurocon|European Science Fiction Convention]] ''Eurocon-1'' in [[Trieste]] in 1972.<ref name="encyc" />