JG Ballard had British parents but was born in Shanghai, China in 1930. His father was a business executive working in China at the time of Ballard’s birth. This period corresponded to the start of World War II, which led to Ballard spending part of the war in a Japanese internment camp near Shanghai (via British). After the war, Ballard went to Cambridge University and then enrolled at King’s College with the intention of becoming a psychiatrist. It was in the second year that he began to write short stories inspired by his studies in psychoanalysis. When he published his first short story, he dropped out of medical school to follow his passion for writing (via famous authors).
The combination of his wartime experiences and his desire to explain the human condition likely led to his desire to write, which first led him to jobs as an editor and bookseller. His independent fiction flopped, however, and a disgruntled Ballard decided to quit his job to practice writing in his own style (via Famous Authors). With the time he needed, he wrote his first novel, “Wind from Nowhere,” a dystopian story about a global hurricane that sends millions living under rubble (via Good reads). In addition to his fiction, Ballard has also shown his insight in interviews, one of which has become internet famous in recent years for predicting trends in our modern media (via The Guardian).
