UK author J.G. Ballard, 78, died at his home in Shepperton in west London on April 19, 2009, after a long illness — he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006 — according to reports from BBC and elsewhere. Author of 15 novels and many short stories, his most acclaimed novel was Empire of the Sun, based on his childhood in a Japanese prison camp in China.His agent, Margaret Branbury, … Continue reading J.G. Ballard, 1930-2009