J.G. Ballard Dies

Writer J.G. Ballard, best known for the autobiographical novel "Empire Of The Sun," which drew on his childhood detention in a Japanese prison camp in China, died Sunday, his agent said. He was 78.

Ballard was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006. He had been ill "for several years" and died in London at the home of his long-term partner, his agent Margaret Hanbury said. She did not give the cause of death.

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Ballard married Helen Matthews in 1954. She died in 1964. He is survived by their three children.

There was no immediate word on funeral plans.

Rest In Peace, J.G.