No mention here of the possible influence Oprah had on the decision. I mean, if you’ve had such a cool-sounding name as “Gabriel Garcia Marquez” reduced to “Gabo” (a name that sounds suspiciously like a lost Marx brother drier than Zeppo), wouldn’t you, fearing further bastardizations of your name, be hesitant to write more books too?
Actually, the nickname “Gabo” comes from his first two names, Gabriel José. It’s common practice that a boy’s first two names become the nickname (e.g. Juanes = Juan Esteban).