King graduated from Lisbon Falls High School in Lisbon Falls, Maine in 1966.
Gallery of Stephen King
King during his school years.
College/University
Gallery of Stephen King
1979
Stephen King in the University of Maine yearbook
Gallery of Stephen King
168 College Ave, Orono, ME 04469, United States
King pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the University of Maine at Orono.
Career
Gallery of Stephen King
1975
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
1982
Stephen King makes his debut as both actor and screenwriter for the film 'Creepshow'.
Gallery of Stephen King
1982
Stephen King in Creepshow
Gallery of Stephen King
1986
Stephen King in Maximum Overdrive
Gallery of Stephen King
1986
Stephen King in Maximum Overdrive
Gallery of Stephen King
1994
Stephen King in The Stand
Gallery of Stephen King
1995
Stephen King of the Rock Bottom Remainders.
Gallery of Stephen King
1996
Stephen King and Tom Holland in Thinner
Gallery of Stephen King
1999
Tom Hanks, Stephen King, and Frank Darabont in The Green Mile
Gallery of Stephen King
2002
6 Delancey St, New York, NY 10002, USA
Stephen King appears for the 2002 New Yorker Festival on September 28, 2002, at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City.
Gallery of Stephen King
2002
Stephen King attends a benefit reading for Frank Muller hosted by Stephen King at Town Hall February 2, 2002 in New York City. (Photo by Jeffrey Vock)
Gallery of Stephen King
2004
8949 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211, USA
Stephen King attends the premiere of "The Manchurian Candidate" on July 22, 2004, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre, in Los Angeles, California.
Gallery of Stephen King
2004
Stephen King at an event for The Manchurian Candidate
Gallery of Stephen King
2006
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Stephen King poses for a portrait at Dodd Hall on the campus of Florida State University on February 26, 2006, in Tallahassee, Florida.
Gallery of Stephen King
2007
Stephen King in The Mist
Gallery of Stephen King
2009
New York City, New York, USA
Stephen King holds a special pink Kindle given to him by Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeffrey P. Bezos at an unveiling event for the Amazon Kindle 2 at the Morgan Library & Museum on February 9, 2009, in New York City.
Gallery of Stephen King
2010
New York City, New York, USA
Stephen King speaks at the 2010 New Yorker Festival at Acura at SIR Stage37 on October 2, 2010, in New York City.
Gallery of Stephen King
2012
Stephen King in Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Gallery of Stephen King
2013
Stephen King, Mike Vogel, and Britt Robertson in Under the Dome
Gallery of Stephen King
2014
Stephen King with Mike Vogel (L) and Colin Ford (R).
Gallery of Stephen King
2017
Bangor, Maine, USA
Stephen King attends a special screening of "IT" at Bangor Mall Cinemas 10 on September 6, 2017, in Bangor, Maine.
Gallery of Stephen King
2017
New York City, New York, USA
Authors Owen King and Stephen King visit SiriusXM Studios on September 26, 2017, in New York City.
Gallery of Stephen King
2018
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Stephen King during Wednesday's May 23, 2018 show.
Gallery of Stephen King
2018
Central Park West & 79th St, New York, NY 10024, USA
Stephen King attends the PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on May 22, 2018, in New York, New York.
Gallery of Stephen King
2018
Central Park West & 79th St, New York, NY 10024, USA
Sean Kelly, Morgan Freeman, Roxanne Donovan, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Suzanne Nossel, Jennifer Egan, and Markus Dohle attend the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on May 22, 2018, in New York City.
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King and Barack Obama
Gallery of Stephen King
T. Bone Burnett, John Mellencamp and Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King and Mike Fleiss
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Writer Stephen King holding up portion of waxworks horror figure.
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Author Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
1000 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ 08401, USA
Stephen King (L) chatting w. producer/actor Rob Reiner at Tyson/Spinks pre-fight party in the Trump Plaza hotel; Atlantic City.
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Gallery of Stephen King
Stephen King
Achievements
Membership
Awards
Grand Master Award
2007
109 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, USA
Stephen King is presented the Grand Master Award at the Mystery Writers Of America Edgar Allen Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film at the Grand Hyatt Hotel April 26, 2007, in New York City.
National Medal of Arts
2014
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500, USA
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) presents the 2014 National Medal of Arts to Stephen King (L) during an East Room ceremony at the White House on September 10, 2015, in Washington, D.C. Stephen King was honored for his contributions as an author.
Edgar Award for Best Novel
2015
King holding his Edgar Award for Best Novel
Bram Stoker Award
Stephen King, master of horror and the macabre, racked up the accolades at the 2009 Bram Stoker Awards.
National Magazine Awards
King received the National Magazine Award in 2004 for "Rest Stop" and in 2013 for "Batman and Robin Have an Altercation".
World Fantasy Awards
King received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (2004)
Stephen King is presented the Grand Master Award at the Mystery Writers Of America Edgar Allen Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film at the Grand Hyatt Hotel April 26, 2007, in New York City.
Stephen King holds a special pink Kindle given to him by Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeffrey P. Bezos at an unveiling event for the Amazon Kindle 2 at the Morgan Library & Museum on February 9, 2009, in New York City.
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500, USA
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) presents the 2014 National Medal of Arts to Stephen King (L) during an East Room ceremony at the White House on September 10, 2015, in Washington, D.C. Stephen King was honored for his contributions as an author.
Central Park West & 79th St, New York, NY 10024, USA
Sean Kelly, Morgan Freeman, Roxanne Donovan, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Suzanne Nossel, Jennifer Egan, and Markus Dohle attend the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History on May 22, 2018, in New York City.
Stephen King (right) and wife Tabitha King during The 54th Annual National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner at The Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City, New York, United States.
(In the near future, when America has become a police stat...)
In the near future, when America has become a police state, one hundred boys are selected to enter an annual contest where the winner will be awarded whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Among them is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty, and he knows the rules keep a steady walking pace of four miles per hour without stopping. Three warnings and you’re out permanently.
(An unpopular teenage girl, whose mother is a religious fa...)
An unpopular teenage girl, whose mother is a religious fanatic, is tormented and teased to the breaking point by her more popular schoolmates. She uses her hidden telekinetic powers to inflict a terrifying revenge.
(Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem's Lot in the hopes th...)
Ben Mears has returned to Jerusalem's Lot in the hopes that living in an old mansion, long the subject of town lore, will help him cast out his own devils and provide inspiration for his new book. But when two young boys venture into the woods and only one comes out alive, Mears begins to realize that there may be something sinister at work and that his hometown is under siege by forces of darkness far beyond his control.
(Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perf...)
Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote and more sinister.
(A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unk...)
A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unknowingly carrying a deadly weapon, a mutated strain of super-flu that will wipe out 99 percent of the world’s population within a few weeks. Those who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader.
(More than twenty-five stories of horror and nightmarish f...)
More than twenty-five stories of horror and nightmarish fantasy transform everyday situations into experiences of compelling terror in the worlds of the living, the dying, and the nonliving.
(Driving through the cornfields in rural Nebraska, Burt an...)
Driving through the cornfields in rural Nebraska, Burt and Vicky run over a young boy only to discover that they may not be responsible for his death. Out in the corn, something is watching them, and help is nowhere to be found.
(Johnny Smith awakens from a five-year coma after his car ...)
Johnny Smith awakens from a five-year coma after his car accident and discovers that he can see people’s futures and pasts when he touches them. Many consider his talent a gift; Johnny feels cursed. His fiancée married another man during his coma and people clamor for him to solve their problems.
(In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends David Dray...)
In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they become trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town. As the confinement takes its toll on their nerves, a religious zealot, Mrs. Carmody, begins to play on their fears to convince them that this is God’s vengeance for their sins.
(Andy McGee and Vicky Tomlinson were once college students...)
Andy McGee and Vicky Tomlinson were once college students looking to make some extra cash, volunteering as test subjects for an experiment orchestrated by the clandestine government organization known as The Shop. But the outcome unlocked exceptional latent psychic talents for the two of them manifesting in even more terrifying ways when they fell in love and had a child.
(Outside a peaceful town in central Maine, a monster is wa...)
Outside a peaceful town in central Maine, a monster is waiting. Cujo is a two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard, the best friend Brett Camber has ever had. One day, Cujo chases a rabbit into a cave inhabited by sick bats and emerges as something new altogether.
(The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’...)
The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake.
(A mesmerizing tale of unjust imprisonment and offbeat esc...)
A mesmerizing tale of unjust imprisonment and offbeat escape, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is one of Stephen King’s most beloved and iconic stories, and it helped make Castle Rock place readers would return to over and over again. Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, this iconic King novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, is about a fiercely compelling convict named Andy Dufresne who is seeking his ultimate revenge.
(It’s 1960 in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Ra...)
It’s 1960 in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. Ray Brower, a boy from a nearby town, has disappeared, and twelve-year-old Gordie Lachance and his three friends set out on a quest to find his body along the railroad tracks. During the course of their journey, Gordie, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio come to terms with death and the harsh truths of growing up in a small factory town that doesn’t offer much in the way of a future.
(The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’...)
The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake.
(It was the ultimate death game in a nightmare future Amer...)
It was the ultimate death game in a nightmare future America. The year is 2025 and reality TV has grown to the point where people are willing to wager their lives for a chance at a billion-dollar jackpot. Ben Richards is desperate he needs money to treat his daughter’s illness. His last chance is entering a game show called The Running Man where the goal is to avoid capture by Hunters who are employed to kill him.
(When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family...)
When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family to the idyllic rural town of Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. Despite Ludlow’s tranquility, an undercurrent of danger exists here. Those trucks on the road outside the Creed’s beautiful old home travel by just a little too quickly, for one thing as is evidenced by the makeshift graveyard in the nearby woods where generations of children have buried their beloved pets.
(Thus begins one of the most unique tales that master stor...)
Thus begins one of the most unique tales that master storyteller Stephen King has ever written a sprawling fantasy of dark magic and the struggle for absolute power that utterly transforms the destinies of two brothers born into royalty. Through this enthralling masterpiece of mythical adventure, intrigue, and terror, you will thrill to this unforgettable narrative filled with relentless, wicked enchantment, and the most terrible of secrets.
(Attorney Billy Halleck seriously enjoys living his life o...)
Attorney Billy Halleck seriously enjoys living his life of upper-class excess. He’s got it all an expensive home in Connecticut, a loving family, and fifty extra pounds that his doctor repeatedly warns will be the death of him. Then, in a moment of carelessness, Halleck commits vehicular manslaughter when he strikes a jaywalking old woman crossing the street. But Halleck has some powerful local connections and gets off with a slap on the wrist much to the fury of the woman’s mysterious and ancient father, who exacts revenge with a single word, Thinner.
(A supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its ...)
A supermarket becomes the place where humanity makes its last stand against destruction. A trip to the attic becomes a journey to hell. A woman driving a Jaguar finds a scary shortcut to paradise. An idyllic lake harbors a bottomless evil. And a desert island is the scene of the most terrifying struggle for survival ever waged.
(They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon t...)
They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.
(Bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon thinks he’s finally fre...)
Bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon thinks he’s finally free of Misery Chastain. In a controversial career move, he’s just killed off the popular protagonist of his beloved romance series in favor of expanding his creative horizons. But such a change doesn’t come without consequences. After a near-fatal car accident in rural Colorado leaves his body broken, Paul finds himself at the mercy of the terrifying rescuer who’s nursing him back to health his self-proclaimed number one fan, Annie Wilkes.
(Something was happening in Bobbi Anderson’s idyllic small...)
Something was happening in Bobbi Anderson’s idyllic small town of Haven, Maine. Something that gave every man, woman, and child in Haven powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals. Something that turned the town into a deathtrap for all outsiders. Something that is buried in the woods behind Bobbi’s house.
(Thad Beaumont is a writer, and for a dozen years, he has ...)
Thad Beaumont is a writer, and for a dozen years, he has secretly published violent bestsellers under the name of George Stark. But Thad is a healthier and happier man now, the father of infant twins, and starting to write as himself again. He no longer needs George Stark and so, with nationwide publicity, the pseudonym is retired. But George Stark won’t go willingly.
(The town of Castle Rock, Maine has seen its fair share of...)
The town of Castle Rock, Maine has seen its fair share of oddities over the years, but nothing is as peculiar as the little curio shop that’s just opened for business here. Its mysterious proprietor, Leland Gaunt, seems to have something for everyone out on display at Needful Things interesting items that run the gamut from worthless to priceless.
(Once again, Jessie Burlingame has been talked into submit...)
Once again, Jessie Burlingame has been talked into submitting to her husband Gerald’s kinky sex games something that she’s frankly had enough of, and they never held much charm for her to begin with. So much for a romantic getaway at their secluded summer home. After Jessie is handcuffed to the bedposts and Gerald crosses a line with his wife the day ends with deadly consequences.
(Since his wife died, Ralph Roberts has been having troubl...)
Since his wife died, Ralph Roberts has been having trouble sleeping. Each night he wakes up a bit earlier, until he’s barely sleeping at all. During his late night walks, he observes some strange things going on in Derry, Maine. He sees colored ribbons streaming from people’s heads, two strange little men wandering around town after dark, and more. He begins to suspect that these visions are something more than hallucinations brought on by lack of sleep.
(Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depres...)
Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk the Green Mile, keeping a date with Old Sparky, Cold Mountain’s electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working the Mile. But he’s never seen anyone like John Coffey, a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity.
(Located off a desolate stretch of Interstate 50, Desperat...)
Located off a desolate stretch of Interstate 50, Desperation, Nevada has few connections with the rest of the world. It is a place, though, where the seams between worlds are thin. And it is a place where several travelers are abducted by Collie Entragian, the maniacal police officer of Desperation.
(Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, Bag of B...)
Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, Bag of Bones recounts the plight of forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving following the sudden death of his wife Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his computer.
(Once upon a time, in the haunted city of Derry, four boys...)
Once upon a time, in the haunted city of Derry, four boys stood together and did a brave thing. Certainly a good thing, perhaps even a great thing. Something that changed them in ways they could never begin to understand.
(On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stan...)
On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, is almost bouncing up Boylston Street in Boston. He’s just landed a comic book deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art instead of teaching it. He’s already picked up a small gift for his long-suffering wife, and he knows just what he’ll get for his boy Johnny. Why not a little treat for himself?
(On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mi...)
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as the dome comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact.
(Wilfred James owns eighty acres of farmland in Nebraska t...)
Wilfred James owns eighty acres of farmland in Nebraska that have been in his family for generations. His wife, Arlette, owns an adjoining one hundred acres. She wants to sell her land but if she does, Wilfred will be forced to sell as well. James will do anything to hold onto his farm, and he'll get his son to go along.
(It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old Englis...)
It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away, a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer.
(In the Tall Grass begins with a sister and brother who pu...)
In the Tall Grass begins with a sister and brother who pull off to the side of the road after hearing a young boy crying for help from beyond the tall grass. Within minutes they are disoriented, in deeper than seems possible, and they’ve lost one another. The boy’s cries are more and more desperate. What follows is a terrifying, entertaining, and masterfully told tale, as only Stephen King and Joe Hill can deliver.
(Years ago, the haunting of the Overlook Hotel nearly brok...)
Years ago, the haunting of the Overlook Hotel nearly broke young Dan Torrance’s sanity, as his paranormal gift known as the shining opened a door straight into hell. And even though Dan is all grown up, the ghosts of the Overlook and his father’s legacy of alcoholism and violence kept him drifting aimlessly for most of his life.
(College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joylan...)
College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible, the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life and what comes after that would change his world forever.
(The stolen Mercedes emerges from the pre-dawn fog and plo...)
The stolen Mercedes emerges from the pre-dawn fog and plows through a crowd of men and women online for a job fair in a distressed American city. Then the lone driver backs up, charges again, and speeds off, leaving eight dead and more wounded. The case goes unsolved and ex-cop Bill Hodges is out of hope when he gets a letter from a man who loved the feel of death under Mercedes’s wheels.
(The new minister came to Harlow, Maine, when Jamie Morton...)
The new minister came to Harlow, Maine, when Jamie Morton was a boy doing battle with his toy army men on the front lawn. The young Reverend Charles Jacobs and his beautiful wife brought new life to the local church and captivated their congregation.
(There are thrilling connections between stories, themes o...)
There are thrilling connections between stories, themes of morality, the afterlife, guilt, what we would do differently if we could see into the future or correct the mistakes of the past. In the Afterlife, a man who died of colon cancer keeps reliving the same life, repeating his mistakes over and over again. Several stories feature characters at the end of life, revisiting their crimes and misdemeanors.
(Wake up, genius. So announces deranged fan Morris Bellamy...)
Wake up, genius. So announces deranged fan Morris Bellamy to iconic author John Rothstein, who once created the famous character Jimmy Gold and hasn’t released anything since. Morris is livid, not just because his favorite writer has stopped publishing, but because Jimmy Gold ended up as a sellout. Morris kills his idol and empties his safe of cash, but the real haul is a collection of notebooks containing John Rothstein’s unpublished work including at least one more Jimmy Gold novel.
(For nearly six years, in Room 217 of the Lakes Region Tra...)
For nearly six years, in Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, Brady Hartsfield has been in a persistent vegetative state. A complete recovery seems unlikely for the insane perpetrator of the Mercedes Massacre, in which eight people were killed and many more maimed for life. But behind the vacant stare, Brady is very much awake and aware, having been pumped full of experimental drugs scheming, biding his time as he trains himself to take full advantage of the deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room.
(There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of C...)
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong if time-rusted iron bolts and zig-zag up the precarious cliffside.
(In a future so real and near it might be now, something h...)
In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep, they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent. And while they sleep they go to another place, a better place, where harmony prevails and conflict is rare.
(An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is discovered in...)
An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is discovered in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens, Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest.
(Although Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s bee...)
Although Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis.
(In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street ...)
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents telekinesis and telepathy, who got to this place the same way Luke did, Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon.
Stephen King is a prolific and immensely popular author of horror fiction. In his works, King blends elements of the traditional gothic tale with those of the modern psychological thriller, detective, and science fiction genres. Several of his works have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, television series, and comic books.
Background
Stephen King was born on September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine. When he was two years old King's father, Donald Edwin King, deserted the family, leaving his mother, Nellie Ruth (née Pillsbury), to care for Stephen and his older brother. By the time King was seven he had begun writing stories. After discovering a box of horror and science fiction books in his aunt's house, he discovered his forte. In 1965 his first story was published in Comics Review.
Education
King graduated from Lisbon Falls High School in Lisbon Falls, Maine in 1966 and pursued a bachelor of arts degree in English at the University of Maine at Orono. He graduated in 1970.
King sold his first professional short story, "The Glass Floor," to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Then he continued with short stories to men's magazines such as Cavalier. Many of these early stories have been republished in the collection Night Shift (1978), as well as later ones appeared in such collections as Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), Hearts in Atlantis (1999; film 2001), Just After Sunset (2008), and The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015).
King began working on his first novel about a girl with telekinetic abilities entitled Carrie, which was released in 1974 and became an instant success, catapulting King into the top ranks of horror writers. It was later adapted for the big screen with Sissy Spacek as the title character in 1976, and later in 2013 with Chloë Grace Moretz.
Then followed such novels as Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (1977), Firestarter (1980), Cujo (1981) and IT (1986). Cujo and Firestarter were released for the big screen in 1983 and '84 respectively. Four early novels—Rage (1977), The Long Walk (1979), Roadwork (1981) and The Running Man (1982)—were published under the moniker because of King's concern that the public wouldn't accept more than one book from an author within a year.
The film The Shining, released in 1980, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, became a renowned horror thriller that has stood the test of time. In 1985, King wrote his first work for the comic book medium, writing a few pages of the benefit X-Men comic book Heroes for Hope Starring the X-Men.
His compelling, thrilling tales continued to be used as the basis of numerous films for the big and small screens. Actress Kathy Bates and actor James Caan starred in the critically and commercially successful adaptation of Misery in 1990, with Bates winning an Oscar for her performance as the psychotic Annie Wilkes. Four years later, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman and based on one of his stories, became another acclaimed outing with multiple Oscar nominations.
King's 1978 novel The Stand became a 1994 miniseries with Molly Ringwald and Gary Sinise in the lead, while the mid-'90s serialized outing The Green Mile was turned into a 1999 prison-based film starring Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan.
King explored both his own career and the craft of writing in On Writing (2000), a book he completed as he was recovering from severe injuries received after being struck by a car.
King has also worked directly in television, writing for series like Kingdom Hospital and Under the Dome, with the latter based on his 2009 novel. In 2011 he published 11/22/63, a novel involving time travel as part of an effort to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. King also wrote Joyland (2013), a pulp-fiction style thriller that takes readers on a journey to uncovering who's behind an unsolved murder. And he surprised audiences by releasing Doctor Sleep (2013), a sequel to The Shining, with Sleep hitting No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Mr. Mercedes (2014), Finders Keepers (2015), and End of Watch (2016) formed a trilogy of crime novels centring on retired detective Bill Hodges. King also wrote a serial novel, The Dark Tower, whose first installment, The Gunslinger, appeared in 1982; an eighth volume was published in 2012. A film adaptation of the series was released in 2017.
King was raised Methodist and remains religious as an adult. He believes in God, but seems to really hate religion. He says: "I hate organized religion. I think it’s one of the roots of real evil that’s in the world. If you really unmask Satan, you’ll probably find that he’s wearing a turnaround collar."
Politics
King is a staunch Democrat and a confirmed liberal. During the 2008 presidential election, King voiced for Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
King hates conservatives like Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly and the Tea Party and sides with ultra-liberal members of the Occupy movement in asking for higher taxes on the rich. He is also a public critic of Paul LePage, the Republican Governor of Maine, and has referred to LePage as one of the Three Stooges, along with Florida Governor Rick Scott and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
Views
King's interest in the demonic and the paranormal is usually reflected in his protagonists, whose experiences and thoughts serve to reveal psychological complexities and abnormalities.
Quotations:
"Books are a uniquely portable magic."
"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."
"Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life."
"When his life was ruined, his family killed, his farm destroyed, Job knelt down on the ground and yelled up to the heavens, "Why god? Why me?" and the thundering voice of God answered, There's just something about you that pisses me off."
"The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear."
"Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people. … The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good."
"Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure."
"I think that we're all mentally ill. Those of us outside the asylums only hide it a little better - and maybe not all that much better after all."
"A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger."
"Alone. Yes, that's the key word, the most awful word in the English tongue. Murder doesn't hold a candle to it and hell is only a poor synonym."
"Speaking personally, you can have my gun, but you'll take my book when you pry my cold, dead fingers off of the binding.”
“The thing under my bed waiting to grab my ankle isn't real. I know that, and I also know that if I'm careful to keep my foot under the covers, it will never be able to grab my ankle."
"Hearts can break. Yes, hearts can break. Sometimes I think it would be better if we died when they did, but we don't."
"A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar."
"There are books full of great writing that don't have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story. .. don't be like the book-snobs who won't do that. Read sometimes for the words--the language. Don't be like the play-it-safers who won't do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book."
Membership
Stephen King is founder and co-chair of The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, which ranks sixth among Maine charities in terms of average annual giving with over $2.8 million in grants per year, according to The Grantsmanship Center.
Personality
Stephen King is open and generous person, who has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Friendship means a great deal to King, perhaps even more than love relationships or romance. King rarely allows obstacles or difficulties to keep him down and always expects a better, brighter future.
Stephen King has a childlike openness and playfulness that is very appealing to others but sometimes gets him into trouble. He is emotionally expressive and cannot hide his instinctive emotional reactions to people or situations.
Outside of writing, King is a music fan. He even sometimes plays guitar and sings in a band called Rock Bottom Remainders with fellow literary stars like Dave Barry, Barbara Kingsolver and Amy Tan. The group has performed a number of times over the years to raise money for charity.
Quotes from others about the person
Robert Cormier: "King still writes like one possessed, with all the nervous energy of a young writer seeking his first big break. He never cheats the reader, always gives full measure. .. . He is often brilliant, and makes marvelous music, dark and sinister."
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt: "[Unlike] much of Mr. King's fiction, the novel Misery is more than just a splendid exercise in horror. Not only must Paul create under pressure a story he doesn't particularly want to tell, but he must also make it plausible, even inspired, for Annie Wilkes is a shrewd connoisseur of storytelling, what one might call the ultimate editor and critic. Under her tutelage the experiences of meeting a deadline and being cut take on terrifyingly literal meanings."
Jean W. Ross: "If someone in the future wants to see what American life was like, what Americans cared about, what our stories were in the seventies and eighties, they'll read Stephen King."
Interests
Writers
Richard Matheson, H. P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker, Joseph Payne Brennan, John D. MacDonald, Robert A. Heinlein, Elmore Leonard
Music & Bands
Ramones, AC/DC, Metallica, Anthrax, Judas Priest
Connections
In 1971 King married Tabitha Spruce. The marriage produced three children: Naomi Rachel, a reverend; Joseph Hillstrom, who writes under the pen name Joe Hill; and Owen Phillip, a writer, as well.
Stephen King: The Art of Darkness
Based on extensive research and interviews with King himself, this critical survey of the horror master's novels includes a chronology of King's life and career, and appendixes documenting his short stories, movie and television adaptations, and a complete bibliography of his works
1984
Stephen King: A Biography
This biography traces King's evolution from would-be pulp magazine writer to master of his craft, whose work both epitomizes and transcends the horror genre.
2008
Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King
In this unauthorized biography, Lisa Rogak reveals the troubled background and lifelong fears that inspire one of the twentieth century's most influential authors.
in 1987 for Misery; in 1990, for Four Past Midnight; in 1995 for Lunch at the Gotham Café; in 1996 for The Green Mile; in 1998 for Bag of Bones; in 2000 for On Writing; in 2000 for Riding the Bullet; in 2002, Lifetime Achievement Award; in 2003 for The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla; in 2006 for Lisey's Story; in 2008 for Duma Key; in 2008 for Just After Sunset; in 2010 for Full Dark, No Stars; in 2011 for Herman Wouk is Still Alive; in 2013 for Doctor Sleep
in 1987 for Misery; in 1990, for Four Past Midnight; in 1995 for Lunch at the Gotham Café; in 1996 for The Green Mile; in 1998 for Bag of Bones; in 2000 for On Writing; in 2000 for Riding the Bullet; in 2002, Lifetime Achievement Award; in 2003 for The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla; in 2006 for Lisey's Story; in 2008 for Duma Key; in 2008 for Just After Sunset; in 2010 for Full Dark, No Stars; in 2011 for Herman Wouk is Still Alive; in 2013 for Doctor Sleep
British Fantasy Award,
United Kingdom
in 1981, Special Award; in 1982 for Cujo; in 1983 for The Breathing Method; in 1987 for It; in 1999 for Bag of Bones; in 2005 for The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
in 1981, Special Award; in 1982 for Cujo; in 1983 for The Breathing Method; in 1987 for It; in 1999 for Bag of Bones; in 2005 for The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
Hugo Award,
United States
in 1982 for Danse Macabre
in 1982 for Danse Macabre
International Horror Guild Awards,
United States
in 1999 for Storm of the Century; in 2003 for Living Legend
in 1999 for Storm of the Century; in 2003 for Living Legend
Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!,
Japan
in 2014 for 11/22/63, The Best Translated Mystery Fiction of the Year in Japan
in 2014 for 11/22/63, The Best Translated Mystery Fiction of the Year in Japan
Los Angeles Times Book Prize,
United States
in 2011 for 11/22/63
in 2011 for 11/22/63
Locus Awards,
United States
in 1982 for Danse Macabre; in 1986 for Skeleton Crew; in 1997 for Desperation; in 1999 for Bag of Bones; in 2001, On Writing
in 1982 for Danse Macabre; in 1986 for Skeleton Crew; in 1997 for Desperation; in 1999 for Bag of Bones; in 2001, On Writing
National Book Award,
United States
in 2003, Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
in 2003, Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters