View source for Stephen King

{{Short description|American author (born 1947)}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{For|the politician|Steve King}}
{{For|other people with the same or similar names|Stephen King (disambiguation)}}
}}
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{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Stephen King
| image            = Stephen King at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival 2 (cropped).jpg
| caption          = King in 2024
| pseudonym        = {{flatlist|
* [[Richard Bachman]]
* John Swithen
* Beryl Evans
}}
| birth_name       = Stephen Edwin King
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1947|9|21}}
| birth_place      = [[Portland, Maine]], U.S.
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| occupation       = Author
| period           = 1967–present<ref name=OfficialBio/>
| genre            = {{flatlist|
* Horror
* [[Fantasy fiction|fantasy]]
* [[supernatural fiction]]
* [[Drama (fiction)|drama]]
* [[Gothic fiction|gothic]]
* [[genre fiction]]
* [[dark fantasy]]
* [[post-apocalyptic fiction]]
* [[crime fiction]]
* [[Suspense fiction|suspense]]
* [[Thriller fiction|thriller]]
}}
| education        = [[University of Maine]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| spouse           = {{marriage|[[Tabitha King|Tabitha Spruce]]|1971}}
| children         = 3, including [[Joe Hill (writer)|Joe]] and [[Owen King|Owen]]
| signature        = Stephen King Signature.svg
| website          = {{Official URL}}
}}

'''Stephen Edwin King''' (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror",<ref name="te" >{{cite news|author1=K.S.C.|title=Why Stephen King's novels still resonate|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/09/subverting-american-dream|access-date=September 9, 2017|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909015350/https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/09/subverting-american-dream|archive-date=September 9, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> he is widely known for his [[horror novels]] and has also explored other genres, among them [[Thriller (genre)|suspense]], [[crime fiction|crime]], science-fiction, fantasy, and [[mystery fiction|mystery]].<ref>{{cite news| last=Breznican| first=Anthony| date=September 3, 2019| title= "Life Is Imitating Stephen King's Art, and That Scares Him" |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/books/stephen-king-interview-the-institute.html | work=[[New York Times]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903151422/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/books/stephen-king-interview-the-institute.html| archive-date=September 3, 2019}}</ref> Though known primarily for his novels, he has written approximately [[Stephen King short fiction bibliography|200 short stories]], most of which have been published in collections.<ref name=Thrillist>Jackson, Dan (February 18, 2016). [https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/stephen-king-books-a-beginners-guide "A Beginner's Guide to Stephen King Books"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020140/https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/stephen-king-books-a-beginners-guide |date=February 7, 2019}}. [[Thrillist]]. Retrieved February 5, 2019.</ref> 

His [[debut novel| debut]], ''[[Carrie (novel)|Carrie]]'' (1974), established him in horror. ''[[Different Seasons]]'' (1982), a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the genre. Among the films adapted from King's fiction are [[Carrie (1976 film)|''Carrie'']] (1976), [[The Shining (film)|''The Shining'']] (1980), [[The Dead Zone (film)|''The Dead Zone'']] and [[Christine (1983 film)|''Christine'']] (both 1983), [[Stand by Me (film)|''Stand by Me'']] (1986), [[Misery (film)|''Misery'']] (1990), ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]'' (1994), [[Dolores Claiborne (film)|''Dolores Claiborne'']] (1995), [[The Green Mile (film)|''The Green Mile'']] (1999), ''[[The Mist (film)|The Mist]]'' (2007), [[It (2017 film)|''It'']] (2017), and [[The Long Walk (2025 film)|''The Long Walk'']] (2025). He has published under the pseudonym [[Richard Bachman]] and has co-written works with other authors, notably his friend [[Peter Straub]] and sons [[Joe Hill (writer)|Joe Hill]] and [[Owen King]]. He has also written nonfiction, notably ''[[Danse Macabre (King book)|Danse Macabre]]'' (1981) and ''[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]]'' (2000).

Among [[List of awards and nominations received by Stephen King| other awards]], King has won the [[O. Henry Award]] for "[[The Man in the Black Suit]]" (1994) and the [[Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller|''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller]] for ''[[11/22/63]]'' (2011). He has also won honors for his overall contributions to literature, including the 2003 [[National Book Award|Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters]],<ref name=natbook>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalbook.org/amerletters.html |title=Distinguished Contribution to American Letters |website=National Book Foundation |date=2003 |access-date=March 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110310053959/http://www.nationalbook.org/amerletters.html |archive-date=March 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NBA" /> the 2007 Grand Master Award from the [[Mystery Writers of America]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clubstephenkinglille.forumactif.com/t1133-recompenses-litteraires-de-stephen-king|title=FORUMS du CLUB STEPHEN KING (CSK)|website=Forum Stephen King|access-date=March 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222211549/http://clubstephenkinglille.forumactif.com/t1133-recompenses-litteraires-de-stephen-king|archive-date=February 22, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> and the 2014 [[National Medal of Arts]].<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/medals/stephen-king|title=Stephen King|website=www.arts.gov}}</ref> [[Joyce Carol Oates]] called King "a brilliantly rooted, psychologically 'realistic' writer for whom the American scene has been a continuous source of inspiration, and American popular culture a vast cornucopia of possibilities."<ref name=":Oates">{{Cite web |author-link=Joyce Carol Oates|first1=Joyce Carol|last1=Oates|date=2016 |title=Joyce Carol Oates on Stephen King |url=https://celestialtimepiece.com/2016/11/17/joyce-carol-oates-on-stephen-king/ |website=celestialtimepiece.com}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
King was born in [[Portland, Maine]], on September 21, 1947. His father, Donald Edwin King, a traveling vacuum salesman after returning from [[World War II]], was born in Indiana with the surname Pollock, changing it to King as an adult.<ref>{{cite episode|series=[[Finding Your Roots]]|network=[[PBS]]|airdate=September 23, 2014|title=In Search of our Fathers| season=2|number=1|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=ni7DKO5plhk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ni7DKO5plhk| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> King's mother was Nellie Ruth King (née Pillsbury).<ref>{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Stephen |author1-link=Stephen King |title=On writing: a memoir of the craft |date=2000 |publisher=Scribner |location=New York |isbn=978-0684853529 |page=17 }}</ref> His parents were married in [[Scarborough, Maine]], on July 23, 1939. They lived with Donald's family in Chicago before moving to [[Croton-on-Hudson, New York]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Lisa |last=Rogak |title=Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT14 |date=January 5, 2010 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4299-8797-4 |page=14 |access-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-date=November 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104005858/https://books.google.com/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT14 |url-status=live }}</ref> King's parents returned to Maine towards the end of [[World War II]], living in a modest house in Scarborough. He is of [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]] descent.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/exclusive-interview-stephen-king-best-selling-author-speaks-about-his-life-career-and-scottish-weather-1655084|work=[[The Scotsman]]|title=Exclusive interview: Stephen King - the best-selling author speaks about his life, career and Scottish weather|date=November 5, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230506113414/https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/exclusive-interview-stephen-king-best-selling-author-speaks-about-his-life-career-and-scottish-weather-1655084|archive-date=May 6, 2023}}</ref>

When King was two, his father left the family. His mother raised him and his older brother David by herself, sometimes under great financial strain. They moved from Scarborough and depended on relatives in Chicago, Illinois; Croton-on-Hudson; [[West De Pere, Wisconsin]]; [[Fort Wayne, Indiana]]; [[Malden, Massachusetts]]; and [[Stratford, Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Lisa |last=Rogak |title=Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT15 |date=January 5, 2010 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4299-8797-4 |page=15 |access-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-date=November 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104005858/https://books.google.com/books?id=yMbYYw_6200C&pg=PT15 |url-status=live }}</ref> When King was 11, his family moved to [[Durham, Maine]], where his mother cared for her parents until their deaths. After that, she became a caregiver in a local residential facility for the mentally challenged. 

King says he started writing when he was "about six or seven, just copying panels out of comic books and then making up my own stories ... Film was also a major influence. I loved the movies from the start. So when I started to write, I had a tendency to write in images because that was all I knew at the time."<ref name=":ParisReview">{{Cite news |author1=[[Nathaniel Rich (novelist)| Nathaniel Rich]] |author2=[[Christopher Lehmann-Haupt]] |date=Fall 2006 |title=Stephen King: The Art of Fiction No. 189 |work=[[The Paris Review]] |url=https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5653/the-art-of-fiction-no-189-stephen-king}}</ref> Regarding his interest in horror, he says "my childhood was pretty ordinary, except from a very early age, I wanted to be scared. I just did."<ref>{{cite news| title=Stephen King: 'My Imagination Was Very Active — Even At A Young Age| author-link=Terry Gross|last1=Gross|first1=Terry| work=[[National Public Radio]]| url=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/27/633002291/stephen-king-my-imagination-was-very-active-even-at-a-young-age |quote=I've been queried a lot about where I get my ideas or how I got interested in this stuff. And at some point, a lot of interviewers just turn into Dr. Freud and put me on the couch and say, what was your childhood like? And I say various things, and I confabulate a little bit and kind of dance around the question as best as I can, but bottom line - my childhood was pretty ordinary, except from a very early age, I wanted to be scared. I just did.}}</ref> He recalls showing his mother a story he copied out of a comic book. She responded: "I bet you could do better. Write one of your own." He recalls "an immense feeling of ''possibility'' at the idea, as if I had been ushered into a vast building filled with closed doors and had been given the key to open any I liked."<ref>{{cite book | last=King  | first= Stephen  | title= [[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] | date=2000 |page=28}}</ref> King was a voracious reader in his youth: "I read everything from [[Nancy Drew]] to ''[[Psycho (novel)|Psycho]]''. My favorite was ''[[The Shrinking Man]]'', by [[Richard Matheson]]—I was 8 when I found that."<ref name=":ByTheBook">{{Cite news |date=June 14, 2015 |title=Stephen King: By the Book |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/books/review/stephen-king-by-the-book.html?_r=1}}</ref> 

King's aunt Gert paid him a [[Quarter (United States coin)|quarter]] for every story he produced; his surviving earliest works include "[[Jhonathan and the Witchs]]", which he wrote at the age of nine.<ref name="WoodKing2012">{{cite book|first1=Rocky|last1=Wood|author-link1=Rocky Wood|first2=Stephen|last2=King|author-link2=Stephen King|title=Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9mAtwAACAAJ|year=2012|publisher=Overlook Connection Press|isbn=978-1-892950-59-8|pages=184–185}}</ref>

King asked a [[bookmobile]] driver, "Do you have any stories about how kids really are?" She gave him a copy of ''[[Lord of the Flies]]'', which proved formative: "It was, so far as I can remember, the first book with hands—strong ones that reached out of the pages and seized me by the throat. It said to me, 'This is not just entertainment; it's life or death.'... To me, ''Lord of the Flies'' has always represented what novels are ''for,'' why they are indispensable."<ref name=":LordOfTheFlies">King, Stephen. Introduction. ''[[Lord of the Flies]]'', [[William Golding]], 1954, William Golding Centenary ed. Faber and Faber, 2011. pp. vi-ix.</ref> He attended Durham Elementary School and entered [[Lisbon High School (Maine)|Lisbon High School]] in [[Lisbon Falls, Maine]], in 1962.<ref name="OfficialBio">{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Tabitha |last2=DeFilippo |first2=Marsha |title=The Author |url=https://stephenking.com/the-author/ |access-date= |work=stephenking.com}}</ref> He contributed to ''Dave's Rag'', the newspaper his brother printed with a [[mimeograph machine]], and later sold stories to his friends. His first independently published story was "[[I Was a Teenage Grave Robber]]", serialized over four issues of the [[fanzine]] ''Comics Review'' in 1965. He was a sports reporter for Lisbon's ''Weekly Enterprise''.

[[File:Hampden Academy.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|In 1971, King worked as a teacher at [[Hampden Academy]].]]
In 1966, King entered the [[University of Maine at Orono]] on a scholarship. While there, he wrote for the student newspaper, ''The Maine Campus'', and found mentors in the professors Edward Holmes and [[Burton Hatlen]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 25, 2010 |title=Edward M. Holmes |work=[[Bangor Daily News]] |url=https://www.bangordailynews.com/2010/07/25/obituaries/edward-m-holmes/}}</ref><ref name="bn">{{Cite news |last=Anstead |first=Alicia |date=January 23, 2008 |title=UM scholar Hatlen, mentor to Stephen King, dies at 71 |newspaper=[[Bangor Daily News]] |url=https://archive.bdnblogs.com/2008/01/23/um-scholar-hatlen-mentor-to-stephen-king-dies-at-71/| quote="Not only did he hone his writing under Hatlen's careful eye, but during the workshop he and Spruce fell in love and eventually married."}}</ref><ref name=":Singer">{{Cite magazine|author-link=Mark Singer (journalist)|first1=Mark|last1=Singer|date=September 7, 1998 |title=What Are You Afraid Of? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1998/09/07/what-are-you-afraid-of |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> King participated in a writing workshop organized by Hatlen, where he fell in love with [[Tabitha King| Tabitha Spruce]].<ref name="bn"/> King graduated in 1970 with a [[Bachelor of Arts#United States|Bachelor of Arts]] in English, and his daughter Naomi Rachel was born that year. King and Spruce wed in 1971.<ref name="OfficialBio"/> King paid tribute to Hatlen: "Burt was the greatest English teacher I ever had. It was he who first showed me the way to the pool, which he called 'the language pool, the myth-pool, where we all go down to drink.' That was in 1968. I have trod the path that leads there often in the years since, and I can think of no better place to spend one's days; the water is still sweet, and the fish still swim."<ref name="bn"/>

==Career==
===Beginnings===
King sold his first professional short story, "[[The Glass Floor]]", to ''Startling Mystery Stories'' in 1967.<ref name=OfficialBio/> After graduating from the University of Maine, King earned a certificate to teach high school but was unable to find a teaching post immediately. He sold short stories to magazines like ''[[Cavalier (magazine)|Cavalier]]''. Many of these early stories were republished in ''[[Night Shift (short story collection)|Night Shift]]'' (1978). In 1971, King was hired as an English teacher at [[Hampden Academy]] in [[Hampden, Maine]].<ref name=OfficialBio/> He continued to contribute short stories to magazines and worked on ideas for novels, including the [[anti-war novel]] ''[[Sword in the Darkness]]'', still unpublished.<ref>{{cite book |last=Blue |first=Tyson |title=The Unseen King |publisher=Borgo Press |year=1989 |isbn=1-55742-073-4}}</ref>

=== 1970s: ''Carrie'' to ''The Dead Zone'' ===
{{Multiple image|total_width = 400
| image1            = Portrait photograph of Stephen King by Alex Gotfryd, c. 1974.jpg
| image2            = Portrait photograph of Stephen King by Alex Gotfryd, c. 1977.jpg
| footer            = Portraits from the first edition of ''[[Carrie (novel)|Carrie]]'' (1974) (left) and ''[[The Shining (novel)|The Shining]]'' (1977) (right)
}}
King recalls the origin of his [[debut novel| debut]], ''[[Carrie (novel)|Carrie]]'': "Two unrelated ideas, adolescent cruelty and telekinesis, came together." It began as a short story intended for ''Cavalier''; King tossed the first three pages in the trash but his wife, [[Tabitha King|Tabitha]], recovered them, saying she wanted to know what happened next. She told him: "You've got something here. I really think you do."<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] |year=2000 |pages=75–77}}</ref> He followed her advice and expanded it into a novel.<ref>King, Tabitha, Introduction to ''Carrie'' (Collector's Edition) Plume 1991</ref> Per ''[[The Guardian]]'', ''Carrie'' "is the story of Carrie White, a high-school student with latent—and then, as the novel progresses, developing—telekinetic powers. It's brutal in places, affecting in others (Carrie's relationship with her almost hysterically religious mother being a particularly damaged one), and gory in even more."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/24/rereading-stephen-king-carrie|title=Rereading Stephen King: week one – Carrie|first=James|last=Smythe|date=May 24, 2012|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=February 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215215627/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/24/rereading-stephen-king-carrie|archive-date=February 15, 2019|url-status=live|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that "King does more than tell a story. He is a schoolteacher himself, and he gets into Carrie's mind as well as into the minds of her classmates. He also knows a thing or two about symbolism — blood symbolism especially."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Callendar |first=Newgate |date=May 24, 1974 |title=Criminals at Large |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/lifetimes/kin-r-carrie.html/ |access-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102165000/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/lifetimes/kin-r-carrie.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

King was teaching ''[[Dracula]]'' to high school students and wondered what would happen if Old World [[vampires]] came to a small New England town. This was the germ of ''[['Salem's Lot]]'', which King called "''[[Peyton Place (novel)|Peyton Place]]'' meets ''Dracula''".<ref name=":Deaver" /> King's mother died from uterine cancer around the time '''Salem's Lot'' was published.<ref name="OfficialBio" /> After his mother's death, King and his family moved to [[Boulder, Colorado]]. He paid a visit to the [[The Stanley Hotel|Stanley Hotel]] in [[Estes Park, Colorado|Estes Park]] which provided the basis for ''[[The Shining (novel)|The Shining]]'', about an alcoholic writer and his family taking care of a hotel for the winter.<ref name=":ParisReview"/> 

King's family returned to [[Auburn, Maine]] in 1975, where he completed ''[[The Stand]]'', an apocalyptic novel about a pandemic and its aftermath. King recalls that it was the novel that took him the longest to write, and that it was "also the one my longtime readers still seem to like the best".<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] |pages=201}}</ref> In 1977, the Kings, with the addition of [[Owen King|Owen Philip]], their third and youngest child, traveled briefly to England. They returned to Maine that fall, and King began teaching creative writing at the [[University of Maine]].<ref name="OfficialBio" /> The courses he taught on horror provided the basis for his first nonfiction book, ''[[Danse Macabre (King book)|Danse Macabre]]''. In 1979, he published ''[[The Dead Zone (novel)|The Dead Zone]]'', about an ordinary man gifted with [[second sight]]. It was the first of his novels to take place in [[Castle Rock (Stephen King)|Castle Rock, Maine]]. King later reflected that with ''The Dead Zone'', "I really hit my stride."<ref>{{cite book| last=King| first=Stephen| title=Four Past Midnight| date=1990|page=609}}</ref>

=== 1980s: ''Different Seasons'' to ''The Dark Half'' ===
In 1982, King published ''[[Different Seasons]]'', a collection of four novellas with a more serious dramatic bent than the horror fiction for which he had become famous.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lehmann-Haupt |first=Christopher |date=August 11, 1982 |title=Books of the Times |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/11/books/books-of-the-times-074639.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621171309/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/11/books/books-of-the-times-074639.html |archive-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref> Alan Cheuse wrote "Each of the first three novellas has its hypnotic moments, and the last one is a horrifying little gem."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cheuse |first=Alan |date=August 29, 1982 |title=Horror Writer Takes a Holiday |work=[[The New York Times Book Review]] |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/lifetimes/king-seasons.html?scp=84&sq=red%2520redemption&st=cse}}</ref> Three of the four novellas were adapted as films: ''[[The Body (King novella)|The Body]]'' as [[Stand by Me (film)|''Stand by Me'']] (1986);<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.etonline.com/all-the-stephen-king-easter-eggs-in-hulus-castle-rock-from-shawshank-to-sissy-spacek-106674 |title=All the Stephen King Easter Eggs in Hulu's 'Castle Rock' – From Shawshank to Sissy Spacek |website=[[Entertainment Tonight]] |date=July 25, 2018 |access-date=February 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215160028/https://www.etonline.com/all-the-stephen-king-easter-eggs-in-hulus-castle-rock-from-shawshank-to-sissy-spacek-106674 |archive-date=February 15, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption]]'' as ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]'' (1994);<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/09/shawshank-redemption-anniversary-story |title=The Little-Known Story of How The Shawshank Redemption Became One of the Most Beloved Films of All Time |first=Margaret |last=Heidenry |website=HWD |date=September 22, 2014 |access-date=February 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226150020/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/09/shawshank-redemption-anniversary-story |archive-date=February 26, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Apt Pupil]]'' as the [[Apt Pupil (film)|film of the same name]] (1998).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/102398apt-film-review.html|title='Apt Pupil': In a Suburb, Echoes of the Third Reich |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215160030/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/102398apt-film-review.html |archive-date=February 15, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The fourth, ''[[The Breathing Method]]'', won the [[British Fantasy Award]] for Best Short Fiction.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |date=1983 |title=British Fantasy Awards 1983 |url=https://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_1983 |website=www.sfadb.com}}</ref> King recalls "I got the best reviews in my life. And that was the first time that people thought, woah, this isn't really a horror thing."<ref name=":Gaiman">{{Cite web |author-link=Neil Gaiman|author-last1=Gaiman|author-first1=Neil|date=April 28, 2012 |title=Neil Gaiman's Journal: Popular Writers: A Stephen King Interview |url=https://journal.neilgaiman.com/2012/04/popular-writers-stephen-king-interview.html}}</ref>

King struggled with addiction throughout the decade and often wrote under the influence of cocaine and alcohol; he says he "barely remembers writing" ''[[Cujo]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] |year=2000 |pages=99}}</ref> In 1983, he published ''[[Christine (1983 novel)|Christine]]'', "A love triangle involving 17-year-old misfit Arnie Cunningham, his new girlfriend and a haunted 1958 [[Plymouth Fury]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephen King {{!}} Christine |url=https://stephenking.com/works/novel/christine.html |access-date=May 6, 2023 |website=stephenking.com |language=en}}</ref> Later that year, he published ''[[Pet Sematary]]'', which he had written in the late 1970s, when his family was living near a highway that "used up a lot of animals" as a neighbor put it. His daughter's cat was killed, and they buried it in a pet cemetery built by the local children. King imagined a burial ground beyond it that could raise the dead, albeit imperfectly. He initially found it too disturbing to publish, but resurrected it to fulfill his contract with [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Winter |first=Douglas |date=November 13, 1983 |title=Pet Sematary by Stephen King |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1983/11/13/pet-sematary-by-stephen-king-doubleday-373-pp-1595/c2a4bc17-1e88-429d-afd9-ea679ac95f4d/}}</ref> 

In 1985, King published ''[[Skeleton Crew (short story collection)|Skeleton Crew]]'', a book of short fiction including "[[The Reach]]" and ''[[The Mist (novella)|The Mist]]''. He recalls: "I would be asked, 'What happened in your childhood that makes you want to write those terrible things?' I couldn't think of any real answer to that. And I thought to myself, 'Why don't you write a final exam on horror, and put in all the monsters that everyone was afraid of as a kid? Put in Frankenstein, the werewolf, the vampire, the mummy, the giant creatures that ate up New York in the old B movies. Put 'em all in there."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cruz |first=Gilbert |date=November 3, 2009 |title=Stephen King on His 10 Longest Novels |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2009/11/09/stephen-king-on-his-10-longest-novels/slide/all/}}</ref> These influences coalesced into ''[[It (novel)|It]]'', about a shapeshifting monster that takes the form of its victims' fears and haunts the town of [[Derry (Stephen King)|Derry, Maine.]] He said he thought he was done writing about monsters, and wanted to "bring on all the monsters one last time…and call it It."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smythe |first=James |date=May 28, 2013 |title=Rereading Stephen King, chapter 21: It |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/may/28/rereading-stephen-king-it}}</ref> ''It'' won the [[August Derleth Award]] in 1987.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=sfadb: British Fantasy Awards 1987 |url=https://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_1987 |access-date=May 25, 2023 |website=www.sfadb.com}}</ref>

1987 was an unusually productive year for King. He published ''[[The Eyes of the Dragon]]'', a [[high fantasy]] novel which he originally wrote for his daughter.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smythe |first=James |date=January 20, 2013 |title=Rereading Stephen King, chapter 22: The Eyes of the Dragon |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/jun/20/rereading-stephen-king-eyes-of-the-dragon}}</ref> He published ''[[Misery (novel)|Misery]]'', about a popular writer who is injured in a car wreck and held captive by Annie Wilkes, his self-described "number-one fan". ''Misery'' shared the inaugural [[Bram Stoker Award]] with ''[[Swan Song (McCammon novel)|Swan Song]]'' by [[Robert R. McCammon]].<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |title=1987 Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners – The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/1987-bram-stoker-award-nominees-winner/ |access-date=May 6, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> King says the novel was influenced by his experiences with addiction: "Annie was my drug problem, and she was my number-one fan. God, she never wanted to leave."<ref name=":ParisReview"/> He published ''[[The Tommyknockers]]'', a science fiction novel filled, he says, with metaphors for addiction. After the book was published, King's wife staged an intervention, and he agreed to seek treatment for addiction.<ref name=":OnWriting">{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] |year=2000 |pages=96–97}}</ref> Two years later, he published ''[[The Dark Half]]'', about an author whose literary alter-ego takes on a life of his own.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smythe |first=James |date=October 21, 2013 |title=Rereading Stephen King, chapter 26: The Dark Half |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/oct/21/rereading-stephen-king-the-dark-half}}</ref> In the author's note, King writes that "I am indebted to the late [[Richard Bachman]]."<ref>King, Stephen. 1989. ''The Dark Half''. Author's Note.</ref>

===1990s: ''Four Past Midnight'' to ''Hearts in Atlantis''===
In 1990, King published ''[[Four Past Midnight]]'', a collection of four novellas with the common theme of time. In 1991, he published ''[[Needful Things]]'', his first novel since achieving sobriety, billed as "The Last Castle Rock Story".<ref name=":ParisReview"/> In 1992, he published ''[[Gerald's Game]]'' and ''[[Dolores Claiborne]]'', two novels about women loosely linked by a solar eclipse.<ref>King, Stephen. ''Dolores Claiborne''. 1992. p. xviii</ref> The latter novel is narrated by the title character in an unbroken monologue; [[Mark Singer (journalist)|Mark Singer]] described it as "a morally riveting confession from the earthy mouth of a sixty-six-year-old Maine coastal-island native with a granite-hard life but not a grain of self-pity". King said he based the character of Claiborne on his mother.<ref name=":Singer" /> 

In 1994, King's story "[[The Man in the Black Suit]]" was published in the [[Halloween]] issue of ''[[The New Yorker]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine| author=Stephen King| title=The Man in the Black Suit| date=October 31, 1994| magazine=[[The New Yorker]]| url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1994/10/31/the-man-in-the-black-suit}}</ref> The story went on to win the 1996 [[O. Henry Award]]. In 1996, King published ''[[The Green Mile (novel)|The Green Mile]],'' the story of a death row inmate, as a [[Serial (literature)|serial]] novel in six parts. It had the distinction of holding the first, fourth, tenth, twelfth, fourteenth, and fifteenth positions on the ''New York Times'' paperback-best-seller list at the same time.<ref name=":Singer" /> In 1998, he published ''[[Bag of Bones]]'', his first book with [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]], about a recently widowed novelist. Several reviewers said that it showed King's maturation as a writer; [[Charles de Lint]] wrote "He hasn't forsaken the spookiness and scares that have made him a brand name, but he uses them more judiciously now... The present-day King has far more insight into the human condition than did his younger self, and better yet, all the skills required to share it with us."<ref>{{Cite web |last=de Lint |first=Charles |date=February 1999 |title=Books to Look For |url=http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/cdl9902.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041227040550/http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/1999/cdl9902.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 27, 2004}}</ref> ''Bag of Bones'' won the [[Bram Stoker Award|Bram Stoker]] and [[August Derleth Award|August Derleth]] Awards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=sfadb: British Fantasy Awards 1999 |url=https://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_1999 |access-date=May 25, 2023 |website=www.sfadb.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1998 Bram Stoker Award Winners & Nominees – The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/1998-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/ |access-date=May 22, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> 

In 1999, he published ''[[The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon]]'', about a girl who gets lost in the woods and finds solace in listening to broadcasts of [[Boston Red Sox]] games, and ''[[Hearts in Atlantis]]'', a book of linked novellas and short stories about coming of age in the 1960s. Later that year, King was hospitalized after being hit by a van. Reflecting on the incident, he said "it occurs to me that I have nearly been killed by a character out of one of my own novels. It's almost funny." He said his nurses were "told in no uncertain terms, don't make any ''Misery'' jokes".<ref name=":Craft">{{Cite news |author=[[Terry Gross]] |date=July 2, 2010 |title=Stephen King: The 'Craft' of Writing Horror Stories |work=[[National Public Radio]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2010/07/02/128239303/stephen-king-the-craft-of-writing-horror-stories}}</ref>

=== 2000s: ''On Writing'' to ''Under the Dome'' ===
[[File:StephenKingGFDL.PNG|thumb|left|upright=0.7|King at the [[Harvard Book Store]], June 6, 2005]]
In 2000, King published ''[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft|On Writing]]'', a mix of memoir and style manual which ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' called "a one-of-a-kind classic".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nolan |first=Tom |date=September 29, 2000 |title=Portrait of an Author |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB970186662275614802}}</ref> Later that year he published ''[[Riding the Bullet]]'', "the world's first mass e-book, with more than 500,000 downloads". Inspired by its success, he began publishing an [[Epistolary novel|epistolary]] horror novel, ''[[The Plant (novel)|The Plant]]'', in online installments using the [[pay what you want]] method provided by [[Amazon.com]]'s Honor System.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://press.aboutamazon.com/2000/7/amazon-com-chosen-by-stephen-king-to-facilitate-payment-for-exclusive-serialized-online-novel-the-plant|title=Amazon.com Chosen by Stephen King to Facilitate Payment for Exclusive Serialized Online Novel, The Plant|date=July 24, 2000|website=US Press Center}}</ref> He suggested readers pay $1 per installment, and said he'd only continue publishing if 75% of readers paid.<ref name=":Dubner">{{Cite news |author=[[Stephen J. Dubner]] |date=August 13, 2000 |title=What Is Stephen King Trying To Prove? |work=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000813mag-king.html}}</ref> When ''The Plant'' folded, the public assumed that King had abandoned the project because sales were unsuccessful, but King later said he had simply run out of stories.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://slashdot.org/features/00/11/30/1238204.shtml |title=Stephen King's Net Horror Story |publisher=Slashdot |date=December 4, 2000 |access-date=September 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502064223/http://slashdot.org/features/00/11/30/1238204.shtml |archive-date=May 2, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> The unfinished novel is still available from King's official site, now free. 

In 2002, King published ''[[From a Buick 8]]'', a return to the territory of ''Christine''.<ref>{{Cite news |title=From a Buick 8 |work=Publishers Weekly |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780743211376}}</ref> In 2005, he published the mystery ''[[The Colorado Kid]]'' for the [[Hard Case Crime]] imprint.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Keith |first=Phipps |date=October 12, 2005 |title=Stephen King: The Colorado Kid |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |url=https://www.avclub.com/stephen-king-the-colorado-kid-1798201135}}</ref> In 2006, he published ''[[Cell (novel)|Cell]],'' in which a mysterious signal broadcast over cell phones turns users into mindless killers. That same year, he published ''[[Lisey's Story]]'', about the widow of a novelist. He calls it his favorite of his novels, because "I've always felt that marriage creates its own secret world, and only in a long marriage can two people at least approach real knowledge about each other. I wanted to write about that, and felt that I actually got close to what I really wanted to say."<ref name=":ByTheBook" /> In 2007, King served as guest editor for the annual anthology ''[[The Best American Short Stories]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=[[Best American Short Stories 2007]]|year=2007 |editor-last=King |editor-first=Stephen}}</ref>

[[File:Stephen King, Comicon.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|King in 2007]]
In 2008, King published ''[[Duma Key]]'', his first novel set in Florida,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maslin|first=Janet |date=January 21, 2008 |title=Darkness in the Land of Steady Sunshine |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/books/21maslin.html}}</ref> and the collection ''[[Just After Sunset]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harrison |first=M. John |date=November 14, 2008 |title=My poisoned bon-bons |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/nov/15/just-after-sunset-stephen-king}}</ref> In 2009, it was announced he would serve as a writer for ''[[Fangoria]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephen King writes for FANGORIA! |url=http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/1-latest-news/3978-stephen-king-writes-for-fangoria.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925002142/http://www.fangoria.com/home/news/1-latest-news/3978-stephen-king-writes-for-fangoria.html |archive-date=September 25, 2009}}</ref> King's novel ''[[Under the Dome (novel)|Under the Dome]]'' was published later that year, and debuted at No. 1 on [[The New York Times Bestseller List|''The New York Times'' Bestseller List]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2009-11-29/hardcover-fiction/list.html|title=Best Sellers – The New York Times|date=November 29, 2009|access-date=March 20, 2011|first=Jennifer|last=Schuessler|newspaper=The New York Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511170235/http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2009-11-29/hardcover-fiction/list.html|archive-date=May 11, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] said of it, "Hard as this thing is to hoist, it's even harder to put down."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=November 11, 2009 |title=Stephen King's Latest Cast Feels Real |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/books/12book.html}}</ref>

=== 2010s: ''Full Dark, No Stars'' to ''The Institute'' ===
In 2010, King published ''[[Full Dark, No Stars]]'', a collection of four novellas with the common theme of retribution. In 2011, he published ''[[11/22/63]]'', about a time portal leading to 1958, and an English teacher who travels through it to try to prevent the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Kennedy assassination]]. [[Errol Morris]] called it "one of the best time travel stories since [[H. G. Wells]]".<ref>{{Cite news |author=[[Errol Morris]] |date=November 10, 2010 |title=11/22/63 -- By Stephen King -- Book Review |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/books/review/11-22-63-by-stephen-king-book-review.html}}</ref> In 2013, he published ''[[Joyland (King novel)|Joyland]]'', his second book for Hard Case Crime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Joyland |url=http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bios.cgi?title=Joyland |access-date=May 11, 2023 |website=www.hardcasecrime.com}}</ref> Later that year, he published ''[[Doctor Sleep (novel)|Doctor Sleep]]'', a sequel to ''The Shining.''

During his Chancellor's Speaker Series talk at [[University of Massachusetts Lowell]] on December 7, 2012, King said that he was writing a crime novel about a retired policeman being taunted by a murderer, with the working title ''[[Mr. Mercedes]]''.<ref>[http://www.uml.edu/Chancellor/Speaker-Series/Stephen-King-Videos.aspx "A Conversation with Stephen King"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215114727/http://www.uml.edu/Chancellor/Speaker-Series/Stephen-King-Videos.aspx |date=December 15, 2012}}. Chancellor's Speaker Series. [[University of Massachusetts Lowell]]. Retrieved December 14, 2012.</ref> In an interview with ''[[Parade (magazine)|Parade]]'', he confirmed that the novel was "more or less" completed.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tucker |first=Ken |date=May 25, 2013 |title=A Rare Interview with Master Storyteller Stephen King |work=Parade |url=http://www.parade.com/15671/kentucker/summers-best-books-starring-stephen-king/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607090353/http://www.parade.com/15671/kentucker/summers-best-books-starring-stephen-king/ |archive-date=June 7, 2013}}</ref> It was published in 2014 and won the [[Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=The 2015 Edgar Winners & Nominees |work=Mystery Writers of America |url=http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html |access-date=October 26, 2023 |archive-date=November 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108155610/http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> He returned to horror with ''[[Revival (novel)|Revival]]'', which he called "a nasty, dark piece of work".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=November 3, 2014 |title=Revival by Stephen King review - Stephen King returns to the horror genre |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/07/revival-by-stephen-king-review-horrific-glimpse-abyss}}</ref> King announced in June 2014 that ''Mr. Mercedes'' was part of a trilogy; the sequel, ''[[Finders Keepers (King novel)|Finders Keepers]]'', was published in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=June 16, 2015 |title=Finders Keepers - Stephen King's gripping sequel to Mr Mercedes |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/16/finders-keepers-review-stephen-king}}</ref> The third book of the trilogy, ''[[End of Watch (novel)|End of Watch]]'', was released in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=June 8, 2016 |title=End of Watch by Stephen King - a gory climax to the Mercedes trilogy |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/08/end-of-watch-by-stephen-king-review}}</ref> In 2018, he released ''[[The Outsider (King novel)|The Outsider]]'', which features the character [[Holly Gibney]], and the novella ''[[Elevation (novella)|Elevation]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smythe |first=James |title=The Outsider by Stephen King review - an impossible alibi |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/18/the-outsider-by-sephen-king}}</ref> In 2019, he released ''[[The Institute (King novel)|The Institute]]''. 

=== 2020s: ''If It Bleeds'' to present ===
In 2020, King released ''[[If It Bleeds]]'', a collection of four novellas. In 2021, he published ''[[Later (novel)|Later]]'', his third book for Hard Case Crime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Later |url=http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bios.cgi?entry=bk164 |access-date=October 22, 2023 |website=www.hardcasecrime.com}}</ref> In 2022, King released the novel ''[[Fairy Tale (novel)|Fairy Tale]]''. ''[[Holly (novel)|Holly]]'', about Holly Gibney was released in September 2023.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Holly/Stephen-King/9781668016138|title=Holly|date=September 5, 2023 |isbn=9781668016138 |via=www.simonandschuster.com |last1=King |first1=Stephen |publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref> In November 2023, the short story collection ''[[You Like It Darker]]'', featuring twelve stories (seven previously published and five unreleased) was published by  [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] in May 2024.<ref name=philippa>{{Cite web |url=https://stephenkingbooks.co.uk/2023/11/07/you-like-it-darker-a-new-collection-of-stories-is-coming-in-may-2024/ |title=YOU LIKE IT DARKER, A NEW COLLECTION OF STORIES, IS COMING IN MAY 2024 |last=Pride |first=Philippa |website=Stephen King Books UK |date=2024 |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref> The book debuted at No. 1 on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list]] for the week ending May 25, 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2024/06/09/combined-print-and-e-book-fiction/|title=Combined Print & E-Book Fiction|work=The New York Times|date=June 9, 2024|access-date=May 31, 2024}}</ref> King announced a novel named ''[[Never Flinch]]'', featuring once again the character Holly Gibney'','' on November 18, 2024. The novel was released on May 27, 2025.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Never-Flinch/Stephen-King/9781668089330 |title=Never Flinch |date=May 27, 2025 |isbn=978-1-6680-8933-0 |language=en |last1=King |first1=Stephen |publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref>

===Pseudonyms===
{{Main|Richard Bachman}}

King published five short novels—''[[Rage (King novel)|Rage]]'' (1977), [[The Long Walk (novel)|''The Long Walk'']] (1979), ''[[Roadwork (novel)|Roadwork]]'' (1981), ''[[The Running Man (King novel)|The Running Man]]'' (1982) and ''[[Thinner (novel)|Thinner]]'' (1984)—under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. He explains: "I did that because back in the early days of my career there was a feeling in the publishing business that one book a year was all the public would accept...eventually the public got wise to this because you can change your name but you can't really disguise your style."<ref name="kingbachman">{{cite web |author=King, Stephen |title=Stephen King FAQ: "Why did you write books as Richard Bachman?" |url=http://www.stephenking.com/pages/FAQ/Stephen_King/whybachman.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115014750/http://www.stephenking.com/pages/FAQ/Stephen_King/whybachman.php |archive-date=November 15, 2006 |access-date=December 13, 2006 |publisher=StephenKing.com}}</ref> Bachman's surname is derived from the band [[Bachman–Turner Overdrive]] and his first name is a nod to Richard Stark, the pseudonym [[Donald E. Westlake]] used to publish his darker work.<ref>{{cite web |last=Newton |first=Steve |date=January 13, 2009 |title=Bachman-Turner Overdrive founder searched for Stephen King |url=https://www.straight.com/article-193999/bto-founder-searched-stephen-king |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118154751/http://www.straight.com/article-193999/bto-founder-searched-stephen-king |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |access-date=September 20, 2011 |website=Straight.com}}</ref> The Bachman books are grittier than King's usual fare; King called his alter-ego "Dark-toned, despairing...not a very nice guy." A [[Literary Guild]] member praised ''Thinner'' as "what Stephen King would write like if Stephen King could really write."<ref name=":Singer" /> 

Bachman was exposed as King's pseudonym in 1985 by Steve Brown, a Washington, D.C. bookstore clerk who noticed stylistic similarities between King and Bachman and located publisher's records at the [[Library of Congress]] that named King as the author of ''Rage''.<ref name=":Brown">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Stephen P. |date=April 9, 1985 |title=Steven King Shining Through |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/04/09/steven-king-shining-through/eaf662da-e9eb-4aba-9eb9-217826684ab6/}}</ref> King announced Bachman's death from "cancer of the pseudonym". King reflected that "Richard Bachman began his career not as a delusion but as a sheltered place where I could publish a few early books which I felt readers might like. Then he began to grow and come alive, as the creatures of a writer's imagination so frequently do... He took on his own reality, that's all, and when his cover was blown, he died."<ref>{{Cite web |last=King |first=Stephen |date=April 16, 1996 |title=The Importance of Being Bachman |url=https://harveystanbrough.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/The-Importance-of-Being-Bachman.pdf}}</ref> Originally, King planned ''Misery'' to be released under the pseudonym before his identity was discovered.<ref>{{cite book|title=Styles of Creation: Aesthetic Thechnique and the Creation of Fictional Worlds|first=Sharon|last=Delmendo|editor1-first=George Edgar|editor1-last=Slusser|editor2-first=Eric S.|editor2-last=Rabkin|page=[https://archive.org/details/stylesofcreation0000unse/page/177 177]|publisher=University of Georgia Press|year=1992|isbn=9780820314914|url=https://archive.org/details/stylesofcreation0000unse/page/177}}</ref>

When ''[[Desperation (novel)|Desperation]]'' (1996) was released, the companion novel ''[[The Regulators (novel)|The Regulators]]'' was published as a "discovered manuscript" by Bachman. In 2006, King announced that he had discovered another Bachman novel, ''[[Blaze (novel)|Blaze]]'', which was published the following year. The original manuscript had been held at the [[University of Maine]] for many years and had been covered by numerous King experts. King rewrote the original 1973 manuscript for its publication.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beahm |first=George |title=The Stephen King companion: forty years of fear from the master of horror |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin |year=2015 |isbn=9781466856684 |location=New York |pages=118–119}}</ref>

King has used other pseudonyms. In 1972, the short story "[[The Fifth Quarter (short story)|The Fifth Quarter]]" was published under the name John Swithen (a ''Carrie'' character) in ''Cavalier''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beahm |first=George |url=https://archive.org/details/stephenkingfromt00beah/page/75 |title=Stephen King from A to Z: An Encyclopedia of His Life and Work |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=978-0836269147 |page=[https://archive.org/details/stephenkingfromt00beah/page/75 75]}}</ref> ''[[Charlie the Choo-Choo|Charlie the Choo-Choo: From the World of The Dark Tower]]'' was published in 2016 under the pseudonym Beryl Evans and illustrated by [[Ned Dameron]].<ref>{{cite magazine |date=July 22, 2016 |title='Charlie the Choo-Choo': 'The Dark Tower' fans seek Stephen King storybook that isn't real |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/22/charlie-choo-choo-stephen-king-dark-tower-comic-con |url-status=live |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810013924/http://ew.com/article/2016/07/22/charlie-choo-choo-stephen-king-dark-tower-comic-con/ |archive-date=August 10, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref> It is adapted from a fictional book central to the plot of King's ''[[The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lilja's |url=http://liljas-library.com/cell/article.php?id=5157 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810012440/http://liljas-library.com/cell/article.php?id=5157 |archive-date=August 10, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017 |website=liljas-library.com}}</ref>

=== ''The Dark Tower'' ===
{{Main|The Dark Tower (series)}}
In the late 1970s, King began a series about a lone gunslinger, [[Roland Deschain|Roland]], who pursues the "[[Randall Flagg|Man in Black]]" in an alternate universe that is a cross between [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]] and the American [[Wild West]] as depicted by [[Clint Eastwood]] and [[Sergio Leone]] in their [[spaghetti Western]]s. The first story, ''[[The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger]]'', was initially published in five installments in ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction]]'' under the editorship of [[Edward L. Ferman]], from 1977 to 1981. It grew into an eight-volume epic, ''[[The Dark Tower (series)|The Dark Tower]]'', published between 1978 and 2012.

==Collaborations==
===Literature===
King co-wrote two novels with [[Peter Straub]], ''[[The Talisman (King and Straub novel)|The Talisman]]'' (1984) and ''[[Black House (novel)|Black House]]'' (2001).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Risen |first=Clay |date=September 6, 2022 |title=Peter Straub, Literary Master of the Supernatural, Dies at 79 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/06/books/peter-straub-dead.html}}</ref> Straub recalls that "We tried to make it as difficult as possible for readers to identify who wrote what. Eventually, we were able to successfully imitate each other's style... Steve threw in more commas or clauses, and I kind of made things more simple in sentence structure. And I tried to make things as vivid as I could because Steve is just fabulous at that, and also I tried to write more colloquially." Straub said the only person who could correctly identify who wrote which passages was a fellow author, [[Neil Gaiman]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=What is it Like...To Co-Write a Bestelling Novel With Stephen King? |work=USM Today |url=https://www.usm.org/about/usm-today/post/~board/2018-19-fall-winter/post/what-is-it-like-to-co-write-a-bestselling-novel-with-stephen-king}}</ref>

King and the photographer F-Stop Fitzgerald collaborated on the [[coffee table book]] ''[[Nightmares in the Sky|Nightmares in the Sky: Gargoyles and Grotesques]]'' (1988).<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 15, 1988 |title=Nightmares in the Sky |work=Kirkus Reviews}}</ref> He produced an [[artist's book]] with designer [[Barbara Kruger]], ''[[My Pretty Pony]]'' (1989), published in a limited edition of 250 by the Library Fellows of the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]]. [[Alfred A. Knopf]] released it in a general trade edition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=11920 |title=The Collection &#124; Barbara Kruger. My Pretty Pony. 1988 |publisher=MoMA |access-date=September 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202134210/http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=11920 |archive-date=February 2, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>  

King co-wrote ''[[Throttle (novella)|Throttle]]'' (2009) with his son [[Joe Hill (writer)|Joe Hill]]. The novella is an homage to [[Richard Matheson]]'s "Duel".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Conlon |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qKJ3pBPZK9UC&q=Throttle |title=He Is Legend: An Anthology Celebrating Richard Matheson |date=September 14, 2010 |publisher=Tor Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-4299-3423-7 |language=en}}</ref> Their second collaboration, ''[[In the Tall Grass]]'' (2012), was published in two parts in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/june-july-2012-contents |title=June/July 2012 Contents |work=Esquire |date=May 22, 2012 |access-date=January 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109033013/http://www.esquire.com/features/june-july-2012-contents |archive-date=January 9, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esquire.com/features/august-2012-contents |title=August 2012 Contents |work=Esquire |date=July 3, 2012 |access-date=January 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326235857/http://www.esquire.com/features/august-2012-contents |archive-date=March 26, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> King and his son [[Owen King|Owen]] co-wrote ''[[Sleeping Beauties (novel)|Sleeping Beauties]]'' (2018), set in a West Virginia women's prison.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maslin |first=Janet |title=Stephen King and Son Team Up For a Novel About Women Whose Sleep Should Not Be Disturbed |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 25, 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/books/review-sleeping-beauties-stephen-king-owen-king.html}}</ref> King and [[Richard Chizmar]] co-wrote ''[[Gwendy's Button Box]]'' (2017).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Truitt|first=Brian|date=May 22, 2017|title=Stephen King loads 'Gwendy's Button Box' with scares|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/05/22/gwendys-button-box-stephen-king-richard-chizmar-book-review/101788066/|access-date=February 9, 2021|website=[[USA Today]]|language=en-US|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811200106/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2017/05/22/gwendys-button-box-stephen-king-richard-chizmar-book-review/101788066/|url-status=live}}</ref> A sequel, ''Gwendy's Magic Feather'' (2019), was a solo effort by Chizmar.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Breznican|first=Anthony|date=May 1, 2019|title='Gwendy's Magic Feather' goes back to Stephen King's Castle Rock|url=https://ew.com/books/2019/05/01/richard-chizmar-gwendys-magic-feather-stephen-king/|access-date=February 9, 2021|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|language=EN|archive-date=February 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212233902/https://ew.com/books/2019/05/01/richard-chizmar-gwendys-magic-feather-stephen-king/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, King and Chizmar rejoined forces for ''[[Gwendy's Final Task]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sheehan |first=Bill |date=February 13, 2022 |title=Gwendy's Final Task |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/02/13/stephen-king-richard-chizmar-gwendys-final-task/}}</ref>

=== Film and television ===
King made his screenwriting debut with [[George A. Romero]]'s ''[[Creepshow]]'' (1982), a tribute to [[EC horror comics]]. In 1985, he wrote another horror anthology film, ''[[Cat's Eye (1985 film)|Cat's Eye]]''. [[Rob Reiner]], whose film ''[[Stand by Me (film)|Stand by Me]]'' (1986) is an adaptation of King's novella ''[[The Body (King novella)|The Body]]'', named his production company [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] after King's fictional town.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 22, 2017 |title=Rob Reiner |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/rob-reiner |access-date=October 30, 2023 |website=Television Academy Interviews |language=en}}</ref> Castle Rock Entertainment would produce other King adaptations, including Reiner's ''[[Misery (film)|Misery]]'' (1990) and [[Frank Darabont]]'s ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]'' (1994).

In 1986, King made his directorial debut with ''[[Maximum Overdrive]]'', an adaptation of his story "[[Trucks (short story)|Trucks]]". He recalls: "I was coked out of my mind all through its production, and really didn't know what I was doing."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harris |first=Blake |date=September 18, 2015 |title=How Did This Get Made? Maximum Overdrive (An Oral History) |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/540033/maximum-overdrive-oral-history/ |access-date=October 30, 2023 |website=/Film |language=en-US}}</ref> It was neither a critical nor a commercial success; King was nominated for a [[Golden Raspberry Awards|Golden Raspberry]] for Worst Director, but lost to [[Prince (musician)|Prince]], for ''[[Under the Cherry Moon]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2016 |title=Summer of '86: An All-Star Year for the Razzies |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/summer-of-86-an-all-star-year-for-the-razzies-155449151.html |access-date=October 31, 2023 |website=Yahoo Entertainment |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the 1990s, King wrote several miniseries: ''[[Golden Years (miniseries)|Golden Years]]'' (1991), ''[[The Stand (1994 miniseries)|The Stand]]'' (1994), ''[[The Shining (miniseries)|The Shining]]'' (1997) and ''[[Storm of the Century]]'' (1999).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/stephen-king-limited-tv-series-ranked/|title=Every Stephen King Limited Series, Ranked|first=Liam|last=Mathews|work=[[TV Guide]]|date=December 13, 2021|access-date=July 26, 2024}}</ref> He wrote the miniseries ''[[Rose Red (miniseries)|Rose Red]]'' (2002); ''[[The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red]]'' (2001) was written by [[Ridley Pearson]] and published anonymously as a tie-in for the series. He also developed ''[[Kingdom Hospital]]'' (2004), based on [[Lars von Trier]]'s ''[[The Kingdom (miniseries)|The Kingdom]]''.

===Music and theater===
King collaborated with [[Stan Winston]] and [[Mick Garris]] on the music video ''[[Michael Jackson's Ghosts]]'' (1996).<ref name="MJGhosts">{{cite magazine |last=King |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen King |date=July 3, 2009 |title=Memories of Michael Jackson |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2009/07/03/memories-michael-jackson |url-status=live |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919172854/http://www.ew.com/article/2009/07/03/memories-michael-jackson |archive-date=September 19, 2015 |access-date=April 30, 2015}}</ref> He co-wrote the musical ''[[Ghost Brothers of Darkland County]]'' (2012) with [[T. Bone Burnett]] and [[John Mellencamp]].<ref>{{cite news|last=D'Agostino|first=Ryan|title=No. 88: A Musical for Men|url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a3395/ghostbrothers1007/|work=[[Esquire (magazine)| Esquire]]| date=September 18, 2007}}</ref> A soundtrack album was released, featuring [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]], [[Elvis Costello]] and [[Rosanne Cash]], among others.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Danton |first=Eric R. |date=May 28, 2013 |title=John Mellencamp, Stephen King, T. Bone Burnett's 'Ghost Brothers of Darkland County' Album Premiere |pages= |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-74890}}</ref>

=== Comics ===
In 1985, King wrote a few pages of the benefit [[X-Men]] comic book ''[[Heroes for Hope Starring the X-Men]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephen King at The Comic Book Database |url=http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=2957 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100516054308/http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=2957 |archive-date=May 16, 2010 |access-date=September 12, 2010 |publisher=Comicbookdb.com}}</ref> He wrote the introduction to ''[[Batman]]'' No. 400, an anniversary issue where he expressed his preference for the character over [[Superman]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Manning |first=Matthew K. |title=DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7566-6742-9 |editor-last=Dolan |editor-first=Hannah |page=221 |chapter=1980s |quote=Batman celebrated the 400th issue of his self-titled comic with a blockbuster featuring dozens of famous comic book creators and... with an introduction by novelist Stephen King.}}</ref> In 2010, [[DC Comics]] premiered ''[[American Vampire]]'', a comic book series co-written by King and [[Scott Snyder]] and illustrated by [[Rafael Albuquerque (artist)|Rafael Albuquerque]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Rogers |first=Vaneta |date=October 26, 2009 |title=Stephen King Brings an ''American Vampire'' Tale to Vertigo |work=[[Newsarama]] |url=http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091026-american-vampire.html |url-status=dead |access-date=April 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028231812/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091026-american-vampire.html |archive-date=October 28, 2009}}</ref> King wrote the backstory of the first American vampire, Skinner Sweet, in the first five-issues story arc.<ref>Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 340: "The first five double-sized issues consisted of two stories, illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque. Scott Snyder wrote each issue's lead feature, and Stephen King wrote the back-up tales."</ref>

== Style, themes and influences ==

=== Style ===
[[File:Stephen King - 2011.jpg|thumb|right|250px|King in 2011]]
In ''[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft|On Writing]]'', King recalls:<blockquote>When, during the course of an interview for ''The New Yorker'', I told the interviewer (Mark Singer) that I believed stories are found things, like fossils in the ground, he said that he didn't believe me. I replied that that was fine, as long as he believed that ''I'' believe it. And I do. Stories aren't souvenir tee-shirts or GameBoys. Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered pre-existing world. The writer's job is to use the tools in his or her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible. Sometimes the fossil you uncover is small, a seashell. Sometimes it's enormous, a ''Tyrannosaurus Rex'' with all those gigantic ribs and grinning teeth. Either way, short story or thousand-page whopper of a novel, the techniques of excavation remain basically the same.<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] |year=2000 |pages=163–164}}</ref></blockquote>King often starts with a "what-if" scenario, asking what would happen if an alcoholic writer was stranded with his family in a haunted hotel (''[[The Shining (novel)|The Shining]]''), or if one could see the outcome of future events (''[[The Dead Zone (novel)|The Dead Zone]]''), or if one could travel in time to alter the course of history (''[[11/22/63]]'').<ref name="JennaBlum6">Jenna Blum, 2013, ''The Modern Scholar'' published by Recorded Books, ''The Author at Work: The Art of Writing Fiction'', Disk 1, Track 11, {{ISBN|978-1-4703-8437-1}}</ref> He writes that "The situation comes first. The characters—always flat and unfeatured, to begin with—come next. Once these things are fixed in my mind, I begin to narrate. I often have an idea of what the outcome may be, but I have never demanded a set of characters that they do things my way. On the contrary, I want them to do things ''their'' way. In some instances, the outcome is what I visualized. In most, however, it's something I never expected."<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft |year=2000 |pages=164–165}}</ref> 

[[Joyce Carol Oates]] called King "both a storyteller and an inventor of startling images and metaphors, which linger long in the memory."<ref name=":Oates"/> An example of King's imagery is seen in ''[[The Body (King novella)|The Body]]'' when the narrator recalls a childhood clubhouse with a tin roof and rusty screen door: "No matter what time of day you looked out that screen door, it looked like sunset... When it rained, being inside the club was like being inside a Jamaican steel drum."<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=Different Seasons |year=1982 |pages=302}}</ref> King writes that "The use of simile and other figurative language is one of the chief delights of fiction—reading it and writing it, as well. [...] By comparing two seemingly unrelated objects—a restaurant bar and a cave, a mirror and a mirage—we are sometimes able to see an old thing in a new and vivid way. Even if the result is mere clarity instead of beauty, I think writer and reader are participating together in a kind of miracle. Maybe that's drawing it a little strong, but yeah—it's what I believe."<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] |pages=179–180}}</ref>

=== Themes ===
When asked if fear was his main subject, King said "In every life you get to a point where you have to deal with something that's inexplicable to you, whether it's the doctor saying you have cancer or a prank phone call. So whether you talk about ghosts or vampires or Nazi war criminals living down the block, we're still talking about the same thing, which is an intrusion of the extraordinary into ordinary life and how we deal with it. What that shows about our character and our interactions with others and the society we live in interests me a lot more than monsters and vampires and ghouls and ghosts."<ref name=":ParisReview"/> 

Joyce Carol Oates said that "Stephen King's characteristic subject is small-town American life, often set in fictitious Derry, Maine; tales of family life, marital life, the lives of children banded together by age, circumstance, and urgency, where parents prove oblivious or helpless. The human heart in conflict with itself—in the guise of the malevolent Other. The '[[Gothic fiction|gothic]]' imagination magnifies the vicissitudes of 'real life' in order to bring it into a sharper and clearer focus."<ref name=":Oates"/> King's ''The Body'' is about [[coming of age]], a theme he has returned to several times, for example in ''[[Joyland (King novel)|Joyland]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=January 22, 2013 |title=Joyland by Stephen King -- review |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/22/joyland-stephen-king-review}}</ref>

King often uses authors as characters, such as Ben Mears in ''[['Salem's Lot]]'', Jack Torrance in ''[[The Shining (novel)|The Shining]]'', adult [[Bill Denbrough]] in ''[[It (novel)|It]]'' and Mike Noonan in ''[[Bag of Bones]]''. He has extended this to breaking the [[fourth wall]] by including himself as a character in three novels of [[The Dark Tower (series)|''The Dark Tower'']]. Among other things, this allows King to explore themes of authorship; [[George Stade]] writes that ''[[Misery (novel)|Misery]]'' "is a parable in chiller form of the popular writer's relation to his audience, which holds him prisoner and dictates what he writes, on pain of death" while ''[[The Dark Half]]'' "is a parable in chiller form of the popular writer's relation to his creative genius, the vampire within him, the part of him that only awakes to raise Cain when he writes."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stade |first=George |date=October 29, 1989 |title=His Alter-Ego is a Killer |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/lifetimes/king-darkhalf.html}}</ref>

Introducing King at the [[National Book Awards]], [[Walter Mosley]] said "Stephen King once said that daily life is the frame that makes the picture. His commitment, as I see it, is to celebrate and empower the everyday man and woman as they buy aspirin and cope with cancer. He takes our daily lives and makes them into something heroic. He takes our world, validates our distrust of it and then helps us to see that there's a chance to transcend the muck. He tells us that even if we fail in our struggles, we are still worthy enough to pass on our energies in the survival of humanity."<ref name="NBA"/> In his acceptance speech for the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, King said:<blockquote>"[[Frank Norris]], the author of ''[[McTeague]]'', said something like this: 'What should I care if they, i.e., the critics, single me out for sneers and laughter? I never truckled, I never lied. I told the truth.' And that's always been the bottom line for me. The story and the people in it may be make believe but I need to ask myself over and over if I've told the truth about the way real people would behave in a similar situation... We understand that fiction is a lie to begin with. To ignore the truth inside the lie is to sin against the craft, in general, and one's own work in particular."<ref name="NBA">{{Cite news |date=2003|title=Stephen King Accepts the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters|work=[[National Book Foundation]] |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/tag/stephen-king/}}</ref></blockquote>

===Influences===
In ''On Writing'', King says "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all: read a lot and write a lot."<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft |year=2000 |pages=145}}</ref> He emphasizes the importance of good description, which "begins with clear seeing and ends with clear writing, the kind of writing that employs fresh images and simple vocabulary. I began learning my lessons in this regard by reading [[Raymond Chandler|Chandler]], [[Dashiell Hammett|Hammett]], and [[Ross Macdonald]]; I gained perhaps even more respect for the power of compact, descriptive language from reading [[T. S. Eliot]] (those ragged claws scuttling across the ocean floor; those coffee spoons), and [[William Carlos Williams]] (white chickens, red wheelbarrow, the plums that were in the ice box, so sweet and so cold)."<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]] |year=2000 |pages=179–180}}</ref>

King has called [[Richard Matheson]] "the author who influenced me most".<ref name="io9">{{cite web | url=http://io9.com/r-i-p-richard-matheson-author-of-i-am-legend-and-many-564036878 | title=R.I.P. Richard Matheson, Author of I Am Legend and Many Other Classics | publisher=[[io9]] | date=June 24, 2013 | access-date=April 30, 2015 | last=Bricken | first=Rob | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512212548/http://io9.com/r-i-p-richard-matheson-author-of-i-am-legend-and-many-564036878 |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other influences include [[Ray Bradbury]],<ref name="nokingquote">{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/writtenby/writtenbysub.aspx?id=4869 |title=Ray Bradbury: A Lion at 90, 91, 92... |publisher=The Writers Guild of America |access-date=June 7, 2012 |author-last1=Stayton|author-first1=Richard |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506210719/http://www.wga.org/writtenby/writtenbysub.aspx?id=4869 |archive-date=May 6, 2013 }}</ref> [[Joseph Payne Brennan]],<ref>Spignesi, Stephen J. (August 4, 2010). ''The Essential Stephen King: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels, Short Stories. Movies, and Other Creations of the World's Most Popular Writer''. New Page Books. p. 312. Archived at [[Google Books]]. Retrieved September 22, 2013.</ref> [[James M. Cain]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Fassler |first=Joe |date=July 23, 2013 |title=Why Stephen King Spends 'Months and Even Years' Writing Opening Sentences |work=The Atlantic |url= https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/07/why-stephen-king-spends-months-and-even-years-writing-opening-sentences/278043/}}</ref> [[Jack Finney]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=[[11/22/63]] |pages=848–849}}</ref> [[Graham Greene]],<ref name=":ParisReview"/> [[Elmore Leonard]],<ref>"Exclusive: Stephen King on J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer"</ref> [[John D. MacDonald]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=King |first=Stephen |date=January 8, 2016 |title=John D and me |work=Herald Tribune |url=http://ticket.heraldtribune.com/2016/01/08/john-d-and-me-stephen-king/ |access-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-date=April 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419060448/http://ticket.heraldtribune.com/2016/01/08/john-d-and-me-stephen-king/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Don Robertson (author)|Don Robertson]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Robertson |first=Don |title=The Ideal, Genuine Man |publisher=Philtrum Press |year=1987 |location=Bangor, ME |pages=viiI |author-link=Don Robertson (author) |no-pp=true}}</ref> and [[Thomas Williams (writer)|Thomas Williams]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Parker |first=James |date=April 12, 2011 |title=Stephen King on the Creative Process, the State of Fiction, and More |work=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/04/stephen-king-on-the-creative-process-the-state-of-fiction-and-more/237023/}}</ref> He often pays homage to classic horror stories by retelling them in a modern context. He recalls that while writing ''[['Salem's Lot]]'', "I decided I wanted to try to use the book partially as a form of literary homage (as [[Peter Straub]] had done in ''[[Ghost Story (Straub novel)|Ghost Story]]'', working in the tradition of such 'classical' ghost story writers as [[Henry James]], [[M. R. James]], and [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]). So my novel bears an intentional similarity to [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]'', and after a while it began to seem I was playing an interesting—to me, at least—game of literary racquet-ball: ''<nowiki/>'Salem's Lot'' itself was the ball and ''Dracula'' was the wall I kept hitting it against, watching to see how and where it could bounce, so I could hit it again. As a matter of fact, it took some pretty interesting bounces, and I ascribe this mostly to the fact that, while my ball existed in the twentieth century, the wall was very much a product of the nineteenth."<ref>{{Cite book |last=King |first=Stephen |title=Danse Macabre |year=1981 |edition=2011 |pages=26}}</ref> Similarly, King's ''[[Revival (novel)|Revival]]'' is a modern riff on [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''[[Frankenstein]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Trussoni |first=Danielle |date=November 21, 2014 |title=Stephen King's Revival |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/books/review/stephen-kings-revival.html}}</ref> King dedicated it to "the people who built my house": Shelley, Stoker, [[H. P. Lovecraft]], [[Clark Ashton Smith]], [[Donald Wandrei]], [[Fritz Leiber]], [[August Derleth]], [[Shirley Jackson]], [[Robert Bloch]], Straub and [[Arthur Machen]], "whose short novel ''[[The Great God Pan]]'' has haunted me all my life".<ref>Stephen King. ''Revival''. Dedication. 2014.</ref> 

He provided an appreciation for [[The Golden Argosy (book)|''The Golden Argosy'']], a collection of short stories featuring [[Willa Cather| Cather]], [[Ernest Hemingway| Hemingway]], [[William Faulkner| Faulkner]], [[F. Scott Fitzgerald| Fitzgerald]] and others: "I first found ''The Golden Argosy'' in a Lisbon Falls (Maine) bargain barn called the Jolly White Elephant, where it was on offer for $2.25. At that time I only had four dollars, and spending over half of it on one book, even a hardcover, was a tough decision. I've never regretted it... ''The Golden Argosy'' taught me more about good writing than all the writing classes I've ever taken. It was the best $2.25 I ever spent."<ref name=Zane>{{cite web |last=King |first=Stephen |title=Stephen King's Top Ten List (2007) |url=http://toptenbooks.net/stephen-kings-top-ten-list |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902023534/http://www.toptenbooks.net/authors/Stephen-King |archive-date=September 2, 2012 |access-date=September 4, 2012}}</ref>

== Reception and influence ==
=== Critical reception ===
King has been praised for his use of realistic detail. In ''A Century of Great Suspense Stories'', editor [[Jeffery Deaver]] wrote that "While there were many good best-selling writers before him, King, more than anybody since [[John D. MacDonald]], brought reality to genre novels. He has often remarked that ''[['Salem's Lot]]'' was {{'}}''[[Peyton Place (novel)|Peyton Place]]'' meets ''[[Dracula]]''{{'}}. And so it was. The rich characterization, the careful and caring social eye, the interplay of story line and character development announced that writers could take worn themes such as vampirism and make them fresh again. Before King, many popular writers found their efforts to make their books serious blue-penciled by their editors. 'Stuff like that gets in the way of the story,' they were told. Well, it's stuff like that that has made King so popular, and helped free the popular name from the shackles of simple genre writing. He is a master of masters."<ref name=":Deaver">{{cite book|title=A Century of Great Suspense Stories|editor-first=Jeffrey|editor-last=Deaver|page=[https://archive.org/details/centuryofgreatsu00deav/page/290 290]|publisher=Berkley Hardcover|date=2001|isbn=0-425-18192-8|url=https://archive.org/details/centuryofgreatsu00deav/page/290}}</ref> [[Daniel Mendelsohn]], reviewing ''[[Bag of Bones]]'', wrote that "Stephen King is so widely accepted as America's master of paranormal terrors that you can forget his real genius is for the everyday... This is a book about reanimation: the ghosts', of course, but also Mike's, his desire to re-embrace love and work after a long bereavement that King depicts with an eye for the kind of small but moving details that don't typically distinguish blockbuster horror novels."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mendelsohn |first=Daniel |date=September 27, 1998 |title=Familiar Terrors |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/27/books/familiar-terrors.html}}</ref>

Many critics argue that King has matured as a writer. In his analysis of post–World War II horror fiction, ''The Modern Weird Tale'' (2001), [[S. T. Joshi]] devotes a chapter to King's work. Joshi argues that King's best-known works are his worst, describing them as mostly bloated, illogical, maudlin and prone to ''[[deus ex machina]]'' endings. Despite these criticisms, Joshi argues that since ''[[Gerald's Game]]'' (1992), King has been tempering the worst of his writing faults, producing books that are leaner, more believable and generally better written.<ref name="Joshi">{{cite book |last1=Joshi |first1=S. T. |author1-link=S T Joshi |title=The Modern Weird Tale |date=2001 |publisher=McFarland |location=Jefferson, N.C. |isbn=9780786409860 |pages=62–95 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/modernweirdtale0000josh/page/62 |chapter-url-access=registration|chapter=Stephen King: The King's New Clothes}}</ref>

In 2003, King was honored by the [[National Book Award]]s with a lifetime achievement award, the Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Some in the literary community expressed disapproval of the award: [[Richard E. Snyder]], the former CEO of [[Simon & Schuster]], described King's work as "non-literature" and critic [[Harold Bloom]] denounced the choice: "The decision to give the National Book Foundation's annual award for 'distinguished contribution' to Stephen King is extraordinary, another low in the shocking process of [[dumbing down]] our cultural life. I've described King in the past as a writer of [[penny dreadful]]s, but perhaps even that is too kind. He shares nothing with [[Edgar Allan Poe]]. What he is<!--not a mistake--> is an immensely inadequate writer on a sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph, book-by-book basis."<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/09/24/dumbing_down_american_readers/ | newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] | title=Dumbing down American readers | first=Harold | last=Bloom | date=September 24, 2003 | access-date=December 29, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617015302/http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/09/24/dumbing_down_american_readers/ | archive-date=June 17, 2006 | url-status=live }}</ref>
	
King acknowledged the controversy in his acceptance speech: "There are some people who have spoken out passionately about giving me this medal. There are some people who think it's an extraordinarily bad idea. There have been some people who have spoken out who think it's an extraordinarily good idea. You know who you are and where you stand and most of you who are here tonight are on my side. I'm glad for that. But I want to say it doesn't matter in a sense which side you were on. The people who speak out, speak out because they are passionate about the book, about the word, about the page and, in that sense, we're all brothers and sisters. Give yourself a hand."<ref name="NBA"/> [[Shirley Hazzard]], whose novel ''[[The Great Fire (Hazzard novel)|The Great Fire]]'' was that year's National Book Award winner, responded by criticizing King; she later said that she had never read him.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2003|title=Stephen King makes a prize call for populism |work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/21/usnationalbookawards.awardsandprizes}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] wrote that "A lot people were outraged when he was honored at the National Book Awards, as if a popular writer couldn't be taken seriously. But after finding that his book ''On Writing'' has more useful and observant things to say about the craft than any book since [[William Strunk Jr.|Strunk]] and [[E. B. White|White]]'s ''[[The Elements of Style]]'', I have gotten over my own snobbery. King has, after all, been responsible for the movies ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]'', [[The Green Mile (film)|''The Green Mile'']], ''[[The Dead Zone (film)|The Dead Zone]]'', ''[[Misery (film)|Misery]]'', ''[[Apt Pupil (film)|Apt Pupil]]'', ''[[Christine (1983 film)|Christine]]'', ''[[Hearts in Atlantis (film)|Hearts in Atlantis]]'', ''[[Stand by Me (film)|Stand By Me]]'' and ''[[Carrie (1976 film)|Carrie]]''... And we must not be ungrateful for ''[[Silver Bullet (film)|Silver Bullet]]'', which I awarded three stars because it was 'either the worst movie made from a Stephen King story, or the funniest', and you know which side of that I'm gonna come down on."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=March 12, 2004 |title=Secret Window |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/secret-window-2004}}</ref>

=== Appraisal by other authors ===
[[Cynthia Ozick]] said that, upon giving a reading with King, "It dawned on me as I listened to him that, never mind all the best sellers and all the stereotypes -- this man is a genuine, true-born ''writer'', and that was a revelation. He is not [[Tom Clancy]]. He writes sentences, and he has a literary focus, and his writing is filled with literary history. It's not glib, it's not just contemporary chatter and it's not stupid -- that's a bad way to say that something's smart, but that's what I mean."<ref name=":Dubner"/> 

[[Joyce Carol Oates]] praised King's [[sense of place]]: "His fiction is famously saturated with the atmosphere of Maine; much of his mostly vividly imagined work—''[[Salem's Lot]]'', ''[[Dolores Claiborne]]'', the elegantly composed story '[[The Reach]]', for instance—is a poetic evocation of that landscape, its history and its inhabitants."<ref name=":Oates"/> Oates included the latter story in the second edition of ''The Oxford Book of American Short Stories''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Book of American Short Stories |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |editor-last=Oates |editor-first=Joyce Carol |edition=2nd |pages=707}}</ref>

[[Peter Straub]] compared King favorably to [[Charles Dickens]]: "Both are novelists of vast popularity and enormous bibliographies, both are beloved writers with a pronounced taste for the morbid and grotesque, both display a deep interest in the underclass."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ciabattari |first=Jane |date=October 31, 2014 |title=Is Stephen King a great writer? |work=BBC Culture |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20141031-is-stephen-king-a-great-writer}}</ref> Straub included King's short story "[[That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French]]" in the [[Library of America]] anthology ''[[American Fantastic Tales]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |title= [[American Fantastic Tales]] |publisher=[[Library of America]] |year=2009 |editor-last=Straub |editor-first=Peter |pages=406}}</ref>

[[David Foster Wallace]] assigned ''[[Carrie (novel)|Carrie]]'' and ''[[The Stand]]'' while teaching at [[Illinois State University]]. Wallace praised King's ear for dialogue: "He's one of the first people to talk about real Americans and how they live, to capture real American dialogue in all its, like, foulmouthed grandeur... He has a deadly ear for the way people speak... Students come to me and a lot of them have been led to believe that there's good stuff and bad stuff, literary books and popular books, stuff that's redemptive and commercial shit—with a sharp line drawn between the two categories. It's good to show them that there's a certain amount of blurring. Surface-wise, King's work is a bit televisual, but there's really a lot going on."<ref name=":Singer" />

=== Influence ===
In an interview, [[Sherman Alexie]] recalls the influence of "Stephen King, who was always writing about underdogs, and bullied kids, and kids fighting back against overwhelming, often supernatural forces... The world aligned against them. As an Indian boy growing up on a reservation, I always identified with his protagonists. Stephen King, fighting the monsters."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mack |first=Sammy |date=November 19, 2013 |title=Author Sherman Alexie Talks Young Adult Fiction and Banned Books |work=State Impact |url=https://stateimpact.npr.org/florida/2013/11/19/author-sherman-alexie-talks-young-adult-fiction-and-banned-books/}}</ref>

[[Lauren Groff]] says that "I love Stephen King and I owe him more than I could ever express... I love his wild imagination and his vivid scenes, many of which populate my nightmares even decades after I last read the books they're in. But the greatest thing I gleaned most from reading Stephen King is his big-hearted glee, the way he treats writing with gratitude, the way he sees his job not as the source of anguish and pain many writers self-pityingly see it as, but rather as something he's over-the-moon delighted to be lucky enough to do. If I could steal one thing from King, and keep it close to my heart forever, it is his sense of almost-holy glee when it comes to writing."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Timberg |first=Scott |date=September 11, 2015 |title=Stephen King goes to the White House: With his National Medal of Arts, the master of horror plants both feet firmly in the literary canon |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/09/11/stephen_king_goes_to_the_white_house_with_his_national_medal_of_arts_the_master_of_horror_plants_both_feet_firmly_in_the_literary_canon/}}</ref>

The hero of [[Junot Díaz]]'s ''[[The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao]]'' dreams of being "the Dominican Stephen King", and Díaz alludes to King's work several times throughout the novel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Díaz |first=Junot |title=[[The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao]] |year=2007 |pages=12, 18, 27}}</ref> [[Colson Whitehead]] recalls that "The first big book I read was ''[[Night Shift (short story collection)|Night Shift]]'' by Stephen King, you know, a huge book of short stories. And so for many years I just wanted to write horror fiction."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Freeman |first=John |date=November 23, 2016 |title=Write the Book That Scares You: An Interview with Colson Whitehead |url=https://lithub.com/12-literary-writers-on-stephen-kings-influence/}}</ref> In a talk at [[Virginia Commonwealth University]], Whitehead recalls that in college "I wanted to write the black ''[[The Shining (novel)|Shining]]'' or the black ''[['Salem's Lot|Salem's Lot]]''... Take any Stephen King title and put 'the black' in front of it. That's basically what I wanted to do."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gresham |first=Tom |date=February 10, 2017 |title=Colson Whitehead tells the story behind the 'Underground Railroad' - VCU New - Virginia Commonwealth University |work=VCU News |url=https://news.vcu.edu/article/Author_tells_the_story_behind_his_awardwinning_Underground_Railroad}}</ref>

==Views and activism==
[[File:Gary Hart and Stephen King, 1984 presidential campaign.jpg|thumb|King campaigning for [[Gary Hart]] in 1984]]
King was raised [[Methodist]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rogovoy|first=Seth|title=The Secret Jewish History Of Stephen King|url=https://forward.com/culture/430773/the-secret-jewish-history-of-stephen-king/|url-status=live|access-date=September 2, 2020|website=The Forward|date=September 21, 2019 |language=en-US|quote=King, who turned 72 today, was raised Methodist and still identifies as such.|archive-date=December 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221165102/https://forward.com/culture/430773/the-secret-jewish-history-of-stephen-king/}}</ref><ref name=OfficialFAQ>{{cite web |url=http://www.stephenking.com/faq.html#0.5 |title=Frequently Asked Questions |website=StephenKing.com |access-date=October 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807233718/http://www.stephenking.com/faq.html#0.5 |archive-date=August 7, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> but lost his belief in organized religion while in high school. While not conventionally religious, he says he does believe in God.<ref name= guardian>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/29/stephen-king-religion-dangerous-god-exists |title=Stephen King: 'Religion Is a Dangerous Tool... but I Choose to Believe God Exists' |last=Flood |first=Allison |date=October 29, 2014 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=December 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116201401/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/29/stephen-king-religion-dangerous-god-exists |archive-date=January 16, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[File:Dark, chilling night in Germany with Stephen King 131118-F-YC884-226.jpg|thumb|right|upright|King at the [[Ramstein Air Base]] in Germany, 2013]]

King has supported several Democrats in presidential races.  In [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]], King endorsed [[Gary Hart]]'s presidential campaign.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 10, 1984 |title=Macabre King takes Hart |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/10/Macabre-King-takes-Hart/2538442558800/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104005900/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/10/Macabre-King-takes-Hart/2538442558800/ |archive-date=November 4, 2021 |access-date=July 9, 2021 |work=[[UPI]] |language=en}}</ref> During the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], King endorsed [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephen King backing Barack Obama - UPI.com |url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/01/19/Stephen-King-backing-Barack-Obama/99541200794102/ |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> In 2016, King was one of many writers who signed a letter condemning the candidacy of [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 24, 2016 |title=An Open Letter to the American People |url=https://lithub.com/an-open-letter-to-the-american-people/ |access-date=May 20, 2023 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> In the [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], King endorsed [[Elizabeth Warren]]'s [[Elizabeth Warren 2020 presidential campaign|campaign]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Christian |first=Carlos |date=February 4, 2020 |title=Stephen King Wants Warren to "Open a Large Can of Whup-Ass on Trump" |url=https://theunionjournal.com/stephen-king-wants-warren-to-open-a-large-can-of-whup-ass-on-trump/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215184124/https://theunionjournal.com/stephen-king-wants-warren-to-open-a-large-can-of-whup-ass-on-trump/ |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |access-date=February 15, 2020 |work=The Union Journal}}</ref> Warren eventually suspended her campaign, and King later endorsed [[Joe Biden]]'s [[Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign|campaign]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 general election]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Sternlicht |first=Alexandra |date=June 29, 2020 |title=Willie Nelson Joins List of Celebrities Endorsing Biden |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/06/29/willie-nelson-joins-list-of-celebrities-endorsing-biden/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729224114/https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/06/29/willie-nelson-joins-list-of-celebrities-endorsing-biden/#5fbdf2f375db |archive-date=July 29, 2020 |access-date=August 27, 2020 |work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> In July 2024, he called on [[Joe Biden]] to step down from the presidential race.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 8, 2024 |title=Stephen King Says Joe Biden Must Step Down; Rob Reiner Agrees: 'It's Time to Stop F—ing Around' Because 'We Lose Our Democracy' If Trump Wins |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/stephen-king-joe-biden-step-down-rob-reiner-election-1236062216/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)| Variety]]}}</ref> King went on to endorse [[Kamala Harris]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Glenn Garner |date=October 10, 2024 |title=Stephen King & Kumali Nanjiani Join Kamala Harris Campaign Events |url=https://deadline.com/2024/10/stephen-king-kumail-nanjiani-join-kamala-harris-campaign-events-1236112944/ |work=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref>

On April 30, 2012, King published an article in ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' calling for rich Americans, including himself, to pay more taxes, citing it as "a practical necessity and moral imperative that those who have received much should be obligated to pay ... in the same proportion".<ref name="DailyBeast">{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=King |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/30/stephen-king-tax-me-for-f-s-sake.html |title=Stephen King: Tax Me, for F@%&'s Sake! |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=March 21, 2011 |access-date=May 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501025742/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/30/stephen-king-tax-me-for-f-s-sake.html |archive-date=May 1, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> King testified in an August 2022 case brought by the U.S. [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] to block a $2.2&nbsp;billion merger of [[Penguin Random House]] and [[Simon & Schuster]] (two of the "Big Five" book publishers).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peng |first=Evan |date=July 19, 2022 |title=Stephen King Is Set to Testify in Book Publishing Antitrust Trial |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-19/stephen-king-set-to-testify-in-book-publishing-antitrust-trial?sref=5snUeRKh |access-date=August 1, 2022 |website=Bloomberg}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' credited King's high-profile testimony, which was against his own publisher, with helping to convince presiding judge [[Florence Y. Pan]] with ultimately blocking the merger.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Alter |first1=Alexandra |last2=Harris |first2=Elizabeth A. |date=October 31, 2022 |title=Judge Blocks a Merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/books/penguin-random-house-simon-schuster.html |access-date=March 30, 2025 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

In April 2008, King spoke out against HB 1423, a bill pending in the [[Massachusetts state legislature]] that would restrict or ban the sale of [[Video game controversies|violent video games]] to anyone under the age of 18. King argued that such laws allow legislators to ignore the economic divide between the rich and poor and the easy availability of guns, which he believed were the actual causes of violence.<ref>King, Stephen; "Videogame Lunacy"; "The Pop of King" ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''; April 11, 2008.</ref> In 2013 King published an essay titled ''[[Guns (essay)|Guns]],'' which discusses the [[Gun politics in the United States|gun debate]] in the wake of the [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting]]. King called for gun owners to support a ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |title=Stephen King risks wrath of NRA by releasing pro-gun control essay|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/25/stephen-king-gun-control-essay-amazon-nra|newspaper=The Guardian|date=January 25, 2013|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606221946/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/25/stephen-king-gun-control-essay-amazon-nra|archive-date=June 6, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=King|first=Stephen|title=Stephen King: why the US must introduce limited gun controls|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/feb/01/stephen-king-pulled-book-gun-controls|newspaper=The Guardian|date=February 1, 2013|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226055118/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/feb/01/stephen-king-pulled-book-gun-controls|archive-date=February 26, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> 

In June 2018, King called for the release of the Ukrainian filmmaker [[Oleg Sentsov]], who was jailed in Russia.<ref>{{cite news|title=Author Stephen King calls for release of 'unjustly imprisoned' Sentsov|date=June 15, 2018|newspaper=Kyiv Post|url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/author-stephen-king-calls-for-release-of-unjustly-imprisoned-sentsov.html|access-date=February 19, 2019|archive-date=November 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104005911/https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/author-stephen-king-calls-for-release-of-unjustly-imprisoned-sentsov.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  In July 2022, Stephen King appeared in a video call with the Russian pranksters [[Vovan and Lexus]] who played the role of [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]]. In the call Stephen King said "You can always find things about people to pull them down. [[George Washington|Washington]] and [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] were slave owners—that doesn't mean they didn't do many good things to the United States of America. There are always people who have flaws, we are humans. On the whole, I think [[Stepan Bandera|Bandera]] is a great man, and you're a great man, and Viva Ukraine!"<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 19, 2022 |title=Stephen King Appears to Be Pranked By Fake Zelensky, Praises Nazi Collaborator As 'Great Man' |url=https://www.mediaite.com/entertainment/stephen-king-appears-to-be-pranked-by-fake-zelensky-praises-nazi-collaborator-as-great-man/ |access-date=July 19, 2022 |website=[[Mediaite]] |language=en}}</ref> However, King later realized that he was pranked and apologized on Twitter, noting that he was not the only victim and "other victims who fell for these guys include [[J. K. Rowling]], [[Prince Harry]], and [[Justin Trudeau]]".<ref>{{cite tweet |first=Stephen |last=King |user=stephenking |number=1550118187840114695 |title=Actually, turned out I WAS pranked. Had no idea who this guy Bandera was. So...I'm embarrassed. But it turns out I wasn't alone. Other victims who fell for these guys include J.K. Rowling, Prince Harry, and Justin Trudeau. |access-date=September 7, 2022}}</ref>

Two days after the [[Charlie Kirk assassination|assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk]], King posted on X, "He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin'." The comment sparked backlash, leading King to issue an apology in a later tweet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robledo |first=Anthony |title='Won't happen again': Stephen King apologizes for claim about Charlie Kirk |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/09/12/stephen-king-charlie-kirk/86123212007/ |access-date=2025-10-22 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Maine politics===
King endorsed [[Shenna Bellows]] in the [[2014 United States Senate election in Maine|2014 U.S. Senate election]] for the seat held by [[Maine Republican Party|Republican]] [[Susan Collins (politician)|Susan Collins]].<ref>{{cite web |author=King, Stephen |url=http://bangordailynews.com/2014/05/29/opinion/for-this-lifetime-mainer-bellows-is-the-clear-choice/ |title=For this lifetime Mainer, Bellows is the clear choice |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |date=May 30, 2014 |access-date=May 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530070315/http://bangordailynews.com/2014/05/29/opinion/for-this-lifetime-mainer-bellows-is-the-clear-choice/ |archive-date=May 30, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> King publicly criticized [[Paul LePage]] during LePage's tenure as [[Governor of Maine]], referring to him as one of [[The Three Stooges]] (with then-[[Governor of Florida|Florida Governor]] [[Rick Scott]] and then-[[Governor of Wisconsin|Wisconsin Governor]] [[Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker]] being the other two).<ref name="stooges">Bershad, Jon. [http://www.mediaite.com/online/stephen-king-speaks-budget-cut-protest-says-florida-governor-should-star-in-his-next-horror-novel/ "Stephen King Speaks At Budget Cut Protest, Says Florida Governor Should Star In His Next Horror Novel"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312103308/http://www.mediaite.com/online/stephen-king-speaks-budget-cut-protest-says-florida-governor-should-star-in-his-next-horror-novel/|date=March 12, 2011}}, Mediaite, March 9, 2011</ref> He was critical of LePage for incorrectly suggesting in a 2015 radio address that King avoided paying Maine income taxes by living out of state for part of the year. The statement was later corrected by the governor's office, but no apology was issued. King said LePage was "full of the stuff that makes the grass grow green"<ref>{{cite news |last=Mistler |first=Steve |title=Stephen King calls out LePage on erroneous tax statements |url=http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/03/20/stephen-king-calls-out-lepage-on-erroneous-tax-statements/ |newspaper=Kennebec Journal |date=March 20, 2015 |access-date=March 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322234500/http://www.centralmaine.com/2015/03/20/stephen-king-calls-out-lepage-on-erroneous-tax-statements/ |archive-date=March 22, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and demanded that LePage "man up and apologize".<ref>{{cite news |last=Mistler |first=Steve |title=King to LePage: 'Man up and apologize'|url=http://contributors.pressherald.com/politics/capitol-ticker/king-to-lepage-man-up-and-apologize/ |newspaper=Kennebec Journal |date=March 20, 2015 |access-date=March 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322104045/http://contributors.pressherald.com/politics/capitol-ticker/king-to-lepage-man-up-and-apologize/ |archive-date=March 22, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> LePage declined to apologize to King, stating, "I never said Stephen King did not pay income taxes. What I said was, Stephen King's not in Maine right now. That's what I said."<ref>{{cite news |last=Mistler |first=Steve |title=LePage crashes local budget forum, denies saying Stephen King doesn't pay taxes |url=http://contributors.pressherald.com/politics/capitol-ticker/lepage-crashes-local-democrats-budget-forum-denies-he-said-stephen-king-doesnt-pay-taxes/ |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |date=March 26, 2015 |access-date=March 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328191801/http://contributors.pressherald.com/politics/capitol-ticker/lepage-crashes-local-democrats-budget-forum-denies-he-said-stephen-king-doesnt-pay-taxes/ |archive-date=March 28, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The attention garnered by the LePage criticism led to efforts to encourage King to run for Governor of Maine in the then-upcoming [[2018 Maine gubernatorial election|2018 gubernatorial election]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2015/03/23/stephen-king-for-governor-horror-story-or-best-seller/ |title=Stephen King for governor: Horror story or best seller? |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |first=Christopher |last=Cousins |date=March 23, 2015 |access-date=March 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325191116/http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2015/03/23/stephen-king-for-governor-horror-story-or-best-seller/ |archive-date=March 25, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> King said he would not run or serve.<ref name=kingno>{{cite news |url=http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2015/03/23/update-king-continues-attack-on-lepage-says-i-will-not-run-for-governor/ |title=UPDATE: King continues attack on LePage, says 'I will not run' for governor |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |first=Christopher |last=Cousins |date=March 23, 2015 |access-date=March 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326193820/http://stateandcapitol.bangordailynews.com/2015/03/23/update-king-continues-attack-on-lepage-says-i-will-not-run-for-governor/ |archive-date=March 26, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> King sent a tweet on June 30, 2015, calling LePage "a terrible embarrassment to the state I live in and love. If he won't govern, he should resign." He later clarified that he was not calling on LePage to resign, but to "go to work or go back home".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://hashtagmaine.bangordailynews.com/2015/07/01/reddit/stephen-king-joins-call-for-lepage-to-resign/ |title=Stephen King joins call for LePage to resign |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |first=Erin |last=Rhoda |date=July 1, 2015 |access-date=July 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701205647/https://hashtagmaine.bangordailynews.com/2015/07/01/reddit/stephen-king-joins-call-for-lepage-to-resign/ |archive-date=July 1, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> On August 27, 2016, King called LePage "a bigot, a homophobe, and a racist".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2016/08/28/maines-stephen-king-says-gov-paul-lepage-is-a-bigot-a-homophobe-and-a-racist/ |title=Maine's Stephen King says Gov. Paul LePage 'is a bigot, a homophobe, and a racist' |publisher=Boston.com |first=Nik |last=DeCosta-Klipa |date=August 28, 2016 |access-date=September 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831181647/http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2016/08/28/maines-stephen-king-says-gov-paul-lepage-is-a-bigot-a-homophobe-and-a-racist |archive-date=August 31, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Philanthropy==
King subsidizes the [[National Poetry Foundation]], which was directed by his professor and mentor [[Burton Hatlen]], and has endowed scholarships named for another professor, Edward Holmes. Mark Singer also notes Bangor's "most monumental testament to King's philanthropy", the "Shawn T. Mansfield Baseball Complex, dedicated six years ago in memory of the son of a Little League coach and friend of King's who died at fourteen of cerebral palsy."<ref name=":Singer" /> King has stated that he donates approximately $4&nbsp;million per year "to libraries, local fire departments that need updated lifesaving equipment ([[Jaws of Life]] tools are always a popular request), schools, and a scattering of organizations that underwrite the arts".<ref name="DailyBeast" /><ref name="GuardianTax">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/01/stephen-king-tax-the-rich | title=Stephen King: I'm rich, tax me | newspaper=The Guardian | date=May 1, 2012 | access-date=March 30, 2015 | author-last1=Flood|author-first1=Alison | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150324122246/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/01/stephen-king-tax-the-rich | archive-date=March 24, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, chaired by King and his wife, ranks sixth among Maine charities in terms of average annual giving, with over $2.8&nbsp;million in grants per year, according to [[The Grantsmanship Center]].<ref name="Grantsmanship">{{cite news | url=https://www.tgci.com/funding-sources/ME/top | title=Top Giving Foundations: ME | newspaper=The Grantsmanship Center | access-date=March 30, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402105604/https://www.tgci.com/funding-sources/ME/top | archive-date=April 2, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, King, [[Peter Straub]], [[John Grisham]] and [[Pat Conroy]] organized the Wavedancer Benefit, a public reading to raise funds for the actor and audiobook reader [[Frank Muller]], who had been injured in a motorcycle accident.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 1, 2002 |title=Stephen King scares up support for fallen friend |work=[[USA Today]] |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlight/2002/02-01-king-spotlight.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=November 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425074150/http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlight/2002/02-01-king-spotlight.htm |archive-date=April 25, 2011}}</ref> Their reading was released as an audiobook.<ref>{{cite web| date= 2002| title= The Wavedancer Benefit: A Tribute to Frank Marshall| url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780743527361}}</ref> In November 2011, the STK Foundation donated $70,000 in matched funding via his radio station to help pay the heating bills for families in need in his hometown of Bangor, Maine, during the winter.<ref>{{cite news |first=Alison |last=Flood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/10/stephen-king-donate-70000-maine?intcmp=239 |title=Stephen King to donate $70,000 to heat Maine homes |newspaper=The Guardian |location=UK |date=November 10, 2011 |access-date=May 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228090520/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/10/stephen-king-donate-70000-maine?intcmp=239 |archive-date=December 28, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2021, King's Foundation donated $6,500 to help children from the Farwell Elementary School in [[Lewiston, Maine]], to publish two novels on which they had been working over the course of several prior years, before being stopped due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Maine]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Guzman |first1=Joseph |title=Stephen King donation to elementary students will allow them to publish their own books |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/enrichment/education/538690-stephen-king-donation-to-elementary-students-will-allow |access-date=February 14, 2022 |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date=February 12, 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[Image:Stephenking house.JPG|thumb|300px|King's home in [[Bangor, Maine|Bangor]]]]
After meeting her while studying at the [[University of Maine]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Tremaine |first=Julie |date=September 16, 2023 |title=Stephen King and Tabitha King: All About Their Decades-Long Romance |url=https://people.com/all-about-stephen-king-tabitha-king-relationship-7629516 |access-date=October 26, 2024 |website=[[Peoplemag|People]] |language=en}}</ref> King married [[Tabitha King|Tabitha Spruce]] on January 2, 1971.<ref>{{cite web |last1=King |first1=Stephen |title=Stephen King on Twitter: "A couple of kids got married 48 years ago today. So far it's worked out pretty well. Still in love." |url=https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/1080588109065191426 |website=Twitter |access-date=January 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102232359/https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/1080588109065191426 |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> She is also a novelist and philanthropist. She has been supportive of him throughout his career, even rescuing his early manuscript of ''Carrie'' from the trash when he doubted himself.<ref name=":0" /> They own and divide their time between three houses: one in [[Bangor, Maine]], one in [[Lovell, Maine]], and for the winter a waterfront mansion located off the [[Gulf of Mexico]] in [[Sarasota, Florida]]. King's home in Bangor has been described as an unofficial tourist attraction, and {{as of|2019|lc=yes}}, the couple plan to convert it into a facility housing his archives and a writers' retreat.<ref>{{cite magazine|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/stephen-king-bangor-museum-retreat-896011/|title = Stephen King's House to Become Archive and Writers' Retreat|magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]|date = October 17, 2019|access-date = December 29, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191220073506/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/stephen-king-bangor-museum-retreat-896011/|last = Ehrlich|first = Brenna|archive-date = December 20, 2019|url-status = live}}</ref>

[[File:Portrait photograph of Owen and Stephen King by James Leonard, c. 1982.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of [[Owen King|Owen]] and Stephen from the first edition of ''[[Different Seasons]]'' (1982)]]
The Kings have three children—two sons and a daughter, Naomi (born June 1, 1970), who is a [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian Universalist Church]] minister in [[Plantation, Florida]], with her partner, [[Thandeka (minister)|Thandeka]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riverofgrass.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=27&Itemid=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502063226/http://www.riverofgrass.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=27&Itemid=12 |archive-date=May 2, 2010 |title=River of Grass Ministry |access-date=April 5, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Both of King's sons are also professional authors: [[Owen King]] (born February 21, 1977)<ref name=":0" /> published his first collection of stories, ''We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories'', in 2005. [[Joe Hill (writer)|Joseph Hillström King]] (born June 4, 1972),<ref name=":0" /> who writes as Joe Hill, published his first collection of short stories, ''[[20th Century Ghosts]]'', in 2005.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i24f58f9705c1a288fbb70a9ce94d51e1 |title=Jordan will build 'Box' for Warners |magazine=Hollywood Reporter |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930223244/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i24f58f9705c1a288fbb70a9ce94d51e1 |archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref>
[[File:SA&Mlr (cropped) (2).jpg|thumb|King wearing a [[Boston Red Sox]] jersey at a book signing in November 2004]]

King is a longtime fan of baseball, particularly the [[Boston Red Sox]]. In 1990, King published an essay about Owen's [[Little League Baseball|Little League]] team in ''[[The New Yorker]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=King |first=Stephen |date=April 16, 1990 |title=Head Down |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1990/04/16/head-down}}</ref> King and [[Stewart O'Nan]] coauthored ''[[Faithful (book)|Faithful]]'', a chronicle of their correspondence about the historic [[2004 Boston Red Sox season]] which culminated in the Sox winning the [[2004 World Series]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Red Sox offense woke up minutes after Stephen King tweeted about the team's struggles|url=https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2019/04/30/red-sox-stephen-king-tweet/|access-date=August 18, 2021|website=www.boston.com|date=April 30, 2019 |language=en-US|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818230642/https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2019/04/30/red-sox-stephen-king-tweet/|url-status=live}}</ref> The game features in King's novellas ''[[The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon]]'' (1999) and ''[[Blockade Billy]]'' (2010).

Music, particularly  rock, plays a role in much of King's work. On the [[BBC]] program ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', King's number one choice was [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Desolation Row]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005|title= BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Stephen King|work=[[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0093ttz}}</ref> On another BBC program, ''Paperback Writers'', he made new selections, among them [[AC/DC]]'s [[Stiff Upper Lip (AC/DC song)|"Stiff Upper Lip"]], [[Danny & the Juniors]]'s "[[At the Hop]]" and [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]]'s "[[It Came Out of the Sky]]".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020|title= BBC Radio 6 Music - Paperback Writers, Stephen King|work=[[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06kvlgx}}</ref> He played guitar for the [[Rock Bottom Remainders]], a [[charity supergroup]] whose members included [[Amy Tan]], [[Barbara Kingsolver]], [[Dave Barry]], [[Scott Turow]], [[James McBride (writer)|James McBride]], [[Mitch Albom]], [[Roy Blount, Jr.]], [[Matt Groening]], [[Greg Iles]], [[Kathi Kamen Goldmark]] and other authors. They released an album, ''[[Stranger than Fiction (compilation album)|Stranger Than Fiction]]'' (1998), under Goldmark's label, Don't Quit Your Day Job Records.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=March 30, 2012 |title=Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Writers' Catalyst, Dies at 63 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/books/kathi-kamen-goldmark-writers-catalyst-dies-at-63.html |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> King and his band-mates coauthored ''Midlife Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude'' (1994) and the e-book ''Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All'' (2013).<ref>{{cite web|last=Domonoske|first=Camila|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/06/17/191288040/digital-scrapbook-collects-rock-star-authors-memories|publisher=NPR|date=June 17, 2013|access-date=October 20, 2013|title=Digital Scrapbook Collects Rock-Star Authors' Memories|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020163723/http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/06/17/191288040/digital-scrapbook-collects-rock-star-authors-memories|archive-date=October 20, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> King's favorite books about music are [[Greil Marcus]]'s ''[[Mystery Train (book)|Mystery Train]]'' and ''[[Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century|Lipstick Traces]]'' and Chris Willman's ''Rednecks and Bluenecks''.<ref name=":ByTheBook"/>

King and his wife own the Zone Corporation, a radio station group established in 1983 to acquire WACZ in Bangor, which was renamed [[WZON]].<ref name="bdn-zonestart">{{cite news |last1=Grosswiler |first1=Paul |title=Stephen King has no diabolical plan for radio station |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DCw0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=P-EIAAAAIBAJ&pg=2732%2C2764772 |access-date=December 29, 2024 |work=[[Bangor Daily News]] |date=July 23–24, 1983 |page=ME 3}}</ref><ref>McCrea, Nick. (August 23, 2001), [http://bangordailynews.com/2011/08/23/news/bangor/author-stephen-king-offers-left-leaning-talk-show/ "Stephen King announces new radio show, hopes it will 'burn some feet'"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005230856/http://bangordailynews.com/2011/08/23/news/bangor/author-stephen-king-offers-left-leaning-talk-show/ |date=October 5, 2011}}. ''Bangor Daily News''</ref> Two additional stations, [[WKIT-FM]] and [[WNSW (Maine)|WNSW]] in [[Brewer, Maine|Brewer]], were added in 1995;<ref name="bdn-wkitwnswbuy">{{cite news |title=Stephen King buys 2 more radio stations |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dbhJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ww4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6027%2C348313 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |work=[[Bangor Daily News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 17–18, 1995 |page=A5}}</ref> WNSW was quickly closed down.<ref name="bdn-wnswclosure">{{cite news |last1=Kessell |first1=Doug |title=Bangor AM radio station signs off |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CahJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ig4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=5280%2C2509895 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |work=[[Bangor Daily News]] |date=October 25, 1995 |page=A5}}</ref> A third station, WDME-FM in [[Dover-Foxcroft, Maine|Dover-Foxcroft]] (later renamed [[WZLO]]), was acquired in 2001.<ref name="bdn-saletozone">{{cite news |last1=Neff |first1=Andrew |title=WDME will air local sports |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=86RJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ng0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6423%2C858252 |access-date=December 29, 2024 |work=[[Bangor Daily News]] |date=April 5, 2001 |pages=C7, D1}}</ref> In December 2024, King announced that the stations would shut down at the end of the year. He cited his advancing age and financial losses from the stations as reasons for the closure.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/arts/stephen-king-maine-radio-stations.html|title = Stephen King to Close His Maine Radio Stations|last = Taylor|first = Derrick Bryson|date = December 6, 2024|accessdate = December 7, 2024|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|page = C9|url-access = limited}}</ref> Ahead of the planned closure, King reached a deal to sell WKIT to two Bangor businessmen; WZON and WZLO remain slated for closure.<ref name="wabi-wkitsale">{{cite news |last1=Wagner |first1=Will |title=WKIT no longer leaving the air after last minute sale |url=https://www.wabi.tv/2024/12/24/wkit-no-longer-leaving-air-after-last-minute-sale/ |access-date=December 29, 2024 |work=[[WABI-TV]] |date=December 24, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

King remains a voracious reader. In [[John Peder Zane|J. Peder Zane]]'s ''The Top Ten: Authors Pick Their Favorite Books'', King chose ''[[The Golden Argosy (book)|The Golden Argosy]]'', ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'', ''[[The Satanic Verses]]'', ''[[McTeague]]'', ''[[Lord of the Flies]]'', ''[[Bleak House]]'', ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'', ''[[The Raj Quartet]]'', ''[[Light in August]]'' and ''[[Blood Meridian]]''. In 2022, he provided another list of ten favorite books; ''Lord of the Flies'', ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' and ''Blood Meridian'' remained, and he added [[Ship of Fools (Porter novel)|''Ship of Fools'']], ''[[The Orphan Master's Son]]'', ''[[Invisible Man]]'', ''[[Watership Down]]'', ''[[The Hair of Harold Roux]]'', ''[[American Pastoral]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. He added, "Although [[Anthony Powell]]'s novels should probably be on here, especially the sublimely titled ''[[Casanova's Chinese Restaurant]]'' and ''[[Books Do Furnish a Room]]''. And [[Paul Scott (novelist)|Paul Scott]]'s Raj Quartet. And at least six novels by [[Patricia Highsmith]]. And what about [[Patrick O'Brian]]? See how hard this is to do?"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas-Mason |first=Lee |date=July 1, 2022 |title=Stephen King names his 10 favorite novels of all time |work=Far Out |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/stephen-king-10-favourite-novels/}}</ref> 

When asked about his reading habits, King replied, "I'm sort of an omnivore, apt to go from the latest [[John Sandford (novelist)|John Sandford]] to [[D. H. Lawrence]] to [[Cormac McCarthy]]." When asked what books we'd be surprised to find on his shelves, he answered "Poetry, maybe? I love [[Anne Sexton]], [[Richard Wilbur]], [[W. B. Yeats]]. The poetry I come back to again and again are the narrative poems of [[Stephen Dobyns]]." When asked which novel he comes back to, he named [[Thomas Williams (writer)|Thomas Williams]]'s ''The Hair of Harold Roux.'' When asked who his favorite novelist is, he said "Probably [[Don Robertson (author)|Don Robertson]], author of ''Paradise Falls'', ''The Ideal, Genuine Man'' and the marvelously titled ''Miss Margaret Ridpath and the Dismantling of the Universe.'' What I appreciate most in novels and novelists is generosity, a complete baring of the heart and mind, and Robertson always did that. He also wrote the best single line I've ever read in a novel: Of a funeral he wrote, 'There were that day, o Lord, squadrons of birds.'"<ref name=":ByTheBook"/>
=== <span class="anchor" id="Car_accident_and_thoughts_of_retirement"></span>Car accident and aftermath ===
On June 19, 1999, at about 4:30&nbsp;pm, King was walking on the shoulder of [[Maine State Route 5]], in [[Lovell, Maine]]. Driver Bryan Edwin Smith, distracted by an unrestrained dog moving in the back of his minivan, struck King, who landed in a depression in the ground about 14 feet (four meters) from the pavement of Route 5.<ref name="UKOnWriting">{{cite book |last1=King |first1=Stephen |title=On Writing: A Memoir |publisher=[[Hodder & Stoughton]] |year=2000 |isbn=0-340-76996-3 |location=London |author-link1=Stephen King}}</ref>{{rp|206}} Early reports at the time from Oxford County Sheriff deputy Matt Baker claimed King was hit from behind, and some witnesses said the driver was not speeding, reckless, or drinking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liljas-library.com/accident.html|title=King's accident|publisher=Lijia's Library|access-date=December 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307182428/http://www.liljas-library.com/accident.html|archive-date=March 7, 2005}}</ref> 

Smith was later arrested and charged with [[Reckless driving#Maine|driving to endanger]] and aggravated assault. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of driving to endanger and was sentenced to six months in county jail (suspended) and had his driving license suspended for a year.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/oct/01/stephenking.fiction1 | title=The writer, the accident, and a lonely end | work=The Guardian | date=October 1, 2002 | access-date=March 11, 2020 | archive-date=October 18, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018165249/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2000/oct/01/stephenking.fiction1 | url-status=live }}</ref> In his book ''On Writing'', King states he was heading north, walking against the traffic. Shortly before the crash took place, a woman in a car, also northbound, passed King first followed by a light blue Dodge van. The van was looping from one side of the road to the other, and the woman told her passenger she hoped "that guy in the van doesn't hit him".<ref name="UKOnWriting" />{{rp|206}}

King was conscious enough to give the deputy phone numbers to contact his family but was in considerable pain. He was transported to Northern Cumberland Hospital in Bridgton and then flown by air ambulance to [[Central Maine Medical Center]] (CMMC) in [[Lewiston, Maine|Lewiston]]. His injuries—a collapsed right lung, multiple fractures of his right leg, scalp laceration and a broken hip—kept him at CMMC until July&nbsp;9. His leg bones were so shattered that doctors initially considered amputating his leg but stabilized the bones in the leg with an [[external fixator]].<ref>Rogak, Lisa. [https://books.google.com/books?id=c8EIvHkg4EYC&pg=PA204 ''Haunted heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326102742/https://books.google.com/books?id=c8EIvHkg4EYC&pg=PA204 |date=March 26, 2018}} at [[Google Books]]. Retrieved September 27, 2010.</ref> After five operations in 10 days and physical therapy, King resumed work on ''On Writing'' in July, though his hip was still shattered and he could sit for only about 40 minutes before the pain became unbearable.<ref name="UKOnWriting" />{{rp|216}}

King's wife got in touch with his lawyer to purchase Smith's van, reportedly to prevent it from appearing on [[eBay]]. He recalls: "When I was in the hospital, mostly unconscious, my wife got a lawyer who's just a friend of the family... And she got in touch with him and said, buy it so that somebody else doesn't buy it and decide to break it up and sell it on eBay, on the Internet. And so he did. And for about six months, I did have these, sort of, fantasies of smashing the van up. But my wife—I don't always listen to her the first time, but sooner or later, she usually gets through. And what she says makes more sense than what I had planned. And her thought was that the best thing to do would be to very quietly remove it from this plane of existence, which is what we did."<ref name=":Craft"/>

=== Other media appearances ===
In ''[[The Princess Bride (novel)|The Princess Bride]]'', [[William Goldman]] writes that Stephen King is "doing the abridgment" of the fictional book ''Buttercup's Baby.''<ref>''The Princess Bride'': ''S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure''. [[William Goldman]].</ref> King explains this is an inside joke from Goldman, "who's an old friend. He's done the screen adaptations for a number of my novels. He did [[Misery (film)|''Misery'']], ''[[Dreamcatcher (2003 film)|Dreamcatcher]]'' and he also did [[Hearts in Atlantis (film)|''Hearts in Atlantis'']], and although he's not credited, he worked on [[Dolores Claiborne (film)|''Dolores Claiborne'']] as well, so Bill and I go back a long way. I admired his books before I ever met him and as a kind of return tip of the cap, he put me in that book ''The Princess Bride''."<ref name="OfficialFAQ" />

In 1988, the band [[Blue Öyster Cult]] recorded an updated version of its 1974 song [[Astronomy (song)|"Astronomy"]]; the single released for radio play featured a narrative intro spoken by King.<ref name="BOC">{{cite web |last=Gregmar |first=Bolle |title=Complete Blue Öyster Cult Discography |url=http://www.blueoystercult.com/Studio/BOC_Discography.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128155309/http://www.blueoystercult.com/Studio/BOC_Discography.pdf |archive-date=November 28, 2007 |access-date=July 14, 2008 |publisher=Blue Öyster Cult}}</ref> In 2012, King provided the narration for [[Shooter Jennings]]'s album ''[[Black Ribbons]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Randy |date=February 27, 2010 |title=Shooter Jennings and Stephen King team for 'Black Ribbons' |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-27-la-et-shooter-jennings27-2010feb27-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013134646/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/27/entertainment/la-et-shooter-jennings27-2010feb27 |archive-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref> King was a contestant on ''[[Celebrity Jeopardy!]]'' in 1995 and 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |title=J! Archive - Stephen King |url=https://j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=645 |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=j-archive.com}}</ref> He has made cameos in adaptations of his work, and appeared as the character Bachman on ''[[Sons of Anarchy]]''; the name is a nod to his pseudonym [[Richard Bachman]].<ref>{{cite news| last=Flood| first=Alison| title=Stephen King rides in to Sons of Anarchy TV cameo| date=September 21, 2011| work=The Guardian| url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/sep/21/stephen-king-sons-of-anarchy-cameo}}</ref> He voiced himself in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Insane Clown Poppy]]", where he appears with fellow authors Amy Tan, [[John Updike]] and [[Tom Wolfe]] at a book fair. King tells [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] he is taking a break from horror to write a biography of [[Benjamin Franklin]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Insane Clown Poppy| work=Simpsons Archive| url=http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/BABF17.txt}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Stephen King}}
{{div col}}
* [[August Derleth Award]], awarded by the [[British Fantasy Society]]
** 1981: Special Award<ref name="British Fantasy Society">[http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/awards/british_fantasy_society.htm British Fantasy Society Awards] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516130519/http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/awards/british_fantasy_society.htm |date=May 16, 2011}}, Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved March 11, 2011.</ref>
** 1982: ''[[Cujo]]'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_1982|title=sfadb: British Fantasy Awards 1982|website=www.sfadb.com}}</ref>
** 1987: ''[[It (novel)|It]]''<ref name="auto"/>
** 1999: ''[[Bag of Bones]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_1999|title=sfadb: British Fantasy Awards 1999|website=www.sfadb.com}}</ref>
** 2005: ''[[The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfadb.com/British_Fantasy_Awards_2005|title=sfadb: British Fantasy Awards 2005|website=www.sfadb.com}}</ref>
***British Fantasy Award For Best Short Fiction
*** 1983: "[[The Breathing Method]]"<ref name="auto1"/> 
* Balrog Award Best Collection / Anthology 1980: ''[[Night Shift (short story collection)|Night Shift]]''
* Black Quill Award Best Dark Genre Novel 2009: ''Duma Key''
* [[Bram Stoker Award]], awarded by the [[Horror Writers Association]]
**Best Novel
*** 1987: ''[[Misery (novel)|Misery]]''.<ref name="auto2"/>
***1996: ''[[The Green Mile (novel)|The Green Mile]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=1996 Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners – The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/1996-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/ |access-date=May 6, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>
***1998: ''Bag of Bones''<ref>{{Cite web |title=1998 Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners – The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/1998-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/ |language=en-US}}</ref>
***2006: ''[[Lisey's Story]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=2006 Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners – The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2006-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/ |language=en-US}}</ref>
***2008: ''[[Duma Key]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=2008 Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners – The Bram Stoker Awards |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/2008-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees-2/ |language=en-US}}</ref>
***2013:  ''[[Doctor Sleep (novel)|Doctor Sleep]]''<ref>[http://horror.org/winners-2013-bram-stoker-awards/ "The Winners of the 2013 Bram Stoker Awards"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606044440/http://horror.org/winners-2013-bram-stoker-awards/ |date=June 6, 2014}}. Horror Writers Association. May 11, 2014.</ref>
**Best Fiction Collection
*** 1990: ''[[Four Past Midnight]]''<ref name="Bram Stoker Awards">[http://www.horror.org/stokerwinnom.htm Bram Stoker Awards] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113132337/http://www.horror.org/stokerwinnom.htm |date=January 13, 2008}}, Horror Writer's Association. Retrieved April 13, 2011.</ref>
*** 2009: ''[[Just After Sunset]]''
*** 2011: ''[[Full Dark, No Stars]]''
**Best Short Fiction
*** 1995: "[[Lunch at the Gotham Café]]"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/uncategorized/1995-bram-stoker-award-winners-nominees/| title=1995 Bram Stoker Award Winners & Nominees}}</ref>
*** 2000: "[[Riding the Bullet]]"<ref name="Bram Stoker Awards"/>
*** 2011:"[[Herman Wouk is Still Alive]]"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.horror.org/blog/?p=2453 |title=Horror Writers Association Blog » Blog Archive » 2011 Bram Stoker Award™ winners and Vampire Novel of the Century Award winner |publisher=Horror.org |date=April 1, 2012 |access-date=April 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404155058/http://www.horror.org/blog/?p=2453 |archive-date=April 4, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
**Best Non-Fiction
***2000:  ''[[On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft]]''
** 2002: [[Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement|Lifetime Achievement Award]]<ref name="Bram Stoker Awards"/>
* [[Edgar Award]] for Best Novel, awarded by the [[Mystery Writers of America]]
** 2015: ''[[Mr. Mercedes]]''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=2015 Edgar Award Winners |url=https://mysterywriters.org/2015-edgar-award-winners/}}</ref> 
* [[Mystery Writers of America]] 2007 [[MWA Grand Master Award|Grand Master Award]]<ref>King, Stephen. ''Full Dark, No Stars'' {{ISBN|978-1-4391-9256-6}}</ref>
* 1982 [[Hugo Award for Best Related Work]]: ''[[Danse Macabre (King book)|Danse Macabre]]''<ref name="Hugo82">{{cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1982-hugo-awards/|title=1982 Hugo Awards|date=July 26, 2007|publisher=World Science Fiction Society|access-date=April 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507164650/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1982-hugo-awards/ |url-status=live|archive-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>
* [[International Horror Guild Award]]s
** 1999: ''[[Storm of the Century]]''<ref name=ihg>[http://www.horroraward.org/prevrec.html International Horror Guild Awards] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141031061140/http://horroraward.org/prevrec.html |date=October 31, 2014}}, International Horror Guild. Retrieved April 13, 2011.</ref>
** 2003: Living Legend<ref name=ihg />
* [[Locus Awards]]
** 1982: ''Danse Macabre''<ref name="Locus Award">[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit71.html#2853 Locus Awards] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150228114739/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit71.html#2853 |date=February 28, 2015}}, ''Locus Magazine''. Retrieved April 13, 2011.</ref>
** 1986: ''[[Skeleton Crew (short story collection)|Skeleton Crew]]''<ref name="Locus Award" />
** 1997: ''Desperation''<ref name="Locus Award" />
** 1999: ''Bag of Bones''<ref name="Locus Award" />
** 2001: ''On Writing''<ref name="Locus Award" />
* 2003 [[Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters]]<ref name="natbook"/>
* 2014 [[National Medal of Arts]]<ref name="auto4"/>
* [[National Magazine Awards]]
** 2004: "[[Rest Stop (short story)|Rest Stop]]"
** 2013: "[[Batman and Robin Have an Altercation]]"<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.magazine.org/about-asme/pressroom/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2013-winners-announced |title=National Magazine Awards 2013 Winners Announced |publisher=American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) |date=May 2, 2013 |access-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606011853/http://www.magazine.org/about-asme/pressroom/asme-press-releases/asme/national-magazine-awards-2013-winners-announced |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1996 [[O. Henry Award]] "[[The Man in the Black Suit]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=The O. Henry Prize Collection |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/C97/the-o-henry-prize-collection/ |access-date=May 17, 2023 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2005 [[Quill Award]] for ''[[Faithful (book)|Faithful]]'' (with [[Stewart O'Nan]])
* 2009 [[Shirley Jackson Award]] for "[[Morality (short story)|Morality]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/sja_2009_winners.php |title=The Shirley Jackson Awards Website |publisher=Shirleyjacksonawards.org |access-date=April 14, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120731073612/http://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/sja_2009_winners.php |archive-date=July 31, 2012 }}</ref>
* Spokane Public Library Golden Pen Award 1986: Golden Pen Award
* [[University of Maine]] 1980: Alumni Career Award
* [[World Fantasy Award]]
** 1980: [[World Fantasy Convention Award|Convention Award]]<ref name=worldfantasy>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html |title=World Fantasy Awards – Complete Listing |publisher=Worldfantasy.org |access-date=April 14, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015020014/http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html |archive-date=October 15, 2013 }}</ref>
** 1982: "[[Do the Dead Sing?]]"<ref name=worldfantasy />
** 1995: "The Man in the Black Suit"<ref name=worldfantasy />
** 2004: [[World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement|Lifetime Achievement]]<ref name=worldfantasy />
* 1992 [[World Horror Convention]] : World Horror Grandmaster<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldhorrorconvention.com/past-whcs/ |title=Past WHCs |publisher=World Horror Convention |access-date=April 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415140121/http://worldhorrorconvention.com/past-whcs/ |archive-date=April 15, 2012 |url-status=live |date=November 15, 2009 }}</ref>
* 1997 Writers For Writers Award, awarded by ''[[Poets & Writers Magazine]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, Editors Award |date=February 12, 2008 |url=https://www.pw.org/node/478827}}</ref>
{{Div col end}}
''[[Carrie (novel)|Carrie]]'' was included on the [[New York Public Library]]'s list of Books of the Century under the category "Pop Culture Mass & Entertainment".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1995 |title=The New York Public Library's Books of the Century |url=https://www.nypl.org/voices/print-publications/books-of-the-century |access-date=October 22, 2023 |website=}}</ref> In 2008, ''On Writing'' was ranked 21st on ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'}}s list of "The New Classics: The 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 27, 2008 |title=The New Classics: Books &#124; EW 1000: Books |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/06/18/new-classics-books/ |url-status=live |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20120127131458/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207349,00.html |archive-date=January 27, 2012 |access-date=September 12, 2010}}</ref> It also made [[Time (magazine)|''Time''<nowiki/>'s]] list of the 100 greatest nonfiction books published since the magazine's founding in 1923. Gilbert Cruz wrote, "it's the most practical and unpretentious writer's manual around—as practical and unpretentious as its author, who, yes, just happens to be one of the world's most famous novelists."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cruz |first=Gilbert |date=August 15, 2011 |title=All-TIME 100 Nonfiction Books |magazine=Time |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2011/08/30/all-time-100-best-nonfiction-books/}}</ref>

''[[11/22/63]]'' (2011) was named one of the five best fiction books of the year in ''[[The New York Times]]'': "Throughout his career, King has explored fresh ways to blend the ordinary and the supernatural. His new novel imagines a time portal in a Maine diner that lets an English teacher go back to 1958 in an effort to stop Lee Harvey Oswald and—rewardingly for readers—also allows King to reflect on questions of memory, fate and free will as he richly evokes midcentury America. The past guards its secrets, this novel reminds us, and the horror behind the quotidian is time itself."<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 30, 2011 |title=10 Best Books of 2011 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/books/10-best-books-of-2011.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105191319/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/books/10-best-books-of-2011.html |archive-date=January 5, 2012}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{See also|List of adaptations of works by Stephen King}}<!-- This is only a list of films where King had direct involvement.  For a complete list, see [[List of adaptations of works by Stephen King]]. -->

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
!width=65| Director
!width=65| Executive producer
!width=65| Writer
!width=65| Actor
! Notes 
|-
| 1981
| style="white-space:nowrap;"|''[[Knightriders]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Hoagie Man
|-
| 1982
| ''[[Creepshow]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Jordy Verrill
|-
| 1983
| ''[[The Dead Zone (film)|The Dead Zone]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1985
| ''[[Cat's Eye (1985 film)|Cat's Eye]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1985
| ''[[Silver Bullet (film)|Silver Bullet]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 1986
| ''[[Maximum Overdrive]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-creepiest-thing-about-stephen-king-his-acting-career/|title=The Cocaine-Fueled Acting Cameos Of Stephen King|website=Cracked.com|access-date=September 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926143517/http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-creepiest-thing-about-stephen-king-his-acting-career/|archive-date=September 26, 2017|url-status=live|date=May 9, 2017}}</ref>
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Man at Bank ATM
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Creepshow 2]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Truck Driver
|-
| 1987
| ''[[Tales from the Darkside]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| 1 episode: "[[Sorry, Right Number]]"
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Pet Sematary (1989 film)|Pet Sematary]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Minister
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Golden Years (miniseries)|Golden Years]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Miniseries, also created by King, role: Bus Driver
|-
| 1992
| ''[[Sleepwalkers (1992 film)|Sleepwalkers]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Cemetery Caretaker
|-
| 1994
| ''[[The Stand (1994 miniseries)|The Stand]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Miniseries, role: Teddy Weizak
|-
| 1995
| ''[[The Langoliers (miniseries)|The Langoliers]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Miniseries, role: Tom Holby
|-
| 1996
| ''[[Thinner (film)|Thinner]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Pharmacist
|-
| 1997
| ''[[The Shining (miniseries)|The Shining]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Miniseries, role: Gage Creed
|-
| 1998
| ''[[The X-Files]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| 1 episode: "[[Chinga (The X-Files)|Chinga]]"
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Storm of the Century]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Miniseries, role: Lawyer in Ad / Reporter on Broken TV
|-
| 1999
| ''[[Frasier]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| 1 episode: "[[Mary Christmas (Frasier episode)|Mary Christmas]]", role: Brian
|-
| 2000
| ''[[The Simpsons]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| 1 episode: "[[Insane Clown Poppy]]", role: Himself
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Rose Red (miniseries)|Rose Red]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| Miniseries, role: Pizza Delivery Guy
|-
| 2003
| ''[[The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (film)|The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| TV film
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Kingdom Hospital]]''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2004/tv/reviews/stephen-king-s-kingdom-hospital-1200534769/|title=Review: 'Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital'|last=Lowry|first=Brian|date=February 29, 2004|work=Variety|access-date=September 26, 2017|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926144016/http://variety.com/2004/tv/reviews/stephen-king-s-kingdom-hospital-1200534769/|archive-date=September 26, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| 9 episodes, also developed by King, role: Johnny B. Goode
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Riding the Bullet (film)|Riding the Bullet]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| 
|-
| 2005
| ''[[Fever Pitch (2005 film)|Fever Pitch]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Stephen King
|-
| 2005
| ''Gotham Cafe''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Short film, role: Mr. Ring
|-
| 2006
| ''[[Stephen King's Desperation|Desperation]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| TV film
|-
| 2007
| ''[[Diary of the Dead]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Newsreader (voice, uncredited)
|-
| 2010
| ''[[Sons of Anarchy]]''<ref name="Monsters and Critics">{{cite web| last = Morrison| first = Sara| title = Stephen King guests on Sons of Anarchy for season three| work = Monsters and Critics| date = May 7, 2010| url = http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1553860.php/Stephen-King-guests-on-Sons-of-Anarchy-for-season-three-UPDATE| url-status=dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100826150847/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1553860.php/Stephen-King-guests-on-Sons-of-Anarchy-for-season-three-UPDATE| archive-date = August 26, 2010| df = mdy-all}}</ref>
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| 1 episode: "Caregiver", role: Bachman
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Stuck in Love (film)|Stuck in Love]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Stephen King (voice)
|-
| 2014
| ''[[Under the Dome (TV series)|Under the Dome]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| 1 episode: "[[Heads Will Roll (Under the Dome)|Heads Will Roll]]", role: Diner Patron
|-
| 2014
| ''[[A Good Marriage (film)|A Good Marriage]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 2016
| ''[[11.22.63]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 2016
| ''[[Cell (film)|Cell]]''
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 2017
| ''[[Mr. Mercedes (TV series)|Mr. Mercedes]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Diner Patron
|-
| 2018
| ''[[Castle Rock (TV series)|Castle Rock]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
|
|-
| 2019
| ''[[It Chapter Two]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a28950013/it-chapter-two-cameos-stephen-king-bodganovich/|title=Here's How 'It Chapter Two' Pulled Off Those Big Cameos|first=Gabrielle|last=Bruney|date=September 7, 2019|website=Esquire|access-date=September 8, 2019|archive-date=May 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520072703/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a28950013/it-chapter-two-cameos-stephen-king-bodganovich/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| Role: Shopkeeper
|-
| 2021
| ''[[Lisey's Story (miniseries)|Lisey's Story]]''
| {{no}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no}}
| Miniseries
|}

==Bibliography==
{{Main|Stephen King bibliography|Stephen King short fiction bibliography|Unpublished and uncollected works by Stephen King}}

=== Audiobooks ===
* 2000: ''On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft'' (read by Stephen King), Simon & Schuster Audio. {{ISBN|978-0-7435-0665-6}}.
* 2004: ''Salem's Lot'' (introduction), Simon & Schuster Audio. {{ISBN|978-0-7435-3696-7}}.
* 2005 ([[Audible (store)|Audible]]: 2000): ''Bag of Bones'' (read by Stephen King). Simon & Schuster Audio. {{ISBN|978-0743551755}}.
* 2008: ''Needful Things'' (read by Stephen King), Highbridge Audio. {{ISBN|978-1598877540}}.
* 2012: ''The Wind Through The Keyhole – A Dark Tower Novel'' (read by Stephen King), Simon & Schuster Audio. {{ISBN|978-1-4423-4697-0}}.
* 2016: ''Desperation'' (read by Stephen King), Simon & Schuster Audio. {{ISBN|978-1508218661}}.
* 2018: ''Elevation'' (read by Stephen King), Simon & Schuster Audio. {{ISBN|978-1508260479}}.

==See also==
{{Portal|Literature}}
* {{anl|Dollar Baby}}
* [[Haven (TV series)|''Haven'']] – Television series loosely based on King novel [[The Colorado Kid]]
* [[Jerusalem's Lot (Stephen King)]]
* [[List of adaptations of works by Stephen King]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{See also|Books about Stephen King}}
{{Library resources box|by=yes}}

* {{cite book|last=Brooks|first=Justin|title=Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World's Most Popular Author|year=2008|publisher=Cemetery Dance|isbn=978-1-58767-153-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Collings|first=Michael R.|title=The Many Facets of Stephen King|year=1985|publisher=Starmont House|isbn=0-930261-14-3|author-link=Michael R. Collings}}
* {{cite book|last1=Collings|first1=Michael R.|title=The Shorter Works of Stephen King|year=1985|publisher=Starmont House|isbn=0-930261-02-X|author-link=Michael R. Collings|first2=David A. |last2=Engebretson }}
* {{cite book|last=Collings|first=Michael R.|title=Stephen King as Richard Bachman|year=1985|publisher=Starmont House|isbn=0-930261-00-3|author-link=Michael R. Collings|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/stephenkingasric0000coll}}
* {{cite book|last=Collings|first=Michael R.|title=The Films of Stephen King|year=1986|publisher=Starmont House|isbn=0-930261-10-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Collings|first=Michael R.|title=The Annotated Guide to Stephen King: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography of the Works of America's Premier Horror Writer|year=1986|publisher=Starmont House|isbn=0-930261-80-1|author-link=Michael R. Collings}}
* {{cite book|last=Collings|first=Michael R.|title=The Stephen King Phenomenon|year=1987|publisher=Starmont House|isbn=0-930261-12-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Collings|first=Michael R.|title=Horror Plum'd: An International Stephen King Bibliography and Guide 1960–2000|year=2003|publisher=Overlook Connection Press|isbn=1-892950-45-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Collings|first=Michael R.|title=Stephen King Is Richard Bachman|year=2008|publisher=Overlook Connection Press|isbn=978-1-892950-74-1|author-link=Michael R. Collings}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Hoppenstand|editor-first=Gary|title=Stephen King|year=2010|publisher=Salem Press|isbn=978-1-58765-685-9}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lehmann-Haupt |first1=Christopher |last2=Rich |first2=Nathaniel |date=Fall 2006 |title=Stephen King, The Art of Fiction No. 189 |url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5653/the-art-of-fiction-no-189-stephen-king |journal=The Paris Review |volume=Fall 2006 | issue=178}}
* {{cite book|last=Spignesi|first=Stephen|title=The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia|year=1991|publisher=Contemporary Books|isbn=978-0-8092-3818-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Spignesi|first=Stephen|title=The Lost Work of Stephen King|year=1998|publisher=Birch Lane Press|isbn=978-1-55972-469-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Spignesi|first=Stephen|title=The Essential Stephen King|year=2001|publisher=Career Press|isbn=978-1-56414-710-3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Wood|first1=Rocky|title=The Complete Guide to the Works of Stephen King|publisher=Kanrock Partners|isbn=0-9750593-3-5|author-link=Rocky Wood|first2=David |last2=Rawsthorne |first3=Norma |last3=Blackburn }}
* {{cite book|last=Wood|first=Rocky|title=Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished|year=2006|publisher=Cemetery Dance|isbn=1-58767-130-1|author-link=Rocky Wood}}
* {{cite book|last1=Wood|first1=Rocky|title=The Stephen King Collector's Guide|publisher=Kanrock Partners|isbn=978-0-9750593-5-7|author-link=Rocky Wood|first2=Justin |last2=Brooks }}
* {{cite book|last1=Wood|first1=Rocky|title=Stephen King: The Non-Fiction|year=2008|publisher=Cemetery Dance|isbn=978-1-58767-160-9|author-link=Rocky Wood|first2=Justin |last2=Brooks }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|n=no|wikt=no|b=no|v=no|commons=Category:Stephen King|s=no|d=Q39829}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{Twitter}}
* {{Bluesky}}
* {{ISFDB name}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{C-SPAN}}
* [http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/interview_view.aspx?interview_id=229 Working with the King – ''Shotsmag Ezine'' Interview with Philippa Pride, King's UK editor]

{{Stephen King}}
{{Media based on Stephen King works}}
{{Characters created by Stephen King}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Novels, book series, and multimedia franchises
|list1=
{{The Mangler}}
{{Carrie}}
{{'Salem's Lot}}
{{The Shining}}
{{The Stand}}
{{The Dead Zone}}
{{Firestarter (franchise)}}
{{The Dark Tower}}
{{The Creepshow Trilogy}}
{{Pet Sematary}}
{{Stephen King's It}}
{{Stephen King's Needful Things}}
{{Under the Dome}}
{{Holly Gibney}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Anthologies and short story collections
|list1=
{{Night Shift}}
{{Different Seasons}}
{{Skeleton Crew (short story collection)}}
{{Nightmares & Dreamscapes}}
{{Everything's Eventual}}
{{Just After Sunset}}
{{Bazaar of Bad Dreams}} 
{{You Like It Darker}} 
}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Awards and accolades
|list1=
{{Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement}}
{{Locus Award Best Horror Novel}}
{{World Fantasy Award Best Short Fiction}}
{{World Fantasy Award Life Achievement}}
{{World Fantasy Convention Award}}
{{Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel}}
{{USC Scripter Awards — Film}}
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 2010s}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Stephen}}
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