Who's up for more scares after that Goosebumps post? We in the library sure are! This month, the High School Learning Resource Center is featuring Stephen Edwin King. The award-winning 68-year-old likes writing contemporary horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. This American has published 54 novels including 7 under the pen name, Richard Bachman, and 6 non-fiction books.
He has also written nearly 200 short stories, most of which have been compiled in collections. Not impressed enough yet? His books have sold more than 350 million copies, many of which have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, TV shows, and comic books.
Many of his stories are set in the state of Maine where he was born in 1947 to Donald Edwin Pollock and Nellie Ruth. Stephen is of Scots-Irish ancestry, stands 6'4", and weighs about 200 pounds. He has worn glasses since he was young.
King related in detail his primary inspiration for writing horror fiction in the non-fiction called
Danse Macabre , a chapter titled
An Annoying Autobiographical Pause. It occurred while browsing through an attic with his elder brother when Stephen uncovered a paperback version of an H. P. Lovecraft collection of short stories entitled
The Lurker in the Shadows that had belonged to his father. He told Barnes & Noble Studios during a 2009 interview, "I knew that I'd found home when I read that book." He would write on weekends and weeknights while teaching on weekdays.
Stephen married novelist Tabitha Spruce in 1971 after meeting her in the stacks of the library at the University of Maine where they both worked as students. The Kings currently have 3 children named Naomi Rachel, Joe Hill, and Owen Phillip, and 4 grandchildren. They own and occupy 3 different houses, 2 of which are in Maine and 1 waterfront mansion located off the Gulf of Mexico in Florida where winters are regularly spent.
The couple's philanthropic activities comprise of providing scholarships for local high school students and contributing to many other charities including libraries. More about him can be found in his official web site. Photograph credit goes to Shane Leonard.
