Stephen King
Stephen King at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Photo: Kevin Payravi/WikiPortraits.
To Mainers and Americans alike, Stephen King is a man who needs no introduction; the so-called Master of Horror has published over 60 novels and novellas, 19 screenplays, over 200 short stories, and other works throughout his carrier. His work has been translated into dozens of languages, and has been adapted into films, miniseries, and television shows. Much of King's work is set in Maine and captures aspects of Maine's history, culture, and everyday life-just a bit spookier.
Born in Portland in 1947, most of King's formative years were in Maine. He grew up in Durham, attended high school in Lisbon Falls, and attended the University of Maine at Orono. A lifelong writer and storyteller, King began creating his own stories when he was about six or seven years old and was interested in horror from the moment he saw his first movie, Bambi. Richard Matheson's work was also an important influence for him.
While attending the University of Maine at Orono as an English major, King wrote for the student paper, the Maine Report. He graduated in 1970, and in 1971 married Tabitha, whom he met at the Folger Library while they were both students. King taught English at Hampden Academy in Hampden while spending his nights and weekends writing short stories he published in magazines. "The Glass Floor" was his first short story professionally published in 1967. Doubleday's decision to publish Carrie allowed King to begin writing full-time, though he later returned to the University of Maine at Orono to teach Creative Writing.
In the decades since, King has published an average of at least one novel a year, either under his name or the pseudonym Richard Bachman. He has received over 20 awards for his various works including the Shirley Jackson Award and multiple Bram Stoker awards.
Two of King's children are published horror-fantasy authors, and he and his wife provide scholarships and donate to charities. King's house in Bangor is now a point of interest for fans from across the globe.
