Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine, in 1947. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a B.S. in English and married Tabitha Spruce in 1971. He sold his first short story shortly after graduation while earning a living as a laborer at an industrial laundry. Many of his early stories were published in the 1978 "Night Shift" collection or have since appeared in other anthologies. While teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, King started to work on novels.
In over 25 years, King has published an incredible number of terrifying and captivating novels and short story collections to immense commercial success. In 1973, King sold his first novel, "Carrie." That was followed by "Salem's Lot," "The Shining," "The Stand" and "The Dead Zone." Other favorites include "Christine," "Pet Semetary," "Cujo," "Misery" and "IT." In the 1980s, he scripted "Creepshow" and many of his other works were adapted for the screen, including "Stand by Me" and, later, "Sleepwalkers."
In his latest work, "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft" from Simon & Schuster, King offers advice to writers, tells about his own writing life and even depicts the harrowing accident which almost took his life. This recording features King reading from "On Writing" in which he explains why a "popular novelist" like him would write a book about writing, and especially about language.
Photo: Corbis
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