Stephen King turned 75 this week, but he’s not going to sit behind thegeraniums for a while. The king of horror recently published his 65th noveland the next one is already in the works. King is one of the world’s mostsuccessful writers and continues to be a major influence on the horror genreand the next generation of authors.
By Hasna Elbaamranic
“I own all his books, but actually they own me. After Shakespeare, King’scultural influence is the greatest,” says author Benjamin Percy ( The NinthMetal , The Unfamiliar Garden ) about the work of Stephen King. Accordingto author Tom Perrotta ( Election , Little Children ) King is more thanthe main horror author. “He is a language artist and a master storyteller.”
King started writing short stories as a teenager, which he sold to magazines.When he started teaching at a high school in 1971, he continued to write inthe evenings and weekends. His first novel, career published in 1974. Thebook is about a teenage girl who has telekinetic powers that she uses againstthe classmates who systematically bully her.
The book became a great success, but not before King’s perseverance was put tothe test: the manuscript was rejected no less than thirty times by publishers.
After career follow 64 novels, hundreds of short stories and dozens of filmadaptations. His work is loved by horror fans, but also for people who havenothing to do with the genre, titles such as The Shining , it , misery ,The Green Mile , Pet Sematary and The Stand. Much of King’s stories havebeen filmed, sometimes multiple times.
Stephen King at a performance of It in Portland, Maine, USA. Portland isKing’s hometown and the setting for many of his films.
Loved, but also criticized
King is the unbeatable bestseller in the horror genre. No other author hassold as many books as he has: over 350 million copies worldwide. According tothe fans, the writer’s success lies in his writing style and in dynamiccharacters that the reader can identify with.
Yet he has always been criticized by fellow authors. According to critics,King’s work has no artistic or literary value. He is dismissed as a ‘genrewriter’, someone who only writes horror. That is not true; the author’s bodyof work includes science fiction, fantasy, thriller, and historical fiction.King’s response to the criticism has always been the same: he continues towrite.
Getting a lot of strength from King’s work
Author Lauren Groff ( Fates and Furies , Matrix ) said in an interviewearlier that she was greatly inspired by King’s enjoyment of writing and thegratitude he radiates. “I see in other authors that they see their work mainlyas a source of pain and that they are full of self-pity.”
“When the Losers Club (a group of teenagers from it who is the target ofbullying, ed.) If I could conquer bullies and a monstrous clown, I couldcertainly survive my high school years,” says author Robin Wasserman (Chasing Yesterday , Seven Deadly Sins ), who got a lot of strength fromreading the book.
According to experts, this typifies King’s work. He does not shy away fromsocial themes and writes in his books not only about bullying, but also aboutreligious fanaticism and the drinking and drug problem.
King launched Dutch author’s career
King is also loved by authors from the Netherlands. The American authorcontributed to the writing ambition of Thomas Olde Heuvelt ( HEX ,November ), Olde Heuvelt tells NU.nl. “I was about eleven when I read myfirst book by Stephen King. My mother thought I was too young for that, butafter a lot of nagging I was allowed to pick out a few books. The book PetSemetary had a special meaning to me. The story is about loss and I lost myfather at a young age. King’s books are like a mirror to real life.”
Decades later, Olde Heuvelt was in turn hailed by King: HEX was read by the75-year-old author and a message followed on Twitter. King described OldeHeuvelt’s book as “brilliant and completely original”. That short tweetlaunched Olde Heuvelt’s career, who until then was unknown to the generalpublic.
King’s last book Fairy Tale , came out on September 6 this year. He recentlyannounced in a podcast that the next book, called holly , ready. For now,King is not thinking about quitting yet: “I write because it makes me happyand because it makes others happy.”