There is no single established writer other than Stephen King who reigns the landscape for about four decades.
The history is etched with his name as the only writer with more than 30 books as bestsellers.
He is the proud author of more than 70 books. Stephen king’s book is not confined to just one genre and it is impossible to limit his books to just one.
He has become a cultural phenomenon with moving works such as Gerald’s Game adaptations, the shining, and IT.
If you are an ardent fan there is no better time to rediscover why he is so popular.
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Early life and the writer in him
Stephen King, born on September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine graduated from the University of Maine.
He started working on his writings inspired by speculative fiction while he attended the university. He met his wife Tabitha in 1969 and started working as an English teacher and drew a scanty $6,400 a year.
After his marriage in 1971, both had to take extra jobs to make ends meet. Though his short stories were published in Playboy and other magazines, significant recognition dodged him.
From continuous support and encouragement from his wife Tabitha, he worked on Carrie.
The tale of a tormented teen girl who develops telekinesis power and seeks revenge on her peers, released in 1973 turned the eyes of the world towards him.
The success of the book allowed him to work as a full-time writer. Two years later the publication of Carrie, the film adaptation grossed $33 million.
Followed by the success of Carrie, Stephen King churned more books including Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Rage, The Stand, The Long Walk, and The Dead Zone in the subsequent six years.
The six novels spoke for his prolificacy throughout his career.
The extent of King’s writing
Stephen king’s stories have appeared in magazines from the New Yorker to the Harper’s.
His works have influenced literary writers like Haruki Murakami and Sherman Alexie.
Above all, he is the virtual owner of almost every horror, mystery, science fiction, and fantasy award there is.
TV and film adaptations
Followed by the release of Carrie, most of King’s work was adapted into TV series or film.
Cujo and firestarter hit the big screen in 1983 and 1984 respectively. The Book IT made its debut in TV as a series in 1990.
The film shining that hit the screens in 1980 became one of the greatest and renowned horror films that stand the test of time.
For a great part of his career, Stephen King wrote novels and stories at a whirlwind speed. In the 1980s and 90s, he published several books.
His tales were compelling and thrilling and became the base for numerous films for both big and small screen.
The adaptation of Misery released in 1990 starring Actress Kathy Bates and actor James Caan became a great box office hit and earned Bates an Oscar for her performance in the movie.
Another adaptation of Stephen King, the Shawshank redemption released in 1994 became one other acclaimed outing with several Oscar nominations.
King’s novel the stand of 1978 was adopted as a mini-series in 1994. The Green miles came out in 1994 as a prison-based film.
Later works of Stephen King
Stephen King continues to create and is involved in provocative projects. He directly worked on TV and wrote for series like Kingdom Hospital and Under the Dome.
Under the dome was based on his book released in 2009. He published the novel 11/22/63 in 2011, with the plot of time travel to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
He also penned the novel Joy and published it in 2013. It is a pulp-fiction-style thriller that unravels a mystery murderer.
In 2013 he gave his audience another surprise with a sequel to the shining Doctor Sleep (2013).
Doctor sleep reserved the first spot on the New York Times bestseller list.
The thriller author then published Mr. Mercedes (2014), followed by Finders Keepers (2015) and End of Watch (2016)- a crime trilogy.
In 2017, he joined with his son Owen and gave Sleeping Beauties which was about a mysterious pandemic that left the women wrapped in cocoons.
His adaptations also never failed to hit both small and big screens over the years. A remake of IT came out in 2017 and became a huge box-office hit.
It was followed by the adaptations of Doctor Sleep and IT Chapter Two in 2019. 2019 also saw the author’s 61st novel, The Institute.
Bottom line
The Author Stephen King despite his hardships continued to bring out the passion In him as a writer motivating millions to pursue their dream.
In the narrative of Stephen King’s inspiring journey, we recognize the underlying message that ‘Love Makes a World of Difference‘ in shaping our destinies.