Stephen King Biography

Biography

When someone hears the name “Stephen King,” what comes to mind? Does one imagine blood and gore? Or could one imagine ghosts and pyromaniacs? As scarily horrifying these images are, he doesn’t just write on these topics. Stephen King has published, dozens upon dozens of stories since his first story, I Was A Teenage Robber was published in 1965. Since then, he’s written many brilliant works and is known as one of the most prolific authors alive to this day.

Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21st, 1947 in Portland, Maine. He was the second son of Donald and Nellie King, who separated when young Steven was only two years old. His mother was now left to raise Stephen and his older brother David Victor all on her own. She kept the family together the best she could, working many jobs to support herself and her two sons. She succeeded, but died of lung cancer in 1973. Stephen King went to a school in Durham, Maine, and then Lisbon Falls High school, graduating in 1966. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Maine in Orono. He graduated in 1970 with a Bachelors degree in English. He later married Tabitha Spruce in January of 1971, who he met in the Fogler Library—Located in the University of Maine— where they were both working as students.

After graduating from the University of Maine, he began looking for a job in teaching. King was unable to find a teaching position right away to support himself and his wife. They  survived financially by using his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, Tabitha’s student loan and savings, and by him also selling the occasional short story to magazines. Stephen King finally found an open teaching job at the Hampden Academy, a high school in Hampden, Maine. He continued writing during weekends and evenings. His first published novel, Carrie, was published by Doubleday & Co. in 1974. Though Carrie never hit the top sellers list, it was just enough of a push to have him be able to leave teaching and become a full-time writer instead. 

The Kings were constantly moving around after that. In 1974, they left Maine for Boulder, Colorado, where he published The Shining in 1975. Not even a year later, they returned to Maine, where Stephen wrote The Stand and The Dead Zone.  In 1977, they spent about three months in England, but quickly returned home that same December. After one summer, they moved to Orrington, Maine, so he was closer to the University of Maine where he taught creative writing. And by 1980, they had purchased homes in both Center Lovell and Bangor, Maine.

 They currently use these homes during the year except for their winter trips to Florida. In 2003, Stephen King was honored with the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Not only that, but they also contribute to charities nationwide and overseas. They provide scholarships for local high school students as well. The Kings have three children, Naomi, Philip, and Joe, and also have four grandchildren. 

Stephen King’s current major words are The Stand, It, and Carrie, the novel that got him to be a full-time author. Stephen King is a world renowned Horror, Fiction, and Drama writer, and is still writing even today! He is particularly famous for his unique writing style. King is popular for his horror fiction blended with elements of traditional gothic tales, modern psychological thrillers, mysteries, and science fiction. His undeniable use of suspense throughout his many works is also helpful in creating his chilling, but skillfully written stories. There’s more to King’s writings than pure horror, and there are many of his books to read to validate this statement.

Citation:
Gale Contextual Encyclopedia of American Literature. 2nd ed. Detroit. New York. San Francisco. New  Haven, Connecticut. Waterville, Maine. London: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
King, Tabitha. “The Author.” StephenKing.com: The Official Website. Web. 2012. 19 Ap. 2012.  .