The August issue of Esquire goes on sale July 18

The August issue of Esquire goes on sale July 18.  It will contain a new Stephen King short story, "That Bus Is Another world."

Esquire Offers New KING Story UPDATED

This was first posted at Lilja's Library -- which is a well written King site with LOTS of  news, information and interviews.  Check  it out at liljas-library.com/

Apparently the August edition of Esquire  will be running a new story from Stephen King.  Of course,  none of my local stores have Esquire -- and so I must wait patiently.  Waiting is only made easier by the fact that I still have a few pages of Mr. Mercedes to finish up.

UPDATED: (from Lilja's Library)

King's upcoming story in Esquire Magazine is called That Bus Is Another World.

PHOTO: liljas-library.com

PHOTO: liljas-library

Jeremy Wheeler Gives Us A Unique Stephen King Movie Guide

I like this 2013 "Everything You Need to Know About Stephen King Movies and Shows, A-Z" by Jeremy Wheeler at esquire.com 

(yes, I did find it as I was trying to find out more about the new Stephen King story in the August edition of Esquire)

Honk's Review Of: In The Tall Grass

I enjoyed the recent short story segment "In the Tall Grass," written by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill.  I would write a review, but honestly. .  . absolutely everything I would say about it was already said by my friend Bryant Burnette.  He posted a review that hit the nail right on the head at his blog "Ramblings Of A Honk Mahfah."

So, this is reposted from Ramblings Of A Honk Mahfah with Bryant's gracious permission.

A Brief Review of "In theTall Grass" (Part 1 of 2) by Stephen King and Joe Hill 

by Bryant Burnette


Here is what I'm prepared to tell you about "In the Tall Grass":

(1) It is a new novella written by Stephen King and Joe Hill.

(2) It is being published in two parts, the first of which appears in the June/July 2012 issue (on newsstands now!), the second of which will appear in the August 2012 issue.

(3) It is, based on Part 1, a good vintage-style high-concept horror story, of the sort which was once a King specialty. It has since, arguably, become something of a Hill specialty.

and 

(4) It is, based on Part 1, well worth your time.

What I'm about to say next may shock you. It probably won't, but it may, especially if you are very easily shocked (i.e., if you are shocked by things like low low prices at the Walmart, or when Don cheats on someone on Mad Men, or when eating beans gives you the poots).

So if those things shock you, you'll almost certainly be shocked by the following recommendation: do not read Part 1 of "In the Tall Grass"!

*gasp*!!!!!

That's right, I'm advising you NOT to read a Stephen King/Joe Hill story. Even more shocking, I'm advising you not to read a King/Hill story that I very much enjoyed.

*GASP*!!!!!

Why would I make such a blatantly contradictory recommendation? Simple: because Part 1 of this story ends with no resolution whatsoever, and it's going to be two fucking months before you get to find out what happens in that titular tall grass. So, really, it's not so much that I'm recommending that you not read the story; I'm just recommending that you wait two months and then read it all in one go.

"In the Tall Grass" is the story of a pair of siblings, Cal and Becky DeMuth, who are on a road trip. They are very close, and act very much as most twins I have known act. While tooling along in Kansas with the radio off and the windows down, they hear a child shouting for help. The child is apparently lost inside a big field of tall grass, and they decide to help.

That's all you're getting out of me.

I very much enjoyed the first part of the story. It's well-written, funny, scary, and ... incomplete. See, thing is, I just can't judge it in this form; without knowing how it turns out, I don't know how to feel about the story. Did I enjoy reading Part 1? Absolutely. Do I anticipate that Part 2 will reward my patience? I do.

But I suspect that most readers -- be they King fans, Hill fans, fans of both, or fans of neither -- will mostly be more satisfied if they digest "In the Tall Grass" as a complete work, not as a serial one.

This, of course, should not stop you from buying a copy of the current issue of Esquire. It's got other goodies, including a short but highly interesting interview with Hill wherein he talks about the process of collaborating with his father. There's also an illuminating interview with Bruce Willis -- see him on the cover? -- in which he sounds, frankly, like a total douche. Or, possibly, like the coolest guy ever. Maybe even both.

So, if you're inclined, give it a buy. And then sit on it for a couple of months; I'm guessing you'll be glad you did (in BOTH cases).

King In June / July Issue Of Esquire

Jule Bosman has a short article at Media Decoder about some new attempts Esquire is making to not only include more fiction -- but to market it to men.

While a lot of the focus in fiction is in the e-book world, the article also reveals that King and Hill will be published in the June / July issue of Esquire.

Bosman writes:

It coincides with the publication of three works in the June/July issue of Esquire — by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill; the thriller writer Lee Child; and Colum McCann. The works will be available only in the print and iPad editions of the magazine.

David Granger, the editor in chief of Esquire, said he has lamented the loss of space that magazines devoted to publishing fiction. The New Yorker is perhaps the most visible home for fiction in the magazine world, but many other magazines have cut back.

The full article is HERE.