King on Colbert

VIDEO: The National Medal Of Arts Awarded To Stephen King

President Obama awarded Stephen King the National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony today.  

news.mpbn.net cites president Obama saying, "Without them there would be no edible schoolyard, no ... really scary things like 'Carrie' and 'Misery.

The article also stated:

The official citation, read by the president's military aide, cited King as one of the most popular authors of our time and praised his work, saying he has both delighted and terrified audiences around the world. 

Which is pretty close to the White House statement:
"Stephen King for his contributions as an author. One of the most popular and prolific writers of our time, Mr. King combines his remarkable storytelling with his sharp analysis of human nature. For decades, his works of horror, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy have terrified and delighted audiences around the world."

Steven Petite Calls THE STAND A 20th Century Classic

In his Huffington Post article, "Taking The Stand For Stephen King," Steven Petite makes the argument that Stephen King is more than a popular genre writer -- but a truly "great" writer.

Petite notes that King is often underrated, though he has received numerous awards that should break him out of the horror mold.

Petite steps out to make a bold statement; one book alone is strong enough to be considered a 20th century "classic."  And he isn't talking about The Shining.  The Stand, Petite argues, is a truly great novel.  "In 1991," he writes, "The Stand should have been considered for the Pulitzer and the National Book Award."

The Stand is without a doubt one of the greatest stories ever told. He may be considered the greatest genre writer alive, and his books are likely to be read for hundreds of years, most likely surpassing some of the nominees for both awards in 1991.

Is appreciate a voice out there ready to call not only King a great writer, but his work "classic" literature.  For too long we've assumed popular equaled trash.  The truth is, most great books were popular when released.   Naturally, some writers, like Poe, were not really praised until later; but it's not like Charles Dickens was only discovered after he died!

Sometimes a writers own peer group, reading public and critics begin to recognize that something special is going on here.  That's what Petite hones in on.  He writes, 

"My reading habits primarily are of the "literary" nature, but Stephen King's knowledge of literature, his grasp of storytelling, and the art that he creates are worth taking a stand for, because without Stephen King, the book industry would be vastly different today."

Is The Stand that strong?  I think Petite has hit the nail on the head; it is indeed.   Has King done better than The Stand?  That's up for debate, isn't it?  IT, The Green Mile, 11/22/63 and The Shining should all rate up there as truly great novels.  But the Stand is special to us.

What makes The Stand so much fun?  It’s a modern telling of the end of the world.  The apocalypse comes right down to us.  It’s our New York and our Los Angeles. It all comes to an end thanks to a government created plague the West Coast calls Captain Trips.  A long, sprawling novel, The Stand has lots of little cubbyholes–pockets of story that are a world of their own within the larger story.  (Stephen King A Face Among The Masters)

More than just being fun, King dives into other authors worlds and plays with their toys.  With The Stand, King even dabbled in the world of Poe.  -- but I'm saving that for the book.

Read Steve Petite's full article at: huffingtonpost.com

Check out Steve Petite's book, The Concept Of Home at amazon.com/Conceptofhome
Today is Steve's birthday,  which means he has dropped the kindle edition to 99 cents.  You can't really beat that.

A coming of age tale starring Porter Wallace: A failed writer who needs to find a purpose for his existence. After giving up on writing, he embarks on a journey to rediscover life, love, and the true meaning of home. He burns bridges along the way, learns from mentors and uncovers secrets as his quest to become a writer again turns out to be secondary to his home.

--HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN!

From STEPHEN KING BOOKS:

Earlier this year DOCTORSLEEP won the This Is Horror Novel of the Year award, and here's Stephen King's certificate!

Good Reads Nominates Doctor Sleep As One The Best Books Of 2013

www.goodreads.com has nominated Doctor Sleep as one of the best books of 2013.  Other nominations include Joe Hill's NOS4A2 and Dean Koontz's Deeply Odd.  I've not read the Odd novels, but they seem to be getting a lot of attention.

Club Stephen King wrote to let me know that JOYLAND & AMERICAN VAMPIRE are also nominated for the goodreads choice  awards, in other categories.

It's a great time to be a constant reader!

King Wins National Magazine Award

"Harper’s Magazine received the award for King’s story, “Batman and Robin Have an Altercation” (subscriber only), published last September." SOURCE: www.mediabistro.com

Bryant Burnette wrote about the story,

"It's got excellent detail-based character writing, and like all great short stories it manages to feel like a complete world unto itself. It goes in unexpected directions, is by turns disgusting, moving, and frightening, and (in short) is yet another example of King being a generally awesome writer."

You can read Byrant Burnette's review at thetruthinsidethelie.blogspot.com

Dwight Allen Is Not A Constant Reader

photo credit: dwightallen.com

Dwight Allen recently published a rambling article in Salon titled, “My Stephen King Problem.” Allen admits to being a “snob.” That’s not exactly what comes across in the article. Try, self absorbed. Does Salon have editors? Actually, Salon notes that the article originally appeared in the L.A. Review Of Books.

A GENRE WRITER

Throughout the article Allen called King a “genre” writer. This alone reveals that Mr. Allen knows absolutely nothing about Stephen King! In fact, even though he read 11.22.63, Mr. Allen didn’t get that the book is ultimately a romance! That King writers much, much, more than horror is evidenced in The Body, The Eyes of the Dragon, Bag of Bones, The Dark Tower series, From a Buick 8, The Talisman and so much more. To keep beating that old drum really reveals the box Allen is in, not King.

Allen does not consider King to be a good writer at all, saying, “By bestowing rewards on writing that is not all that good, has not the literary establishment lowered standards and pushed even further to the margins writing that is actually good and beautiful?” Of course, Allen does not discuss some of King’s greatest works; The Stand, IT, Salem’s Lot, Carrie, The Shining, Misery, The Green Mile. Personally, I think by bestowing rewards on King, the literary establishment has heightened the standards of what is good.

IT’s ALL ABOUT DWIGHT!

Instead of discussing King’s work, Allen takes us on his life journey. Really, this is about him! He tells of the many times he didn’t read Stephen King. He tells about the times people told him he should read King. He discusses the times he almost read, but alas. . . did not. This is a 4,500 word essay!

Reading this article introduced me to Allen’s favorite authors (not King), Allen’s wife (she works in the medical profession) and Allen’s adult son (he’s 24)  (His name is George). I feel like I know all about Dwight Allen! Maybe that was what he really wanted. The article could have been titled, “Introducing all things Dwight Allen, who happens to not like Stephen King.” In fact, I’m surprised Salon put a picture of Stephen King at the top of the article instead of Allen’s family photo.

CHRISTINE

Finally Allen let’s us know he did read a Stephen King novel. The reader wants to applaud and hug him, “thank you, Mr. Allen! Thank you for at least getting to a Stephen King book.” So what book did he read? He dove right into Christine. Great starting place, eh?

I loved Christine, but Allen found the characters hollow. I didn’t. I thought it accurately portrayed teens, their struggles and in particular their relationship with their parents and cars. But Allen admits he’s a snob, and I’m not sure snobs always identify well with teens.

AIMING AT THE FANS

It’s not just Stephen King who is set neatly in Allen’s crosshairs, it’s those who love Stephen King. Allen writes (and note the name-dropping here):

“My wife felt it was wrong to stand in judgment of people who read fiction in order to escape from life, and I said she was right: I didn’t feel morally superior because I read John Cheever or David Foster Wallace or William Styron or Zadie Smith or Mary Lee Settle instead of Stephen King.”

So the constant reader of Stephen King is just reading to “escape” life. He wouldn’t think about judging those poor souls! The statement itself is a judgment. I don’t read Stephen King because I need to escape life! I read King partly because he stirs my imagination, and his characters seem quite real.

Hold on, because Allen is not done insulting the Constant Reader – which consist of much of the reading American public. He writes,

“I did feel, however, that I demanded something different (something more?) from a novel than I guessed most of the readers of Stephen King did. (Not that this made me morally superior, just more demanding, a high-maintenance reader.)”

So it’s actually Allen who needs a book to escape life! He doesn’t read for entertainment or the joy of reading, he needs it to somehow sustain him. And yes, he is acting “morally superior” to other people. At the end of the day, we’re just people reading a book! People like Allen make reading no fun at all.

11.22.63

About 11.22.63, a novel I enjoyed quite a bit, Mr. Allen writes: 

“The characters are tinny and flat, and the period detail is slathered thickly on, as if to hide some vacancy.”

Actually, though Jake is not a particularly complicated character, I found Sadie to be very multi-faceted. And the period detail was delightful! The detail was certainly not there to “hide some vacancy.” The novel had lots of plot, lots of character – there was nothing to try and hide! In fact, the first time Jake stepped back into the past, I felt like I’d gone with him. I understood my parents better!

I came away from 11.22.63 with a deeper appreciation of the sixties, the effect John Kennedy had on a generation, and what life was like in another era. King did what no history book could have done – he transported me there!

Erik Nelson Speaks Up:

Erik Nelson gave a fantastic response to Allen, published at Salon on July 6th. He wrapped up by saying to Allen, “Stephen King has written a series of treasures that will endure the slings, arrows and rusty hatchets of envious writers whose faces are bitterly pressed against the glass of that Cultural Temple. You ain’t getting in, and Stephen King already has a far beyond-his-lifetime membership.” (Salon, HERE)

Dwight Allen’s article, “My Stephen King Problem” can be found HERE.

11/22/63 takes LA Times Prize

Martha Groves at the Los Angeles Times has an article titled, “Alex Shakar, Stephen King win Times Book Prizes.”  (HERE)

King’s novel, 11/22.63, took the prize for the catagory “mystery-thrillers.”

Groves writes:

More than 400 authors will participate in readings, signings, panel discussions, musical performances and other events. The festival, which moved to USC in 2011 after 15 years at UCLA, runs through Sunday. About 150,000 visitors are expected to attend.

Last Rung On The Ladder Takes 2 Awards

Not only was “You Can’t Kill Stephen King” a big hit at the Lewiston-Auburn film festival, but the "Last Rung on the Ladder" took two awards:

• People's Choice - Best Short: "Last Rung on the Ladder"
• Best Maine Film: "Last Rung on the Ladder"

This project was filmed by New England School Of Communications.

This January I interviewed the director of this film, Lucas Stewart and the producer, Mike Magilnick.  Check it out HERE.

So I guess it was a big Stephen King night!

Film fest: 'You Can't Kill Stephen King' wins People's Choice best feature

Photo credit: Michael Bernstrein
Monroe Mann (Center) Ronnie Khalil and John E Seymore

CONGRATULATIONS MONORE MANN!

Big news for Monroe Mann and the cast/crew of You Can’t Kill Stephen King: The horror film won the People's Choice award for feature film at the second annual Lewiston Auburn Film Festival.

Kathryn Skelton, staff writer at Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal notes that "You Can't Kill Stephen King" drew the largest crowd of the day.  The movie was filmed in 19 days around Western Maine.  That’s exciting, because King has often encouraged film makers to make his movies in Maine.

Skelton writes:

Mann and Ronnie Khalil took the stage for an audience Q&A after the screening. Khalil and Jorge Valdes-Iga directed with Mann. 

Mann, an actor, and Khalil, a stand-up comedian, wrote the screenplay on a lark, during a rainy weekend at Mann's family camp five years ago. The pair also co-starred and produced. 

In real life, "I'm creepy but not that creepy," Khalil said. 

Mann saw Stephen King twice during filming. The famous author declined a cameo in the movie. The directors are talking now to sales agents and fielding distribution offers.

The full article is HERE.

King appearing on Book TV

Book TV will be airing the Mason Award presentation made to Stephen King.  Book TV's website says:

Author Stephen King is this year's Mason Award recipient. The award, presented annually at the Fall for the Book festival hosted by George Mason University and the City of Fairfax (Virginia), honors authors who have made "extraordinary contributions to bringing literature to a wide reading public." Past recipients include Chinua Achebe, Sherman Alexie, and Greg Mortenson. Mr. King delivers a lecture before the award presentation.

SHOWING:

• Saturday, November 19th at 11pm (ET)
• Sunday, November 27th at 3:45am (ET)

Book TV HERE

2011 Mason Award Goes To Stephen King

stephenking.com posted some awesome news:
"Stephen has been selected as the 2011 recipient of the Mason Award from the Fall for the Book Festival at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. He will be presented the award at a ceremony on September 23, 2011 and will be speaking and/or reading for approximately 30-45 minutes." http://www.stephenking.com/index.html

.

I like the line, "or reading for approximately 30-45 minutes." I hope he does read! Often King brings new work with him. Thus we get glimses of what's to come. and believe me, I can't wait for November -- when King's next book is due out.
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Amy Tan (who is a member of the Rock Bottom Remainders... and has written a couple of books on her spare time) is also receiving an award.

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The Mason Award recogizes "authors who have made extraordinary contributions to bringing literature to a wide reading public."

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http://fallforthebook.org/?page_id=979

2009 Bram Stoker Awards

The Horror Writers Association presented the 2009 Bram SToker awards for "Superior achievement in horror fiction published in 2008" to the following winners:

NOVEL: Duma Key by Stephen King

FIRST NOVEL: The Gentling Box by Lisa Mannetti

LONG FICTION: Miranda by John R. Little

SHORT FICTION: "The Lost" by Sarah Langan

FICTION COLLECTION: Just After Sunset by Stephen King

ANTHOLOGY:Unspeakable Horror edited by Vince A. Liaguno and Chad Helder

NONFICTION:A Halloween Anthology by Lisa Morton

POETRY COLLECTION:The Nightmare Collection by Bruce Boston

HWA Richard Laymon Award John R. Little

HWA Silver Hammer AwardSephera Giron

This is Stephen King's response to winning two Stoker Awards.

I'm delighted to tell you that I won not one but TWO Stoker Awards at this year's ceremony, one for Duma Key (Best Novel) and one for Just After Sunset (Best Collection). My motto is, You can never be too thin, too rich, or win too many Stoker Awards. (If you've never seen one, the awards are most excellently cool.) My thanks to everyone who voted, and my congratulations to all the other nominees. Most of all, though, thanks to everyone who bought those books and enjoyed them. (And if you bought them and didn't enjoy them, I still thank you.)

Steve