Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 THE FUTURE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN (1950–1969)
INTERLUDE: THE POETRY OF STEPHEN KING
CHAPTER 2 THE DOUBLEDAY YEARS (1970s)
INTERLUDE: STEPHEN KING AS RICHARD BACHMAN
INTERLUDE: WELCOME TO CASTLE ROCK
CHAPTER 3 MIDAS TOUCH (1980s)
INTERLUDE: THE DARK TOWER
INTERLUDE: UNSEEN KING
INTERLUDE: WELCOME TO DERRY
CHAPTER 4 EXPERIMENTATION AND CHANGE (1990s)
INTERLUDE: THE ACCIDENT
CONTENTS CHAPTER 5 AFTER THE ACCIDENT (2000s)
INTERLUDE: THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE
CHAPTER 5 KING OF CRIME (2010 AND BEYOND)
CONCLUSION THE TEST OF TIME
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX I BOOKS
APPENDIX II SHORT STORIES AND NOVELLAS
APPENDIX III ADAPTATIONS
ENDNOTES
IMAGE CREDITS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 

About the Author

Bev Vincent is the author of The Dark Tower Companion, The Road to the Dark Tower, the Bram Stoker Award-nominated companion to Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, which was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award and a 2009 Bram Stoker Award. In 2018, he co-edited the anthology Flight or Fright with Stephen King.His short fiction has appeared in places such as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Borderlands 5, Ice Cold, and The Blue Religion. He has been a contributing editor with Cemetery Dance magazine since 2001 and is a former member of the Storytellers Unplugged blogging community. He also writes book reviews for Onyx Reviews and has served as a judge for the Al Blanchard, Shirley Jackson and Edgar Awards.

Reviews

"Holy smokes, what an awesome book…It’s a must read for any fan."
*Being Fictional*

"...noted King chronicler Bev Vincent’s spent years delving into the undoubtedly haunted halls of King’s archives, unearthing letters, notes, outlines and photos that shed light on the novelist’s inspirations and frustrations. The resulting encyclopedic account of the novelist’s life and career, with pitstops in such terrifying towns as Castle Rock and Derry, is a (trick or) treat for all of us Constant Readers."
*Yahoo!*

"Vincent consistently displays that same knack for expertly tucked-away nuggets amidst a more conventional narrative paved on book publications and career milestones. Vincent writes about King
in a direct and simple style that allows King, often quoted verbatim, to rise to the fore. The volume,
‘‘published on the occasion of Stephen King’s seventy-fifth birthday,’’ transcends the simple marketing tool or hagiographic indulgence it might have been by combining studious knowledge with accessibility and insight."
*Locus Mag*

"Frankly, it’s a beautiful book, designed with character and creepiness that enhance the experience without becoming a gimmick or nuisance to reading."
*Horror Obsessive*

"Less than a dozen pages in and I knew this was everything I had hoped for. Bev Vincent has found a way to celebrate King’s complete body of work in a way that feels both academic and casual."
*Derry Public Radio - Constant Readers*

"This is a great reference book that the casual reader of King’s books will learn a lot from and in which, even we King nerds that read everything he has written still find new things."

 
*Lilja's Library*

"The almost conversational tone of the book is engaging and accessible, with extensive footnotes, credits, and appendices to extend readers’ experience with the topic."
*Library Journal*

"Bev Vincent did an amazing job putting this book together. It has everything you need to know about Stephen King. If you are about to delve into Stephen King, I recommend you start with Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work Life, and Influences by Bev Vincent."
*Sandbox World*

"...takes fans on an in-depth look at exactly what it is that makes the King of Horror tick. Vincent knows his material and delivers the sort of depth and detail that many ‘behind the scenes’ books promise, but rarely deliver."
*FilmJuice*

"When it comes to expounding on King’s work, Vincent knows his stuff, through and through. Whether writing about King’s radio station or time with the Rock-Bottom Remainders, Vincent is curious in his approach and thorough in his results."
*Portland Press Herald*

"It’s a blast to open the book at random and dive in, and Vincent ensures every King text receives its just due."
*TheFilmStage.com*