Stephen King Books in Order
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author who has become one of the most successful and prolific writers in literary history, earning the title "Master of Horror" while transcending genre boundaries throughout his five-decade career. Born in Portland, Maine, and raised by his mother after his father abandoned the family, King grew up in modest circumstances, developing an early love for horror comics and science fiction that would shape his future work. After graduating from the University of Maine in 1970 with an English degree, he worked various jobs including janitor and industrial laundry worker while writing at night, selling short stories to men's magazines to support his growing family with wife Tabitha Spruce, whom he married in 1971.
King's breakthrough came with Carrie (1974), which he famously threw in the trash before Tabitha rescued and encouraged him to finish it – the paperback rights sold for $400,000, liberating him to write full-time. His subsequent novels established him as horror's dominant voice, though his work spans multiple genres including fantasy, crime, and literary fiction, with over 400 million books sold worldwide and dozens of acclaimed film and television adaptations. Despite battling alcohol and drug addiction in the 1980s (he's been sober since 1988) and surviving a near-fatal accident in 1999 when a van struck him while walking, King has maintained extraordinary productivity, publishing over 65 novels and 200 short stories. Beyond his fiction, he's known for his generous philanthropy in Maine, his mentorship of new writers, his passionate Red Sox fandom, and his active social media presence where he engages with political issues and popular culture, remaining one of America's most beloved and influential literary figures well into his 70s.
All Stephen King Book Series
