Joe Hill’s short story Abraham’s Boys from the collection 20th Century Ghosts has been turned into a feature film staring Titus Welliver (Bosch). In April it will premier on the Overlook Film Festival. Hill will be there and for a wide-ranging career conversation to discuss the methods behind the madness which animate his exquisite body of work.
Here is the cover for the Czech edition of Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (Pulstoleti pribehu). The book will be released by Carcosa in April. Stay tuned for more info.
The Italian trade edition of my book Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (Stephen King: 5 Decenni di Scrittura) is released today. Get your copy from Independent Legions.
On March 27 Buchheim Verlag will release a new German edition of Shining in the Dark in both hardback and eBook editions. Read more and pre-order here.
Latest issue of Derry Monthly is out. This time focus is on all the books coming this year and next…and off course there are news about upcoming movies and a 40 year anniversary.
Oh, and when I wrote the column I hadn’t seen The Monkey yet but since then I have and you can check out my review of it here
Seems the info from IGN was incorrect. Despite the fact that they claim King said it King earlier today went on Blusky and denied he is writing for Mike Flanagan’s The Dark Tower.
It seems King is more involved with the new Dark Tower movie / TV series than we have been aware of. IGN reports that at a roundtable interview for The Monkey they asked him if he would be interested in contributing new material to The Dark Tower as he did with the 2020’s The Stand and King revealed that he already is:
All I can say is it's happening. I am writing stuff now and I think that's all I want to say because the next thing you know, I'll stir up a bunch of stuff I don't necessarily want to stir up yet. I'm in process right now, and to say too much feels like a jinx.
My spoiler free thoughts about The Monkey.
Before I went to see The Money tonight I feared it would be bad. I had low expectations to say the least. But now after I ‘ve seen it have to admit that it wasn’t bad…
The Long Walk doesn't have a release date yet, but it sounds like it won't be long before it does. When asked about how far along he is with the current cut, director Francis Lawrence answered:
"We're almost done. Actually, that's why I'm going to London, to do the score for it. So the cut is for the most part locked. I'm really happy with it. I think it's really unique.
It's one of — if not my favorite — Stephen King novels. It was something that actually crossed my desk years ago, not long after I finished Constantine. It was when I was doing I Am Legend, and I wanted to do it, but Frank Darabont actually scooped up the rights. People have tried to make it over the years, and never could. We just kind of cracked it; I worked with JT Mollner, who did Strange Darling. He wrote a great draft, and it came together really quickly. I had this window, and we hit the right season to shoot it, and we put together an amazing cast. The cast is so good and the performances are great. I'm super happy with it.”
Stephen King and Hansel & Gretel, what a combination. Hodder Children’s Books will release the book in September this year. The synopsis states:
"In this book, Stephen King brings his signature voice to the classic fairytale of two brave children lost in an eerie and dangerous forest. Sendak’s hauntingly beautiful illustrations on every page draw readers into the deliciously daring world of Hansel and Gretel."
King had the following to say:
"When I was asked if I might be interested in writing a new interpretation of Hansel and Gretel, bending it to fit (loosely) with set and costume designs Maurice Sendak had created for the Humperdinck opera of the story, I was interested.
When I saw the pictures themselves, I resolved to give it a try. Two of his pictures in particular spoke to me. One was of the wicked witch on her broom with a bag of kidnapped children riding behind her. The other was of the infamous candy house becoming a terrible face.
I thought, ‘This is what the house really looks like, a devil sick with sin, and it only shows that face when the kids turn their backs.’ I wanted to write that! To me, it was the essence of this story and, really, all fairytales: a sunny exterior, a dark and terrible centre, brave and resourceful children. In a way, I have been writing about kids like Hansel and Gretel for much of my life."
Philippa Pride, King’s editor at Hodder & Stoughton, added:
"Imagine a collaboration between the world’s ultimate storyteller and the world’s most honoured children’s book artist – that is indeed a fairytale come true."
Who doesn't like the story of Hansel and Gretel? Well, I assume King does as he has written a new introduction to the new edition being released by HarperCollins and Hodder Children's Books on September 2.
Today it’s 40 years since Bangor Daily News released the news that Stephen King and Richard Bachman was one and the same and just like that we got five new books; Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man and Thinner.
We also found out that the man posing as Bachman on the cover of Thinner was in fact Richard Manuel from Roseville, Minnesota, a suburb adjacent to St. Paul and Minneapolis where he worked with energy-efficient housing.
Manuel was a friend of King’s literary agent, Kirby McCauley and agreed to pose as Bachman and according to himself he kept the secret.
”I didn't tell anybody, I was sworn to secrecy. Some friends called and said 'Hey, Dick, there's a guy that looks like you who's writing books in New Hampshire.' Even my sister called and said that.”
More info about Richard Bachman can be found here.
According to The Post James Ashcroft will turn Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream into a movie. Not with Robert DiNero as the headline indicates. Question is if it’s a Dollar Baby or not…
Late last year, Ashcroft was browsing in a Los Angeles bookshop when he got an email.
It was from Stephen King, one of the world’s most famous writers and a master of horror stories.
Ashcroft had written to King some time earlier, saying how he admired the writer’s work, and wondering if there was any chance of collaborating on a project.
King said he loved The Rule of Jenny Pen, which had just premiered at a US film festival, and mentioned he had a novella Ashcroft might like to make into a movie.
The story was Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream, published last year to widespread acclaim.
“And the next day, his agent contacted mine,” remembers Ashcroft.
“And they said, ‘Stephen’s been saying no to everyone for about 18 months on this one, but he said if James would like to have a go at it, it’s his.’
“So he gave it to me for a dollar.”
(King is renowned for letting promising filmmakers adapt his shorter works for a dollar, while he retains the film rights.)
I’m happy to announce that the Italian edition of Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (Stephen King: 5 Decenni Di Scrittura) is about to be released. In about 2 weeks the limited edition (199 copies) will be out and then in March the trade edition will follow.
The editions will have different covers (this one if for the limited) and the limited will include photos that’s not in the trade edition.
Today King returns to The KingCast and during the hour they cover a lot. Here are the most important things that they talk about.
The Talisman 3
There will be a lot of Nebraska in The Talisman 3.
King is using Peter Straub’s words in The Talisman 3.
King confirms that The Territories are The Mid World and The Mid World are The Territories.
Characters from both The Talisman and Black House are in The Talisman 3.
Never Flinch
King rewrote Never Flinch completely after his wife Tabitha said it didn’t work.
Other news
King had an idea for the last book about the character Travis McGee (he shares part of it in the episode) but the relatives of John D. MacDonald said they didn’t want King to do the book so it didn’t happen and won’t.
It was King’s idea to do the harlequin cover for Misery.
King don’t have trunk novels but he have some unfinished stories that he thinks aren’t good enough.
Thanks to everyone who has congratulated me on the 29 years I have run Lilja’s Library - The World of Stephen King. It’s been a joy.
I’ve done things I have never thought I’d do. I’ve gotten to know people I never thought I would get to know or would have gotten the chance to know if it wasn’t for the site.
Some of you have asked if Lilja’s Library is my daily work, my livelihood. It’s not. It’s a hobby that I do because I love King’s books and stories.
Some of you have asked why I don’t have advertisement on the site or charge a fee for parts of the site. The simple answer to that is I don’t like advertisement myself (unless it’s for King stuff) and I don’t believe in charging for stuff online. I have never charged anything for any parts of the site and never will.
But if anyone feel they want to support the site or help me keep it going (it do cost to keep it up) there is the option to DONATE. Every dollar helps so if anyone wants to donate I’m grateful! Read how here.
With that I’d like to thank you for all your support during these 29 years.
This is something interesting. This is an interview with Stephen King and Peter Straub from 1984 when they released The Talisman. The interview is done by Michael Small and this audio tape hasn’t been shared with anyone for 40 years. But that is not all, before the interview Michael evaluates the tape with Bev Vincent.
We also get this photo, taken by People photographer Raeanne Rubinstein.
Very interesting to hear them talking about The Talisman back in 1984. You can listen to the interview here
Latest issue of Derry Monthly is out and a lot has happened since last time. Check it out over at Dread Central and let me know how excited you are about this months news.
Club Stephen King reports that the new "Carrie" TV series, by Mike Flanagan for Amazon Studios / Amazon Prime, is scheduled to start filming in June in Vancouver. Hopefully we’ll get some casting news soon.
Who would you like to see as Carrie? Comment below.
I’m happy to tell you that the next publisher that has bought my upcoming book about Stephen King is my Czech publisher Carcosa who have already released my books Shining in the Dark, Stephen King: Not Just Horror and Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling. Now I’m very happy to announce that they will release my upcoming book Stephen King: (Odd) Anecdotes as well.
The cover for King’s sixth book, The Stand has always been a favorite of mine. The figure on the cover has always been intrigued me. Who are they and why are they fighting? Is this cover done exclusively for King’s book or are they using an already existing illustration?
Some of those questions have been answered. We know that the cover was done by John Cayea. And we know that it was based on a painting by Goya, the battle of Good and Evil.
The characters on Cayea’s cover are representations of good and evil in the book and are not any exact characters from the book.
As mentioned the cover is and has always been a favorite of mine. I even got the figures tattooed on my shoulder so when I saw these amazing figures I just know I wanted them. And now I do.
The figures are resin 3D printed, then painted black and dry brushed with bronze paint to give it a metallic look. And the base of each figure features the maker's logo laser etched into cork.
The creator of these figures are Jesse Nelson and you can find out more about them here.
Today the cover for Joe Hill’s upcoming book King Sorrow was released (check it out below).
“King Sorrow” opens at a small college in Maine, Hill’s home state, where student Arthur Oakes becomes cornered in an scheme to steal books from the library. Desperate to get out of it, Arthur turns to his friends — who turn to magic. Using an old book, they summon up a dragon to do their bidding, but it comes at a price. Every year from now on, the friends must choose a new sacrifice for the dragon ... or they’re next.
The book is almost 1,000 pages and released on October 21 and is Hills first standalone novel in 9 years. Pre-order your copy here
I’m happy to tell you that the first of the four publishers that so far has bought my upcoming book about Stephen King is my US publisher BearManor Media who have already released my books Stephen King: Not Just Horror and Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling. Now I’m very happy to announce that they will release my upcoming book Stephen King: (Odd) Anecdotes as well.
Colman Domingo has been cast as the game show host Damon Killian, played memorably by Richard Dawson in the 1987 film.
Also in the movie is Glen Powell as Ben Richards and Josh Brolin plays the central antagonist behind the violent reality show. Lee Pace will play chief hunter Evan McCone, Michael Cera is set to play ally Bradley Throckmorton and William H. Macy another character who will assist the film’s protagonist in some way.
Andy Muschietti told the radio show Radio TU that HBO is eager to continue Welcome to Derry and start production on the second season as soon as possible.
Muschietti also said he sees three seasons. The first season takes place in 1962, with a second season in 1935 and the third in 1908. Yes, 27 years apart.
Bill Skarsgård talks about being back as Pennywise again in Welcome to Derry. Fast forward to 24:20 to hear what he has to say.
It was fun. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would actually. And there are parts of it where we got to explore sides of old Pennywise that we haven’t seen and that’s fun.
2024 is coming to an end and what a year it has been. I have given no less than 15 lectures/author talks during the year. The absolute coolest one was when I sat on the Stephen King panel at Comic Con in San Diego, USA. It's something I've seen the big stars do, and now was doing it. Unbelievable.
On the book front, a lot has also happened. A Dutch edition of Shining in the Dark with a luminescent title was released. Stephen King: Not Just Horror spread around the world. It was released in both the Czech Republic and France, where I also went on a promotional visit.
As for my other book about, Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling, it was released in Sweden, the United States and Greece.
Now I am looking towards 2025 where I will continue to give lecture throughout the year.
Where I’ll see Stephen King: Not Just Horror released in Spain, Germany, Greece and Brazil. Where I’ll see Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling released in Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany and Brazil. And there will be a paperback trade edition of Shining in the Dark released in Germany.
And not only that, right now I'm working on the next book. I can't say much about it other than that it will be about twice as thick as Stephen King: Not Just Horror and that I plan to turn in the manuscript to the four publishers (so far) around the world who have bought the rights to it in the spring.
Thanks for all the support in 2024. I hope you’ll join me in 2025!
Latest issue of Derry Monthly is out and a lot has happened since last time. Check it out over at Dread Central and let me know what you’re most excited about.
According to Theo James The Monkey is a comedy. A dark one but still a comedy.
"He wanted to make a family movie, but an R-rated one," James, who recently saw a cut of the film, says. "It's hyper dark, but also it has heart to it, and it's really funny."
Deadline reports that King’s Autopy Room Four will be made into a feature film by British director Ranjeet S. Marwa and Hollywood Exec Jon Levin. No word on when filming will start, who will be in it or when we might see it yet.
MGM+ previewed the upcoming series based on King’s The Institute at Content London on Thursday and during the panel a full trailer for the series was played. They also announced for the first time that King has come on board the project as an executive producer.
The trailer gave a first look at the Institute itself, a cement, brutalist-style building where kids with telekinetic powers are taken after being mysteriously abducted. Luke is seen meeting the fellow children in the Institute as well as villain Ms. Sigsby for the first time, who encourages him that he is doing something good for the world as he is hooked up to machines and made to move objects.
“You’re not kids, not here. There’s no bedtime, there’s no chores. But here, if you break a rule, there’s grown-up consequences.”
Parker says in the trailer as clips flash of the children being abused and tortured.
In King’s book Luke is 12 years old, but for the series they aged him (and other characters) a few years. Director Jack Bender said this was for a good reason.
“We were very aware of not wanting this to be as awful as it can be, what these kids go through. We didn’t want it to be a sadistic experience. There’s a fine line and, god knows, as storytellers we didn’t want to go there.”
Cavell revealed that “The Institute” is connected to King’s universe as the children in the story all have “versions of ‘The Shine,'” the psychic abilities possessed by Danny Torrance in “The Shining.”
Head of MGM+ Michael Wright also teased that their intention is to drop episodes weekly to encourage appointment viewing. He also said a potential second season is already being discussed.
“The end of ‘The Institute’ Season 1 is very cathartic, but it still sets up some fun games for Season 2.”
Bill Skarsgård talks about returning to Derry as Pennywise.
“It was strange to be back. [Producers] Andy and Barbara Muschietti were doing the show, and I adore them. Most of the crew was the same people that did the movies. So it was this weird thing of going back to this gang of people that you created this thing with,"
"I don’t know why, but Pennywise is very accessible for me," Skarsgård adds. "So in terms of getting back into it, it was just like 'Da da dah!', and he explodes out. He’s so defined, he’s sort of dormant but very easily activated. We explored things that we haven’t explored in the movies – particularly one side of it, which I can’t go into. I hope the fans are excited."
SFX reports that Welcome to Derry takes place in 1962, just 27 years before the events of the first It movie. Pennywise is much more than just a scary clown, and the series is set to explore his terrifying origins.