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My first quote for the book

Posted: September 29, 2009, 09:10

Cemetery Dance sent a copy of my book (a galley) to Peter Straub and he in return sent me this very kind quote that I just had to share with you all:

"Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King is like beautifully prepared and presented red meat to any admirer of Stephen King. Mr. Lilja has tracked down his many quarries and used them to create this massive treatment of King's work and his world. His book is pure testimony to the love Stephen King is capable of arousing in his readers."
— Peter Straub, co-author of The Talisman and Black House

Well, what can I say? I’m a very happy boy today!

60 new pages

Posted: September 28, 2009, 21:53

Very good news from the moderator of King's board:

Steve gave me the okay to scan another 60 pages which I will do and have posted by the end of the week but he also said not to expect any more until at least next year --or possibly not at all.

What does Ka is a Wheel mean

Posted: September 28, 2009, 12:05

As many of you have noticed there are some Dark Tower things going on. Over at http://www.stephenking.com/darktower/ there is a teaser up for something that is coming in November.

There has been speculations flying high and low since that teaser was posted. Some thinks it’s an ad for the last story arc in the Dark Tower comic. Some think it’s going to be an interactive game based on The Dark Tower and then there is this theory that I’m hoping for.

When we were chatting about his upcoming book Under the Dome, a novel with political subtext out in November, King said he had recently had an idea for a short story. “And then I thought, ‘Well, why don’t I find three more like this and do a book that would be almost like modern fairy tales?’ Then this thing started to add on bits and pieces so I guess it will be a novel.” That idea, according to King, is for a new Dark Tower novel, a continuation of his epic seven-part fantasy/sci-fi/Western series about a lone gunslinger named Roland and his ongoing hunt for the Man in Black. “It’s not really done yet,” King admits of his magnum opus. “Those seven books are really sections of one long uber-novel.”

This is from this blog (written in March) by Lorrie Lynch who got this info while doing this interview.

No one knows for sure though but the moderator of King’s official board has promised that there will be more info in mid-October.

Thanks to Chris

Under the Dome in Italy

Posted: September 25, 2009, 22:05

King's agent has just confirmed that the Italian edition of Under the Dome will be released on October 27th. 2 weeks ahead of the US and UK editions.

The cover part 2

Posted: September 25, 2009, 21:34

The second part of the cover of Under the Dome has been revealed. Check it out here it looks amazing.

More Canniblas?

Posted: September 25, 2009, 21:16

Maybe King will give us 60 aditional pages from The Cannibals...if we want it. Here is what the moderator of King's board posted today:

I told Steve that everyone was loving what has been released so far. He told me to ask if you'd like another 60 or so pages. I told him I didn't even have to ask--of course you would, but he told me to ask anyway. So, is there anybody out there who would like to see another 60 pages?

Thanks to Ari.

What's this?

Posted: September 25, 2009, 14:25

Check this out! I have no idea what it means but it sure looks interesting...

Thanks to Ari.

King, in a theater near you

Posted: September 25, 2009, 11:42

Now you’ll be able to see King even if you can’t attend:

Live from NY -- it's King, in a theater near you!
Yesterday at 7:00pm

Here's an interesting option for people who can't make it to one of King's events this fall:

The New York Times Launches ‘TimesTalks LIVE’
Simulcasts of TimesTalks Conversations from TheTimesCenter

Co-Presented with BY Experience, Inc.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The New York Times announced today the launch of TimesTalks LIVE, broadcasts of intimate discussions with today’s top talents and thinkers from TheTimesCenter. The simulcasts will be transmitted live, in high definition via satellite to movie theaters and other venues across the United States and Canada. Approximately 75 locations will participate in the pilot screenings, which is co-presented with BY Experience with additional sites expected to join.

The participating sites, to date, include 54 Cineplex theaters throughout Canada and 20 independent venues in the U.S. including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.

The first events to be broadcast will feature: John Irving in conversation with Times writer at large Charles McGrath, on Wednesday, Oct. 28; and Stephen King in conversation with Times book critic Janet Maslin on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Audiences at the various locations will have the opportunity to submit questions for consideration by the respective moderator in advance of each event through the TimesTalks Web site. For tickets, participating venues and theater box offices, please visit www.TimesTalks.com.

Read the complete text

Thanks to Bev Vincent

Corn trailer

Posted: September 24, 2009, 23:46

Here is a trailer for the remake of Children of the Corn.

Thanks to Al Mattice

Teaser

Posted: September 24, 2009, 23:44

More cool stuff that will be in The Stephen King Illustrated Companion:

A look inside The Shining. The title page, dated May 13, 1975, still bears King's original title, The Shine, along with a handwritten note to Bill Thompson. Three pages from the original manuscript show how King changed his mind about Danny's encounter with the fire hose outside room 217 in Chapter 19. The first draft of "Inside 217" --the famous bathtub scene--containing King's hand-written revisions and annotations. In this draft, Danny's mother is named...(you'll have to check out the book to find the answer to that question!)

Covers for issue #5

Posted: September 24, 2009, 23:36

Here are the variant and sketch covers for issue 35 of Fall of Gilead.

Thanks to Sebastian Rahm

Jackson to quit smoking

Posted: September 22, 2009, 23:52

Samuel L. Jackson to quit smoking as Quitter's Inc. gets remade.

Johnathn Schaech started his acting career taking the lead in Franco Zeffirelli’s THE SPARROW. He went on to play the title characters in HOUDINI and JUDAS and starred in such films as HUSH, THE FORSAKEN, THE DOOM GENERATION and Tom Hanks' THAT THING YOU DO - to name a few. Recently he starred in two award-winning indies, LITTLE CHENIER and SEA OF DREAMS. In 2008 he starred in the theatrical blockbusters QUARANTINE and PROM NIGHT. Johnathon has written for Showtime’s MASTERS OF HORROR series, and last year he wrote for NBC’s new series FEAR ITSELF. Schaech is currently writing the screenplay for Stephen King’s FROM A BUICK 8 for horror master Tobe Hooper and Stephen King’s QUITTERS INC. for Samuel L Jackson.

Rich Chizmar and John Schaech have been asked to write the screenplay but the production is waiting for clearance of the rights because Quitters, Inc. had already been produced as part of Cat's Eye.

Source

Buick 8 news

Posted: September 22, 2009, 23:49

Here is an update on the movie version of From a Buick 8 from the moderator of King’s board:

I received this update from Rich Chizmar (owner of the film rights) on Friday (9/18):

"Tobe Hooper still attached as director, along with Amicus Films as our producing partner, as well as Mick Garris. Script is good shape. I know some of the funding is in place. They are still shaking the trees for the rest."

Talisman covers

Posted: September 22, 2009, 23:44

Here is the regular cover and variant cover for issue "2 of The Road of Trials.

Thanks to Shawn Speakman

Jericho Hill cover

Posted: September 22, 2009, 23:03

Here is the cover for issue #2 of The Battle of Jericho Hill. No sign of the cover for issue #1 yet though...

Signings

Posted: September 21, 2009, 22:07

Here are more info about the Baltimore and Toronto signings:

Info for Baltimore area:

Wednesday, November 11th

6:00 PM
Wal-Mart #2435
2399 North Point Boulevard
Dundalk, MD 21222
410-284-5412

Wristbands will be handed out at 7:00 AM that morning. The first 400 people will get a wristband. Right before the event, they'll move the line to the raised stage area. There will be an area for those who were not able to obtain a wrist band at which Steve will speak for about 15 minutes before the actual signing begins. There will be a back-up line in the event that Steve is able to get through more than the first 400 people in the two hours allotted.
__________________

Toronto

An Evening with Stephen King

Thursday, November 19th
8:00pm

Canon Theatre
244 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON M5B 1V8
(416) 872-1212

Tickets are not yet on-sale so please do not call the theater yet. We hope to have prices and ticket ordering info by the end of the week.
__________________

These are the only venues for this tour:

November 10th TimesTalks, New York City Sold Out

November 11th Wal-Mart, Dundalk, MD Book signing

November 13th Barnes & Noble, Peachtree
Atlanta Book signing

November 16th Van Wezel, Sarasota, FL On stage event

November 18th St. Paul, MN Sold Out

November 19th Canon Theatre, Toronto On stage event

December 1st Writers on a NE Stage,
Portsmouth, NH Sold Out

December 2nd Northshire Bookstore,
Manchester, VT On stage event

No Ghost Brothers?

Posted: September 21, 2009, 22:05

The play/musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County is now on the back burner. It does look like that there will be a CD release next year though that’s supposed to contain "the book," which is simply the text of the proposed musical. Everything but the lyrics. It won't really read like a novel though.

According to Rolling Stone, two of the artists performing on the CD will be Elvis Costello and Neko Case.

Thanks to Bev Vincent

King in Fangoria

Posted: September 21, 2009, 22:05

King will be writing for Fangoria:

Stephen King, the world’s best-selling author of horror and dark fantasy, has submitted an exclusive, all-new article for publication in FANGORIA magazine. The 7,500-plus-word essay, entitled “What’s Scary,” will be published in two parts, beginning with FANGORIA #289, on sale in December, and concluding in FANGORIA #290, arriving in January 2010. “I’ve wanted to be a Fango contributor ever since I purchased my first issue,” King says. “For me, this is a nightmare come true.”

“What’s Scary” critiques the last decade of genre cinema, from 1999’s phenomenon THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT to this past summer’s surprise smash DISTRICT 9. He also chooses his favorite films and touches on the recent flood of horror remakes and zombie flicks, making many surprising and enlightening observations.

“Stephen’s article not only arrives just in time for the holidays, but is also the perfect way for FANGORIA to wrap up 2009, the year we celebrated the magazine’s 30th anniversary,” says Fango editor Tony Timpone. “It has always been a dream of mine to have King listed as a contributor on our masthead, and the fact that he has written enough for two issues is just icing on the cake.”

The author promises to answer the following questions in his piece (excerpted from his introduction): “First,” King writes, “why do so many so-called horror movies, even those with big budgets (maybe especially those with big budgets) not work? Second, why do fans of the genre such as myself so often go in with high hopes and come out feeling unsatisfied…and, worse, unscared? Third, and most important, why is it that others—sometimes that most unheralded others, those with teensy budgets and unknown, untried actors—do work, surprising us with terror and amazement?”

King has been featured in FANGORIA’s pages since its earliest issues. For Fango’s 100th edition (pictured left), the Maine resident told interviewer Philip Nutman, “It’s one of the magazines that comes into the house that we all fight over. FANGORIA is always welcome in my house.” King is the author of over 60 novels, which have sold an estimated 350 million copies worldwide and spawned dozens of feature films and TV series, movies and miniseries. In 2003, the National Book Foundation awarded King the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, one of many prestigious accolades he has garnered over the years. King’s latest novel, the gargantuan apocalyptic epic UNDER THE DOME, arrives November 10 from Scribner.

Thanks to Bev Vincent

The cover part 1

Posted: September 21, 2009, 19:06

The first part of the cover of Under the Dome has been revealed. Check it out here.

King turns 62

Posted: September 21, 2009, 11:46

Congratulations to Stephen King as he celebrate his 62nd birthday today!

King's self-portrait for sale

Posted: September 21, 2009, 11:37

Bloomsbury Auctions

To be sold by auction on Thursday 24th September at 2:00 pm

108. Stephen KING (American, b. 1947) Self-portrait. ink on verso of "Books & Co." bookmark 8 7/8 x 3 1/4 inches (227 x 80 mm)
signed.

The undisputed master of the horror story, King has won eight Bram Stoker awards and was honored with an O. Henry Award in 1996 for his New Yorker story, The Man in the Black Suit. In 2003, King received a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.

"At a publisher's party in Los Angeles during a book fair, someone spotted King in the crowd. He dared me to go over and get his S-P - 'You get Dante and Shakespeare and Muhammed Ali to do them for you, why don't you ask somebody really famous?' So I did, and this was the result. He was a really nice guy, and a Red Sox fan, to boot". -- Burt Britton

Est. $2000 – $3000

Thanks to Bev Vincent

More teasing...

Posted: September 21, 2009, 11:36

Here is more from the content of The Stephen King Illustrated Companion:

1) Final galley page from The Stand containing the Author's Note, with King's handwritten changes and additions.

2) Manuscript pages for the scene where Larry Underwood and Rita escape from New York via the Lincoln Tunnel. King has identified this as his favorite scene in the book.

Sneek peaks

Posted: September 17, 2009, 15:16

Bev Vincent keeps giving us sneek peaks on what's going to be included in his upcoming book The Illustrated Stephen King Companion. Here is what he has told us so far:

- First pages from manuscript of The Gunslinger, The Stand, Pet Sematary & Dead Zone

- A familiar scene of Needful Things

- A completely different scene from Insomnia

- The 43rd Dream (before it gets reprinted, only ONE copy is known to exist)

- A 3 line cartoon by Stephen King

- Excerpts from unpublished stories!

- Reproduction of several pages of the first part of I Was a Teenage Grave Robber, King's first story publication.

Thanks to Herbert West

Under the Dome page

Posted: September 16, 2009, 16:10

Scribners Under the Dome page is now online. On it you can read and listen to excerpts from the book as well as other fun stuff. No cover until September 21 though. The limited ed. of the book has now sold out.

Check it out here.

There is also a link to the town Chesters Mill.

Thanks to John Hanic

New poem

Posted: September 16, 2009, 16:09

The November issue of Playboy will contain a narrative poem called The Bone Church.

In the tradition of Coleridge and Kipling, the horror master of Maine offers up The Bone Church, a narrative poem filled with madness and mayhem.

Thanks to Herbert West

The Cannibals

Posted: September 15, 2009, 15:18

Cannibals excerpt is now out on King's official site. You can download it as a PDF that looks incredible cool if you ask me.

Get it here.

Order the limited Under the Dome

Posted: September 15, 2009, 15:09

The limited ed. of Under the Dome is now available for pre-order but hurry while there are copies left.

Pre-order here.

Q&A with Shawshank creators

Posted: September 14, 2009, 10:41

Here is a Q&A with the people behind the stage adaptation of the shawshank redemption.

Excerpt from The Cannibals

Posted: September 14, 2009, 00:22

For the first time ever, we will be able to read an excerpt from The Cannibals on September 15th. This is the story which originally inspired Under the Dome and it will be posted on StephenKing.com.

Also, don't forget that Scribner begins its promotion campaign for Under the Dome on September 15th. Many special features are in the works.

The signed collector's edition of Under the Dome will also be going on sale September 15th and will only be available through Simon & Schuster (limited to U.S. orders only).

I got a look at Artists Inspired by Stephen King

Posted: September 14, 2009, 00:21

I got a chance to check out the book Artists Inspired by Stephen King and I’m very impressed with what I saw. There are illustrations and covers that I didn’t even know excised and also interviews and information from and about a lot of illustrators connected to King’s work. One that stood out a little extra was Bernie Wrightson talking about a very scary dream he had as a kid. I was also honored to see that they had included a passage from one of my interviews with King in the book. A regular review will be published on the site soon.

New column and The $ave

Posted: September 14, 2009, 00:21

King's latest column is called What's Next For Pop Culture? It starts:

"Because I love the culture I write about, these columns are usually lighthearted. Not this time."

It is not yet online.

Also, EW has started up a new section called "The $ave", which recommends things based on how much money you have. In this week's issue it has this:

$20
Stephen King says...
"I would go see the horror movie Carriers. Six bucks. A medium popcorn (lots of butter), Junior Mints, and Diet Pepsi can be had for an additional $12.50. A fine time, and a dollar left over for an instant-scratch lottery ticket. If my wife wants to come with me (doubtful, considering the subject matter), we'd share a small popcorn and Coke. For love, I can economize."

Thanks to willowlove

Hardback of American Nightmares

Posted: September 14, 2009, 00:20

Marvel now has the hardback edition of American Nightmares listed on their site. It's due to be released on November 11th.

Home Delivery to hit the screen

Posted: September 10, 2009, 08:47

Dread Central just reported the following:

After tackling Clive Barker's work with The Midnight Meat Train director Ryuhei Kitamura is now moving on to another literary genius ... Stephen King as Our Thing Productions is readying a live action adaptation of the Nightmares and Dreamscapes zombie tale, Home Delivery.

Paul Buckholts of Our Thing dropped us a line with the following tidbits of news to share with you: "My twin brother John and I optioned the film rights and have adapted Stephen King’s zombie short story HOME DELIVERY (from Nightmares and Dreamscapes). Visionary Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (The Midnight Meat Train) is attached to direct.

Head over to their website for more info.

Books for your dolls...

Posted: September 10, 2009, 00:17

Do you have a dollhouse? If so it's time for you to add the right books to it...and you can get them at Miniature Bookshelf.

Thanks to Larry Fire.

Comic HB

Posted: September 10, 2009, 00:16

Amazon.com has The Fall of Gilead and American Nightmare listed in hardback now. The dates hasn't been confirmed by Marvel but here is what Amazon says:

The Dark Tower : The Fall of Gilead HC
Release Date: March 9, 2010

The Stand : American Nightmare
Release Date: January 6, 2010

More when I find out if this is correct.

Thanks to Donovan Maguigan

Covers

Posted: September 9, 2009, 23:36

Here are some covers for the book Artists Inspired by Stephen King.

Delux

Extras

Slipcase

Trade

Traycase

Yet another Children of the Corn?

Posted: September 8, 2009, 13:38

Ehren Kruger has been hired to pen a new adaptation of Stephen King’s Children of the Corn tale, which has already inspired the 1984 New World release, several Dimension-issued sequels and a redux that hits the Syfy channel and DVD this fall.

“We felt the New World film was a missed opportunity,” Dimension topper Bob Weinstein tells Variety. “If you read the short story, it’s got such a strong feeling to it and there’s this religious overtone to it as well. Ehren wants to hit it hard. It’s popular in Hollywood to say you’re re-envisioning a project, but a lot of the time they’re just carbon copying the original. We are bringing something new to the story.”

Thanks to Al Mattice

Dome in Sunset

Posted: September 7, 2009, 13:23

The paperback edition of Just After Sunset has an excert from Under The Dome.

Thanks to Neil Jarvis

Tickets for Van Wezel, Sarasota

Posted: September 7, 2009, 01:15

More tickets...

As part of his Under the Dome publicity tour, Stephen will be making an appearance at the Van Wezel in Sarasota, FL on November 16th. He will be interviewed on stage by Susan Rife of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and will also entertain questions from the audience.

The first 250 ticket buyers will receive a voucher (one per order) that they may use to purchase a pre-signed copy of Under the Dome, in the lobby, on the night of the show. Unsigned copies will also also be available for purchase.

Tickets will go on sale on September 13th.

CALL THE BOX OFFICE
941.953.3368
TOLL FREE 800.826.9303
WWW.VANWEZEL.org

The Battle Of Jericho Hill cover

Posted: September 4, 2009, 13:11

Here is a first look at the cover for issue #1 of The Battle Of Jericho Hill. I don't however know if it's a sketch of any of the covers or the sketch cover.

Thanks to Sebastian Rahm.

Check out pages from Artists Inspired by Stephen King

Posted: September 3, 2009, 23:30

Here is a bunch of pictures from the book Artists Inspired by Stephen King that Jerad from Centipede Press sent me and I must admit that it looks very nice.

Here are also the names of the artists that will be signing the book:

Dave McKean, Bernie Wrightson, David Palladini, John Jude Palencar, Michael Whelan, Bob Eggleton, John Cayea, Rowena Morrill, Jill Bauman, Kinuko Y. Craft, Jason Eckhardt, Les Edwards, David Ho, Allen Koszowski, Zach McCain, Alex McVey, John Picacio, Don Punchatz, Rick Berry, Douglas Smith, Thomas Canty, Glenn Chadbourne, David Christensen, Alan Clark, Ned Dameron, Linda Fennimore, Stephen Gervais, Mark Geyer, Phil Hale, Don Maitz, Steven Stroud, Drew Struzan and Mark Ryden.

Read the complete text

Manchester tickets on sale today

Posted: September 1, 2009, 16:31

Here is a reminder that the tickets for the Northshire Book Store (Manchester, VT) event go on sale today:

Tickets go on sale Tuesday September 1st at 10:00 AM.
Please call the store at 802-362-2200 or 800-437-3700.
$10.00 tickets are available on the website: www.northshire.com.
$50.00 tickets that include a signed book are available only by calling the store or going to the store.

My review

Posted: August 31, 2009, 14:41

Check out my review of issue #4 of Fall of Gilead.

The Galley

Posted: August 28, 2009, 21:40

The galley's of my book has reached Sweden and here are a couple of new photos of it.

Third Talisman book

Posted: August 27, 2009, 21:28

The moderator of King's board had the following to say about the third Talisman book:

Steve told me this morning that he and Peter are looking at starting this in two years as that's about how long it will take each of them to clear their schedules of the projects they are working on now.

Plan for Dome...

Posted: August 27, 2009, 14:24

Here's the plan for revealing the cover for Under the Dome

UNDER THE DOME – Cover Reveal Copy
The jacket concept for UNDER THE DOME originated as an ambitious idea from the mind of Stephen King. The artwork is a combination of photographs, illustration, and 3-D rendering. This is a departure from the direction of King’s most recent, illustrated covers.

In order to achieve the arresting image for this jacket, Scribner art director Rex Bonomelli had to seek out artists who could do a convincing job of creating a realistic portrayal of the town of Chester’s Mill, the setting of the novel. Bonomelli found the perfect team of digital artists, based in South America and New York, whose cutting edge work had previously been devoted to advertisement campaigns. This was their first book jacket and an exciting venture for them. “They are used to working with the demands of corporate clients,” says Bonomelli. “We gave them freedom and are thrilled with what they came up with.”

This CGI (computer generated imagery) enhanced image looks more like something made for the big screen than for the page and is sure to make a lasting impact on King fans.

The multiple elements of this jacket art lend themselves perfectly to a unique, four-part jacket reveal campaign. The first aspect will be unveiled on September 21, followed by the release of additional images on September 25 and September 28, and culminating with the full reveal on October 5, when the world will see that everything is UNDER THE DOME.

Preorder your copy here.

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