NEWS -

Under the Dome updates

Posted: March 11, 2009, 22:08

Scribner now list Under the Dome to be 1120 pages long.

It's also confirmed that the release date is set to November 10, 2009. You can pre-order your copy here.

Talisman in color

Posted: March 11, 2009, 21:49

Here is a promo (in color) for The Talisman. King's offical site says it'll be released in September 2009. Read more here.

New interview with Robin

Posted: March 11, 2009, 00:17

Here is a new interview with Robin Furth about Treachery and The Dark Tower: Sorcerer. There are also previews from The Dark Tower: Sorcerer.

Thanks to Sonia Rodríguez Riveiro

The Stand Week on Lilja's Library

Posted: March 9, 2009, 00:00

It’s theme week here at Lilja’s Library. This time we focus on The Stand and the release of the hardback edition of Captain Trips and the first issue of American Nightmare. To celebrate this I have put together a week for you that I hope you will enjoy. Here is what you’ll get:

Monday:
Interview with Chris Eliopoulos
The contest starts and the first winner is drawn

Tuesday:
Interview with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
The second winner is drawn

Wednesday:
My review of issue #1 of American Nightmares
The third winner is drawn

Thursday:
Interview with Laura Martin
The forth winner is drawn

Friday:
Interview with Mike Perkins
The fifth and last winner is drawn

Lilja’s Library is also working with Tales Of Wonder to give you the best price possible on The Stand comic even if you don’t live in the US. They are offering to sell the hardback of The Stand: Captain Trips (the regular cover) for $28 (retail price is $25) and that includes postage outside the US which is otherwise much higher than $3. US customer get 30% off plus shipping. Shipping is $1.99 plus $0.79 per book (free shipping above $99).

And as if that isn’t enough they are also offering to throw in a random selected variant cover (from one of the five issues of Captain Trips) to those customers who buys the hardback for as long as their supplies last. How about that? Just go here to order. And while there, check out their signed copies of The Stand: Captain Trips hardback as well.

Comments, questions or thoughts about the week? Don’t hesitate to let me know.

Interview with King

Posted: March 6, 2009, 20:51

Here is an interview with King that USA Weekend has done with him to remember us that April marks the 35th anniversary of his first published novel.

Thanks to Larry Fire

The Pop of King: I Love 'Breaking Bad'!

Posted: March 6, 2009, 13:01

King has a new column I Love 'Breaking Bad'! out and you can read it here.

Thanks to Bev Vincent

Ur on iPhone

Posted: March 4, 2009, 23:47

Now people with an iPhone can read Stephen King’s Ur as well. Read more here.

Thanks to Larry Fire

Ur a success:

Posted: March 4, 2009, 14:07

Ur seems to be a success:

It's not the sensation of his first effort, but Stephen King's latest e-adventure is another best-seller.

King's agent, Ralph Vicinanza, said Tuesday that downloads of King's novella "UR," available only as an e-book and released to coincide with the launch of Amazon's upgraded Kindle reader, have reached "five figures" after barely three weeks on the market.

In 2000, in the early years of digital texts, King's novella "Riding the Bullet" was downloaded hundreds of thousands of times, overwhelming Amazon.com and other online sites.

Amazon.com has declined to offer any specific numbers for sales of the Kindle or for individual books, although publishers have said that popular titles sell in the thousands or better.

Vicinanza said in a telephone interview that Amazon would not be providing specific numbers until 60 days after the Feb. 12 release, but added: "We've been told that they're in the five figures already.

"We're excited. They're happy, we're happy and from the initial information that we're getting it seems to be a success."

As of Tuesday afternoon, "UR" was No. 18 on Amazon's list of Kindle best-sellers.

Vicinanza had approached King with the idea of writing a story for release as an e-book as a way to "create some excitement" in electronic publishing at a time when the book industry is going through tough times.

The New York-based agent recommended the strategy even though the Kindle and competing devices account for no more than 1 percent of overall book sales. "UR" eventually will be made available in print, he said.

The Kindle 2, a slimmed-down model with upgraded components and storage capacity, went on sale Feb. 9 for $359. The gadget downloads books, newspaper stories and blog posts over a wireless network.

"UR," available as a download for $2.99, is about a college English instructor whose pink Kindle allows him to access new books by famous dead authors as well as newspapers that tell of a future event that he is compelled to try to forestall.

While some readers have likened the book to an infomercial for Amazon's pricey device, Vicinanza says any King fan recognizes how often cars and other products appear in his books.

"There isn't enough money out there for Stephen King to do product placement, for sure," he said.

King began writing the story Jan. 18, the agent had it edited and sent to Amazon on Feb. 4, and the edited proofs were in the hands of King and his agent — sent, in fact, to their Kindles — two days later.

King sees the Kindle as a delivery system that matters less than the story it delivers. In his blog on the Entertainment Weekly Web site http://www.ew.com. the author opined a year ago that Kindles will not replace books, which have a permanence that accentuates the importance of the ideas and stories they contain.

But they can, he wrote, enrich a reader's life.

"For a while I was very aware that I was looking at a screen and bopping a button instead of turning pages. Then the story simply swallowed me, as the good ones always do," King wrote. "It became about the message instead of the medium, and that's the way it's supposed to be."

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

More Bag of Bones

Posted: March 3, 2009, 13:04

More news about Bag of Bones:

Two men behind a movie based on Stephen King's 1998 novel "Bag of Bones" will be in Portland today to discuss the possibility of filming in Maine.

"Bag of Bones" director Mick Garris and producer Mark Sennet are scheduled to talk about their plans at a press conference at 4:30 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn on Commercial Street.

They are also scheduled to meet sometime today with Gov. John Baldacci and other state officials to explore financial incentives for the film.

Sennet, whose credits include a TV adaptation of King's 1996 novel "Desperation," said his production company would like very much to shoot in Maine, but won't be able to without greater incentives than those offered to filmmakers under the Maine Attraction Film Incentive program.

Sennet said his company would need a tax credit that would provide a savings of about 25 cents on every dollar spent. He said many other states have such programs.

"Bag of Bones" has a $20 million budget, and Sennet expects to spend $10 million wherever the film is made.

"We'd love to do it here. We're basically here to see if (state officials) want to do this," Sennet said. "If not, there are plenty of places we could go."

Sennet said Massachusetts has the kind of tax-credit program he is interested in. His company, Sennet Entertainment, has explored filming in the Bay State, as well as in Michigan, Louisiana and Georgia.

Set at a lake in western Maine, "Bag of Bones" is about a novelist dealing with his wife's death, a custody battle and a haunted house.

The fact that King is a lifelong Mainer will have little to do with whether the film gets shot here, Sennet said.

"We'd love to do the film, but we need to do it for a certain price," he said.

A call to King's Bangor office was not returned Monday.

Several of King's works have been filmed in Maine in the past 20 years, including: "Pet Sematary" (1989); "Graveyard Shift" (1990); "The Langoliers" (1995); "Thinner" (1996); and "Storm of the Century" (1999), a TV miniseries.

Sennet said he would like to shoot the film this summer. The movie has not been cast.

Sennet and Garris worked together on "Desperation" (2006), and Garris directed the TV miniseries version of King's "The Shining" (1997), as well as the miniseries of King's "The Stand" (1994).

The meeting with state officials today is expected to include Maine film industry advocates Cameron Bonsey and Barney Martin.

Bonsey, who was a local casting director for the HBO film "Empire Falls," shot in Maine in 2003, and Martin, a locally based actor, have long advocated for more state incentives to attract film and video projects to the state.

It was Martin who convinced Sennet and Garris to come to Maine to meet with state officials, Sennet said.

Bonsey said "Bag of Bones" is an example of the kind of film Maine could attract if more incentives were offered.

"We wanted to bring in a project that's real, instead of just talking about incentives in a general way," Bonsey said.

The state's current film incentive program includes a wage-tax rebate, an income-tax rebate for investors, no state sales tax on most production items, and reimbursement for lodging taxes for long-term stays.

Baldacci's deputy chief of staff, David Farmer, confirmed that the filmmakers had requested to meet with the governor, but he said Baldacci does not know what sort of incentives they are seeking.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Bag of Bones this summer

Posted: March 2, 2009, 22:55

Looks like Bag of Bones might start filming this summer

Film version of horror novel may be shot in Maine
March 2, 2009
PORTLAND, Maine—The film version of Stephen King's novel "Bag of Bones" may be shot in the author's home state.

Director Mick Garris and producer Mark Sennet are planning to meet Tuesday with Gov. John Baldacci and other officials about the possibility of expanding financial incentives available from the state.

Maine film industry advocates say "Bag of Bones" will be a $20 million production, and half of the budget would be spent in Maine. Filming could begin as early as this summer.

The novel is set in a lakeside summer home in a remote part of Maine where an author suffering from writer's block dredges up dark secrets following his wife's death.

News...

Posted: February 25, 2009, 16:23

Here are some info from King's official message board about a chapter for Hearts in Atlantis and also a hit that King is hard at work at new projects.

Question:
I read the intro of "Low men in yellow coats" present in "Stephen King goes to the Movies" and it mentions one chapter King didn't write yet for Hearts in Atlantis. It's called "The house on Benefit Street" and it's the story of what happened to Carol (Bobby childhood's girlfriend).

Any news about this? Does King plan to write it?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answer (Moderator):
Steve got the idea to do this 2 or 3 years ago, I think. He had asked me to get the audio versions of Hearts in Atlantis to listen to while he drove to Florida to get him back in the groove and then planned to begin writing it when he arrived. I don't know what happened between November and January, but he started writing another project instead. I'd asked him recently if he still planned to write it but he wasn't sure if he would as he has other projects (it's killing me that I can't say anything yet ) he's working on that are taking priority.

Thanks to Ari

From a Buick 8 news

Posted: February 25, 2009, 16:22

Here is a small update about the movie version of From a Buick 8:

While co-writer Johnathon Schaech’s FROM A BUICK 8 Stephen King adaptation still looks for financing, he and co-writer Richard Chizmar are continuing to tweak the script for the Tobe Hooper film. “We’ve done 15 rewrites,” Schaech said of the project, ”and Stephen King loves it. He says it’s a great screenplay, which is sort of THE GREEN MILE meets STAND BY ME meets FRIDAY THE 13TH.”

Thanks to Bev Vincent

Throttle now on audio

Posted: February 25, 2009, 16:12

King and Hill's collaboration Throttle is now out on audio. It's on a CD called Road Rage together with Richard Matheson's Duel that isnpired King and Hill. You can listen to it here and order your copy here.

Talisman prequel

Posted: February 24, 2009, 19:40

Before The Talisman comic starts there will be an issue 0. This will be an episode that does not appear in the book itself, but serves as a prequel to the whole story.

More info to come…

Treachery #6 review

Posted: February 24, 2009, 14:13

Tomorrow the last issue of Treachery is released but here is my review of it if you want to check it out.

Tony talks Talisman

Posted: February 23, 2009, 00:47

Here is an interview with Tony Shasteen, illustrator for the upcoming The Talisman comic.

Treachery 6 preview

Posted: February 23, 2009, 00:41

Here is a preview of the sixth issue of Treachery.

Thanks to Sonia Rodriguez Riveiro

Sketch cover

Posted: February 21, 2009, 00:19

Here is the sketch cover for issue #6 of Treachery.

Preview of American Nightmare

Posted: February 20, 2009, 11:21

Here is a preview of the first issue of American Nightmare.

You can also read more about the issue here.

Thanks to Georgia

No Lee for The Fall of Gilead

Posted: February 20, 2009, 00:21

For the 4th arc of The Dark Tower, The Fall of Gilead, Jae Lee's artistic partner in the series from the beginning, Richard Isanove, is doing the art by himself. No reason for this has been given by Marvel at this time.

New covers for The Stand

Posted: February 19, 2009, 22:55

Here are three new covers for The Stand: American Nightmare.

From left to right: Sketch variant of issue #1, a second variant cover for issue #1 and the regular cover for issue #3.

If you want to see more covers for The Stand: American Nightmare you can do so here.

Try downloading...

Posted: February 18, 2009, 23:45

Nightmares & Dreamscapes is now available for download (six months before the physical CD) and if you have never tried downloadable audio before, here is your chance.

Special Offer to Liljas Library readers
Now you can try out Audible with this special free trial offer. If you ever wanted to download a Stephen King audio book now is your chance. Audible content, audio books, audio programs and more can be downloaded to your Apple iPod, iPhone and hundreds of other MP3 devices. Download an audio book free today with this special Lilja Library offer from Audible.com.
Free Trial Link

Nightmares & Dreamscapes vol. 1
Nightmares & Dreamscapes vol. 2
Nightmares & Dreamscapes vol. 3

Latest column online

Posted: February 18, 2009, 23:15

Now you can read King's latest column Torture and '24' online.

Robin talks Talisman

Posted: February 18, 2009, 00:44

Here is an eight part interview with Robin Furth about The Talisman. It's done by Shawn Speakman at the New York Comic Con earlier this year.

The Fall of Gilead

Posted: February 18, 2009, 00:43

Here is the cover of the first issue of the 4th story arc in The Dark Tower series. This arc is called The Fall of Gilead.

A horrified Steven Deschain learns that the deadly seeing sphere called Maerlyn’s Grapefruit has been stolen from his chambers! Far worse, when he enters his wife’s rooms to arrest her for the theft, his son Roland is standing over her body with a gun in his hand. The youngest gunslinger has perhaps committed the most hideous crime of all!

Thanks to Sonia Rodríguez Riveiro

Variant cover for Treachery #6

Posted: February 15, 2009, 22:13

Here is the variant cover of issue #6 of Treachery.

Thanks to Sonia Rodríguez Riveiro

New column

Posted: February 15, 2009, 22:11

A new column is out but doesn’t seams to have found it's way online yet. It's called Torture and '24' and is in issue #1035 2/20/09.

Thanks to Bev Vincent

Robin Furth signing

Posted: February 14, 2009, 20:08

The Signed Page has added an online signing with Robin Furth.

She will be signing the regular collected hardcover editions of The Gunslinger Born, The Long Road Home, and Treachery. As you might remember, Dark Tower comic book colorist Richard Isanove held an online signing for Dark Tower fans at The Signed Page, signing all seven issues of The Gunslinger Born. Robin wanted a similar way to bridge the gap between her and the fans and she thought this would be a fun way to do it.

Robin will only sign 100 copies of each hardcover arc, making this a rare opportunity for Stephen King and Dark Tower collectors.

Ur Now Available!

Posted: February 12, 2009, 21:20

Amazon has decided to release Ur ahead of schedule. Kindle users can now purchase it for immediate download to their Kindle devices.

Get your copy here.

Under the Dome page count

Posted: February 11, 2009, 20:27

Under the Dome is now listed on Simon & Schuster’s site and according to that info it will be 1038 pages long and the release date is November 10.

Ur exclusive for Kindle...at first

Posted: February 10, 2009, 22:27

It was confirmed today that Kindle will have an exclusive on Ur for its users first but will then release it (anywhere from 1-3 months after) as a download to the general public.

Ur's length

Posted: February 10, 2009, 21:08

Bev Vincent reported that An Amazon official estimates that Ur would run about 100 traditional print pages, calling it a more of a novella than a story.

Ur clip

Posted: February 10, 2009, 16:26

Here is a clip from yesterday’s pressconference where King reads from Ur and here is a short interview about it.

Thanks to Bev Vincent

Short Q&A

Posted: February 9, 2009, 20:59

Here is a short Q&A with King about Ur and Kindle.

More Ur news

Posted: February 9, 2009, 20:31

It is now confirmed that there will be a downloadable version of Ur released. It will be available from the Kindle site. No date has been revealed yet though.

According to Amazon.com the Kindle version will be available on February 24th but you can pre-order it here.

Here is a description of the plot:

Following a nasty break-up, lovelorn college English instructor Wesley Smith can't seem to get his ex-girlfriend's parting shot out of his head: "Why can't you just read off the computer like the rest of us?" Egged on by her question and piqued by a student's suggestion, Wesley places an order for a Kindle. The device that arrives in a box stamped with the smile logo--via one-day delivery that he hadn't requested--unlocks a literary world that even the most avid of book lovers could never imagine. But once the door is open, there are those things that one hopes we'll never read or live through. Get it only on Kindle.

Speedy Parker

Posted: February 9, 2009, 20:30

Here is one more illustration from The Talisman. This one is of Speedy Parker.

Treachery HB

Posted: February 9, 2009, 20:29

Here is the cover for the hardback of Treachery. It's released on April 8.

New novella

Posted: February 9, 2009, 15:10

New novella called Ur released later this month:

Stephen announced today that he is releasing a novella, “Ur,” which will only be available on Kindle. Ur is available for pre-order beginning today and will be released later this month. For Kindle customers who pre-order, King’s new novella will download automatically when it becomes available.

Read more here

Morgan Sloat

Posted: February 9, 2009, 10:12

New York Comic Con is over and even though news about new King stuff isn’t flooding the net I managed to find this illustration of Morgan Sloat from The Talisman.

Audio excerpts

Posted: February 8, 2009, 23:54

Here are three excerpts from the audio version of Nightmares & Dreamscapes.

excerpt 1
excerpt 2
excerpt 3

Secretary covers

Posted: February 8, 2009, 23:50

Here are the three different covers for the second volume of Secretary of Dreams

Thanks to Larry Fire

Illustrations

Posted: February 8, 2009, 23:23

The limited edition of Stephen King at the Movies will be beautifully illustrated by Vincent Chong and on Subterranean Press site you can see more examples.

Captain Trips issue #1 for free

Posted: February 8, 2009, 23:21

On King's official site you can now download the complete first issue of Captain Trips.

Marvel has announced that The Stand: Captain Trips Premiere Hardcover will be available exclusively at comic shops and TalesOfWonder.com. The highly anticipated collection includes all five issues of the first arc.

To celebrate, Marvel is offering visitors of StephenKing.com a complimentary digital version of the complete first issue. This download also includes the Captain Trips Sketch Book. - A must have file for The Stand's constant readers.

Thanks to Larry Fire

Mortality in Esquire

Posted: February 5, 2009, 16:23

I got this interesting news from blogger Larry Fire just now:

I spoke to Stephen King’s office yesterday about the upcoming novella entitled Mortality. According to Marsha DeFilippo, Mr. King’s assistant, the story will appear this summer in Esquire magazine possibly around July. I’ll post more information when it becomes available.

Three books...

Posted: February 4, 2009, 11:20

Here are three upcoming books that might be of interest:

Inside the Dark Tower Series: Art, Evil and Intertextuality in the Stephen King Novels
By Patrick McAleer
Released Feb. 16

Stephen King is no stranger to the realm of literary criticism, but his most fantastic, far-reaching work has aroused little academic scrutiny. This study of King's epic Dark Tower series encompasses the career of one of the world's best-selling authors and frames him as more than a "horror writer." Four categories of analysis--genre, art, evil, and intertextuality--provide a focused look at the center of King's fictional universe. This book reaches beyond popular culture treatments of the series and examines it against King's horror work, audience expectations, and the larger literary landscape.

Pre-order here.

Stephen King (Who Wrote That?)
By Michael Gray Baughan
Released March 30

Stephen King began writing and submitting stories for publication as a young teenager. It wasn't until 1973 when he was 26 years old, however, that his first novel, "Carrie", was accepted by a publisher. By the 1980s, his books were published at a rate of at least one per year. How did King, once a struggling writer, become one of the best-selling authors of all time? "Stephen King" explores his path from a childhood of poverty to success as a screenwriter, film producer, director, and author of classics of the horror genre like "The Shining" and "Cujo".

Pre-order here.

Stephen King on the Big Screen
By Mark Browning
Released May. 15

The Shining. Carrie. Misery. These are just a few of the film adaptations that have been made from the terrifying and eerie work of novelist and short story writer Stephen King. It is nearly impossible to think of another author who has inspired so many, and such diverse filmmakers—yet there has never before been a work by a film specialist that focused solely on Stephen King. Mark Browning, in Stephen King on the Big Screen, takes a film-by-film approach to exploring why some adaptations of King’s work are more successful than others.

Browning discusses every single film adaptation given a global cinematic release—including films by such well-known directors as Stanley Kubrick, George A. Romero, and David Cronenberg. His is the first book to consider in detail Sleepwalkers, Dreamcatcher, and 1408 as well as the much-neglected portmanteau films and touchstones like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. In a highly readable and engaging style, Browning examines how different film directors have interpreted and translated the original literary texts into a new medium. Throughout, he reveals the elements of style and approach that have helped make King one of the world’s best-selling authors.

Pre-order here.

Stephen King on Stephenie Meyer

Posted: February 4, 2009, 10:52

Here is an article called Stephen King Blasts 'Twilight' Author Stephenie Meyer.

American Nightmares cover

Posted: February 4, 2009, 00:34

Here is the variant cover for the first issue of the second story arc of The Stand: American Nightmares

The Talisman comic revealed

Posted: February 2, 2009, 22:12

Today Del Ray announced who's doing what with The Talisman comic. Here are their press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DEL REY ANNOUNCES CREATIVE TEAM ON

STEPHEN KING AND PETER STRAUB’S THE TALISMAN

NEW YORK, NY – February 2, 2009 – Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today the adaptor and artist on the comic book and graphic novel versions of The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub.

The book will be penciled and inked by Tony Shasteen, who has been an illustrator since 1995. His clients have included Coca-Cola, Nascar, Hasbro, DC Comics, Wildstorm, Top Cow, Dark Horse, Virgin, Boom Studios, and Image Comics, among many others. Tony illustrated Image Comic’s The Occult Crimes Taskforce (The O.C.T.), co-created by David Atchison and Rosario Dawson. Film rights to The O.C.T. are in development with Dimension Films.

It will be scripted by Robin Furth, who co-writes Marvel’s bestselling Dark Tower comics taking place in King’s Dark Tower Universe. The Gunslinger Born – the first of the Dark Tower series – was nominated for both an Eisner and a Harvey award. Robin has written “Satana and The Electric Pentacle” for Marvel’s Legion of Monsters and has adapted Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Lords of Avalon series to comic book form. She worked as Stephen King’s research assistant between 2000 and 2004 and continues to do freelance work for the Master of Horror.

Lettering and project management will be handled by Dabel Brothers Publishing. The first issue of the monthly comic is planned for early fall 2009.

Originally published in 1984, The Talisman is the story of a young teen named Jack Sawyer, who can save his dying mother only by retrieving a magical talisman. To find it he must cross back and forth between our world and the frightening and dangerous landscape of its “twinner” counterpart. Both The Talisman and its sequel, Black House, are in print with Ballantine Books. Television rights to The Talisman are under development by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Peter Straub is the author of 17 novels which have been translated into more than 20 languages. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, for Koko.

ABOUT DEL REY:

Del Rey Books (http://www.delreybooks.com) was founded in 1977 as an imprint of Ballantine Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, under the guidance of the renowned Judy-Lynn del Rey and her husband, Lester del Rey. Del Rey publishes the best of modern fantasy, science fiction, and alternate history. No stranger to comics, Del Rey launched Del Rey Manga in 2004 in conjunction with Japanese publisher Kodansha, and quickly began to acquire original graphic novel projects as well. Current and upcoming projects include a four-color graphic novel developed with pop singer Avril Lavigne, Make 5 Wishes; the graphic novel In Odd We Trust, by Dean Koontz and Queenie Chan; the first-ever graphic novel set in the world of Terry Brooks' Shannara universe, Dark Wraith of Shannara; original manga starring Marvel characters in X-Men: Misfits and Wolverine: Prodigal Son; and a four-color original graphic novel set in the Outlander universe, scripted by author Diana Gabaldon herself.

The children

Posted: February 1, 2009, 00:02

Here is an interview with two of the kids from the new version of Children of the Corn.

Thanks to Al Mattice

N&D audio

Posted: January 28, 2009, 09:04

Here is the covers for the new three-part audio edition of Nightmare & Dreamscapes released on June 30.

Pre-order your copy here:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

NEWS -

Special feature

King calendar

Latest interviews

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Stephen King The Actor

Author Photo Quiz

King's best book

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