NEWS -

Matthew McConaughey as Flagg or Roland?

Posted: November 17, 2015, 08:36
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Will Matthew McConaughey play Flagg in the upcoming movie version of The Dark Tower? Or will be play Roland The Gunslinger? Well rumor says that he has been offered to play either of these roles. Personally I would prefer Flagg. That way they could also cast him as Flagg in The Stand as it has been rumored earlier. Please note though that this is just a rumor and its source is labeled as ”a person familiar with the project”. So please take it as a rumor for now.


If you could decide, would you cast him as Flagg, Roland or none of them?

Review of Misery Theatre Play

Posted: November 13, 2015, 04:00
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I got an email from Roy Bruhn who went to see the theatrical version of Misery with Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf. In the mail he shared his thoughts on it with me and after him giving me his approval I’d like to share it here with you. Unfortunatley the play isn’t as good as one could hope for… Here is what Roy had to say.

I am not a theatre critic, but I love theatre and the medium and was very curious how they would manage to bring one of my favorite King stories on stage. I loved the book (having said that, I only read it once, when it was released), I did like the movie, but I don’t think it captured the elements and the spirit of the book very well. I think the movie was a good stand-alone movie, but not a very good book adaption, when it comes to produce similar emotions in me as the book did and to portrait well (or at all) what I saw as the key ideas of the book.


Anyway, now it is about the play: It started all very promising, the stage design looked great and was rotating during the play, dynamically changing the potion of the house that was faced to the audience while the actors where acting. The house segments shown where outdoors, Paul’s bed chamber, the hallway and the kitchen. I am attaching you a picture of the outdoors view, as it looked before the play started. The intro was very well done, the bed chamber was dark, some light came through the window, enough to see there is a badly injured person in the bed, the door opened and light come flooding in from the corridor. The long shadow of Annie was preceding her and have the whole play a fabulous eerie start. Unfortunately this was already the best of the play. Of course, the story in itself remains great, but the play really seem to have butchered it and turned it nearly into a comedy rather than a suspenseful stage adaption. Bruce Willis' performance was bad, he never convinced me. He seemed to be more annoyed with Annie then scared.

Read the complete text

Second Description of End of Watch

Posted: November 12, 2015, 00:45
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Here is a second description of End of Watch:

End of Watch is a compelling and chilling suspense novel which sees retired detective Bill Hodges back on the trail of his nemesis Brady Hartsfield, the criminal the press called The Mercedes Killer. Foiled in his attempt to commit a second mass murder, Hartsfield is confined to a hospital brain injury unit in a seemingly unresponsive state. But all is not what it seems: Brady is able to influence both his physician and the hospital librarian to commit crimes in the outside world. Now, the technological genius has created a hypnotic electronic fishing game which compels users to commit suicide, and he is determined to target the three people who put him in hospital - Hodges and his sidekicks Holly and Jerome. Then he plans to initiate a suicide epidemic. For Hodges - and the city - the clock is ticking in unexpected ways...Both a stand-alone novel and the final episode in the Hodges trilogy, End of Watchis a tense read which takes the series into a powerful new dimension.

And the Winners Are...

Posted: November 9, 2015, 15:17
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The winners in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams contest has been drawn and I would like to congratulate F R Maher, Mark Wiggins and Kirk Mulligan who all sent in the correct answers. The book will be with you shortly.

Contest Has Ended!

Posted: November 9, 2015, 08:48
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The winners in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams contest has been drawn. To make it a bit more exciting I will post the correct answers now and the winners later today…

Question: What is the title of King’s first collection of stories?
Answer: Night Shift

Question: How many stories is there in Bazaar of Bad Dreams?
Answer: 20

Question: What is the English title of the story that was first just published in France and Germany?
Answer: Bad Little Kid

Stay tuned for the winners later today…

Us Getting The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

Posted: November 4, 2015, 14:18
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King’s latest book, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, is out and I would like to do the same thing I did when his preivous books was released. I want to put together a page with photos of you all and your copy of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. All you need to do is send me a photo (this should open an email but if it dosn't, send the photo to info[a]liljas-library.com) of yourself and the book (any edition works) and I’ll post them here. If you don’t want to send it by email you can also post it on the Facebook page and I’ll grab it there. I would also like to ask you to include your name, town and country so that I can list that with the photo.

Let's get those photos collected!

IT Films Next Summer

Posted: November 1, 2015, 01:37
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Here are some news from Bloody Disgusting about the upcoming adaptation of IT:

Andy Muschietti, director and producer of Guillermo del Toro’s Mama, is preparing It, the long-gestured and troubled Stephen King adaptation that would be made as two features.

Recently announced, Andy Muschietti substituted Cary Fukunaga on the New Line project.

Shooting is now set to take place next summer, partly to allow for work with children, as they have the main roles in the first part.

Casting is currently underway, with Will Poulter (The Maze Runner, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) still in the mix for the role of Pennywise, the demonic clown. “Will Poulter would be a great option. For me he is at the top of my list,” Muschietti firmed up.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

King Search For the Most Gripping Short Story

Posted: October 31, 2015, 01:19
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King and The Guardian in search for the most original and gripping short story.

The master of horror fiction joins us in a search for the most original and gripping short stories. But how will you interpret Stephen King’s intriguing invitation?

To mark the publication, we are teaming up with his UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton to run a short story competition, in which King himself will pick the winner. The prize will include publication of the winning story on the the Guardian books website and a chance to improve your skills at a Guardian Masterclass run by King’s UK editor, Philippa Pride.

Read more here.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma.

Contest!!!

Posted: October 30, 2015, 22:14
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Contest time again here at Lilja’s Library. This time it’s 3 copies of the UK hardcover of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams that you can win. All you have to do is answer these three questions.

Answer the questions no later than November 8 and you are in the running for one of the books.

Good Luck!

Full List of Narrators for Bazaar of Bad Dreams

Posted: October 20, 2015, 23:58
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Simon & Schuster Audio is proud to announce the full ensemble cast for the unabridged audiobook edition of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. The collection draws together 20 incredible stories, many of them brand-new to audio. Introductions written and read by King himself precede each tale, offering a unique behind-the-scenes look at the story’s origins or what inspired him to write it. The star studded cast of readers includes Dylan Baker, Brooke Bloom, Kathleen Chalfant, Hope Davis, Santino Fontana, Peter Friedman, Holter Graham, Edward Herrmann, Will Patton, Thomas Sadoski, Tim Sample, Cotter Smith, Craig Wasson, Fred Weller and Mare Winningham.

Scribner Gets Rights to 27 Older King Books

Posted: October 14, 2015, 05:28
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Looks like Scribner will be continueing releasing King's books.

Two decades after becoming the megaselling author’s publisher, Simon & Schuster imprint Scribner has acquired North American and Open Market print, e-book, and audio rights to 27 titles

Here is a list of the books.

Christine
Cujo
Cycle of the Werewolf
The Dark Half
The Dead Zone
Desperation
Different Seasons
Dolores Claiborne
The Eyes of the Dragon
Firestarter
Four Past Midnight
Gerald’s Game
IT
Misery
Needful Things
Rose Madder
Skeleton Crew
The Tommyknockers
The Long Walk (writing as Richard Bachman)
Roadwork (writing as Richard Bachman)
The Running Man (writing as Richard Bachman)
Thinner (writing as Richard Bachman)
The Regulators (writing as Richard Bachman)
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower series)
The Drawing Of The Three (The Dark Tower series)
The Wastelands (The Dark Tower series)
Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower series)

Thanks to Lou Sytsma and Bruno Barattini

Ep 50: Beahm Serves Fans A King Companion

Posted: October 13, 2015, 00:47
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With your hosts - longtime Constant Readers - Hans Lilja of Lilja's Library and podcaster & writer - Lou W. Sytsma.

This is it! Our milestone - 50th episode of The Stephen King Podcast!

Woohoo!

As your co-hosts Hans Lilja & Lou Sytsma - we want to thank our Constant Listeners for following along with us on our Stephen King Podcasting path.

We wanted to make our 50th episode a special one and to do that we are honored to present a episode long interview with one of the - in his words - old guard Stephen King Chroniclers.

It's been 20 years since George Beahm updated his Stephen King Companion and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since 1995. George has updated his book and made more accessible than ever before. He'll talk about how the book is for the fans because it is not only about King and his works but also how those works impacted so many lives and how they in turn enriched the Stephen King fan community.

We asked for fan questions and you responded! Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. So listen and see if your question made the podcast.

But that's not all. If you sent in a question you really want to listen to this podcast because there's a CONTEST!

If you hear your question on the podcast, George Beahm proves his generosity not only in his interview on the podcast but to those lucky fans because.......

YOU'VE WON A COPY OF GEORGE'S BOOK!

So listen to the podcast, listen for your question, and if you hear it then listen to Hans on how to claim it!

You can leave us comments, questions, topic suggestions for future episodes at:
1) Facebook - Lilja's Library
2) Audio Message - Speak Pipe widget on the right hand of the podcast page (send voicemail)

In this podcast:
1) 00:00 - Intro
2) 00:57 - Podcast Setup
3) 03:26 - From The Night Shift - George Beahm Interview about his new book - The Stephen King Companion
4) 1:25:46 - Sign Off
5) 1:26:42 - Outre



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Intro Music - Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

Outro Music - Stand By Me - Ben E. King
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iTunes - The Stephen King Podcast.
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RSS Feed - RSS.
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Direct Download Link - The Stephen King Podcast - Episode 50
(Click to play, right click and Chose 'Save Link As' to save the file)
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Support The Show - Thank You!

Description of End of Watch

Posted: October 8, 2015, 01:24
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From the Flap of End of Watch (contains spoiler for Mr Mercedes and Finders Keepers):

IN ROOM 217 OF THE LAKES REGION TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY CLINIC, SOMETHING HAS AWAKENED. SOMETHING EVIL.

Brady Hartsfield, perpetrator of the Mercedes Massacre, where eight people were killed and many more were badly injured, has been in the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic for five years, in a vegetative state. According to his doctors, anything approaching a complete recovery is unlikely. But behind the drool and stare, Brady is awake, and in possession of deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room.

Retired police detective Bill Hodges, the unlikely hero of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers, now runs an investigation agency with his partner, Holly Gibney, who delivered the blow to Hartsfield's head that put him on the brain injury ward. Brady also remembers that. When Bill and Holly are called to a murder-suicide with ties to the Mercedes Massacre, they find themselves pulled into their most dangerous case yet, one that will put not only their lives at risk, but those of Hodges’s friend Jerome Robinson and his teenage sister, Barbara. Because Brady Hartsfield is back, and planning revenge not just on Bill Hodges and his friends, but on an entire city.

In End of Watch, Stephen King brings the Hodges trilogy to a sublimely terrifying conclusion, combining the detective fiction of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers with the supernatural suspense that has been his trademark. The result is an unnerving look at human vulnerability and up-all-night entertainment.

Ask Beahm!

Posted: September 28, 2015, 15:43
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On Sunday George Beahm will join me and Lou when we record episode 50 of The Stephen King Pod Cast. This has been pushed forward but now it’s happening. We have gotten a few questions so far but we need more so send in your questions either by mail, facebook, twitter or preferable the SpeakWidget you can find here (send voicemail to the right). George has promised to bring a few copies of his new book The Stephen King Companion that we will give out to some of you that send in questions.

Ep 49: Pulling A Double Night Shift

Posted: September 28, 2015, 10:53
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With your hosts - longtime Constant Readers - Hans Lilja of Lilja's Library and podcaster - Lou W. Sytsma.

Welcome to Episode 49 of The Stephen King Podcast!

Your co-hosts Hans Lilja & Lou Sytsma review King's first short story collection - Nightshift and pick our top 3 stories. Plus we reveal your top 3 episodes.

We continue our discussions of Richard Chizmar's - owner of Cemetery Dance Magazine and Publications - thoughts on reading all the Stephen King novels over at - Stephen King Revisited.

This Stephen King Revisited looks at - Night Shift.

Stephen King Revisited article links:

1) Graveyard Shift by Bev Vincent

2) “How I Got A Job Working The Night Shift” by Brian Keene

3) Revisiting Night Shift by Richard Chizmar

As always, we bring you the latest Stephen King news.

We hope you enjoy this episode and, as usual, we want to hear from you.

Good or bad, we want it all!

You can leave us comments, questions, topic suggestions at:

1) FaceBook - Lilja's Library

2) Audio Message - Speak Pipe widget on the right hand of the podcast page (send voicemail)

In this podcast:

1) 00:00 - Intro
2) 00:57 - Podcast Setup
3) 01:45 - From The Death Room - The Latest Stephen King News
4) 30:49 - Reviews From The Night Shift - Night Shift
5) 47:16 - Stephen King Revisited - Night Shift
6) 56:43 - Sign Off
7) 1:00:29 - Outre



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Intro Music - Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

Outro Music - Stand By Me - Ben E. King
-------------------------------------------------------------------
iTunes - The Stephen King Podcast.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
RSS Feed - RSS.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Direct Download Link - The Stephen King Podcast - Episode 49

(Click to play, right click and Chose 'Save Link As' to save the file)
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Support The Show - Thank You!

Unearthed & Untold Out in 2016

Posted: September 24, 2015, 09:19
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The documentary UNEARTHED & UNTOLD: THE PATH TO PET SEMATARY has been acquired for worldwide distribution by Terror Films and will probably released next year.

UNEARTHED & UNTOLD: THE PATH TO PET SEMATARY is a documentary film chronicling the origins of Stephen King’s bestselling horror novel, PET SEMATARY, as well as the subsequent film based on his novel. Through extensive interviews this documentary showcases the stories of many cast and crew and highlights how the local communities in Maine played an invaluable role in making the film. In addition to first-time interviews by cast and crew members and never-before-seen video footage from the sets in Maine, this documentary will also take you on an extensive tour of the filming locations from the film – emphasizing the true local flavor and influence of Maine on this timeless horror film.


Thanks to Herbert West

I Need Your Help!

Posted: September 21, 2015, 11:17
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There has been a lot of now followers both on facebook, twitter and here on the Internet recently and I just want to make you aware of a few things that I need your help with. OK, here we go.

Mr Mercedes
Revival
Finders Keepers

Link on how to send in photo is on each page. Here are my photos to give you an idea...


I want to post as many photos as I can of you, the King fans, with his books. And a lot of you have sent in photos but I bet there are more of you out there that have the books and want to be part of this. So, check these pages out and then send in your photo with any of these three books (the photo should be a photo of you and the book, not just the book). Any edition and language goes.

I’m trying to decide what book the fans like the best and for that I need you to vote. Head over here and cast your vote for the best book!


OK that’s it. I hope you’ll all help me out with this! Thanks!
/ Lilja

A Piece of King History

Posted: September 21, 2015, 11:04
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Here is a unique look behind the scenes of the publication of The Stand Uncut. Peter Schneider, marketing director at Doubleday at the time, tells how they presented the book to their sales reps with the help of a video of King talking to them about the book. Check this out, it’s a small piece of history!


Full story

The Mist As a TV Series

Posted: September 16, 2015, 23:06
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Seems like The Mist is being developed as a TV series by Dimension Television...again.

The Weinstein Company’s Dimension Television is developing a TV series based on The Mist, first a Stephen King novella and then a 2007 MGM film directed by Frank Darabont. The project, which Dimension says is moving forward with King’s blessing, is from writer Christian Torpe, who created the Danish series Rita which is now finishing its fourth season.

The series will tell an original story about a seemingly innocuous mist that seeps into a small town but contains limitless havoc. From psychological terrors to otherworldly creatures, the mist causes the town residents’ darkest demons to appear forcing them to battle the supernatural event and, more importantly, each other.

“The terror and drama in Stephen King’s novella are so vast that we felt serialized television is the best place to explore them in greater depth,” said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films. “With this show, Christian has created a fascinating band of characters and a story with infinite scares.”

Dimension TV’s Megan Spanjian, Matthew Signer and Keith Levine will oversee the project.

King & Grisham To Appear At Book-Ends

Posted: September 16, 2015, 15:07
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2016 will get off to a great start for fans of best-selling authors John Grisham and Stephen King. The two authors will participate in the Manatee Library Foundation’s fundraiser in January at State College of Florida’s Neal Performing Arts Center.

Legal thriller novelist John Grisham will headline the event. Stephen King will interview Grisham on stage.

The event, “Book-Ends: An Evening with Two Literary Giants” will be held Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. Organizers are hoping to sell out the 832-seat venue and to raise $175,000 for the Library System.

“This is a huge literary event and we continue to be awestruck it’s happening here,” said Manatee County Library Services Manager Ava Ehde. “We are grateful to these impressive and prolific authors as well as Rep. Boyd, the growing list of sponsors and the Library Foundation for their support of our Manatee Libraries.”

If tickets are still available on Oct. 15, the public may purchase tickets for $150 apiece.

The Foundation will also give away a ticket to the King event to the winner of a Flash Fiction contest challenging amateur writers to submit a 250-word piece of fiction or poetry inspired by a photo posted on the new 805lit.org site. One winner will be announced in January. (If a minor wins the contest, he or she will be awarded two tickets for guardian accompaniment.)

If You Could Have Any Superpower...

Posted: September 16, 2015, 09:18
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At first I thought telepathy, but you’d hear some pretty nasty thoughts. X-ray vision? No, you might see some really nasty things. Superstrength? Might hurt someone without meaning to. Mind control? Too tempting—absolute power corrupting absolutely and all that. But would I like to be able to just jump into the air and fly like Superman? Yes, but without superstrength and invulnerability, I would probably be shot down by fighter jets acting on the authority of Homeland Security. I guess the best one would be superspeed, like the Flash. You know, just turn it up to 11 and pull the knobs off. Burn that sucker.
-Stephen King

What would you choose?

King on Under the Dome

Posted: September 15, 2015, 09:25
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King sort of commented on the Under the Dome TV series during the Lee Child event and even though he didn't say it our flat I think this says it all...

I wrote a novel called ”Under the Dome”, not necessary to be confused with a TV show…

Special feature

King calendar

Out now!:
Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (Italian edition)
April 15, 2025:
Letter Slot (Owen King)
April 15, 2025:
Jackknife (Joe Hill)
2025:
Shining in the Dark (German trade ed.)
May 27, 2025:
Never Flinch
may 2025:
Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (Czech edition)
June 6, 2025:
Life of Chuck
July 2, 2025:
Stephen King: Not Just Horror (Greek ed.)
2025:
Stephen King: Not Just Horror (German ed.)
September 2025:
Welcome To Derry (TV series)
September 2, 2025:
Hansel & Gretel
September 12, 2025:
The Long Walk (movie)
2025:
Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (German edition)
2025:
Stephen King: Stories From Five Decades of Storytelling (Portuguese edition)
2025:
Abraham’s Boys (Joe Hill)
2025:
Stephen King: Not Just Horror (Portuguese ed.)
October 21, 2025:
King Sorrow (Joe Hill)
November 7, 2025:
The Running Man
2025:
The Institute (TV series)

Latest interviews

Angelina Kekish
February 16, 2021
Aaron Haye
February 15, 2021
Eli Roth
October 5, 2020

Latest reviews

The Monkey
February 19, 2025
The Extra Hour
January 14, 2025
Lost (or Found) in Translation
October 17, 2024

Comics

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