Dear SKMBers,

As most of you know, I have a novel coming out in November called Under the Dome. My first effort to write it came in 1978, or thereabouts. That seventy-page manuscript (actually titled Under the Dome) was lost, but after reviewing the stuff I said about it in Douglas Winter’s book, The Art of Darkness (1989), I got thinking about my second effort to write that story, which, as you will find out, deals with people trapped in an increasingly lethal environment.

That second try was mostly written in Pittsburgh, during the filming of Creepshow. I spent two months in a depressing suburban apartment complex that became (with the usual fictional tweaks) the setting for the story. It was called The Cannibals, and this time I got a lot further—almost five hundred pages—before hitting a wall. I assumed the manuscript was lost. Long story short, it turned up—battered, and with some pages missing, but mostly complete—in the summer of 2009. So, for your amusement, and as an appetizer to Under the Dome, here are the first sixty pages or so of The Cannibals, reproduced, warts and all, from the original manuscript which was dredged up by Ms. Mod from a locked cabinet in a back room of my office. I’m amused by the antique quality of the typescript; this may have been the last thing I did on my old IBM Selectric before moving on to a computer system.

There’s another reason for publishing this on the website. Several Internet writers have speculated on a perceived similarity between Under the Dome and The Simpsons Movie, where, according to Wikipedia, Homer’s town of Springfield is isolated inside a large glass dome (probably because of that pesky nuclear power plant). I can’t speak personally to this, because I have never seen the movie, and the similarity came as a complete surprise to me…although I know, from personal experience, that the similarity will turn out to be casual. Unless there’s deliberate copying (sometimes known as “plagiarism”), stories can no more be alike than snowflakes. The reason is simple: no two human imaginations are exactly alike. For the doubters, this excerpt should demonstrate that I was thinking dome and isolation long before Homer, Marge, and their amusing brood came on the scene.

I hope you enjoy this. As always, Ms. Mod and I welcome your comments.

Steve King

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For the first time ever, you can now read an excerpt from The Cannibals. This is the story which originally inspired Under the Dome.

The Cannibals is available for download in PDF format from The Cannibals page.

Stephen's short story, "Home Delivery" (Nightmares & Dreamscapes) has been optioned as a theater release and is in pre-production.  No release date has been set at this time.  John and Paul Buckholts of Our Thing Productions have written the screenplay and Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura (The Midnight Meat Train) is scheduled to direct.

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

Tin House has published a new poem by Stephen titled "Mostly Old Men" in Issue 40, their 10th Anniversary issue.  It can be purchased through their web site.

Simon & Schuster has announced they will be taking pre-orders beginning September 15th for the signed Collector's Edition of Under the Dome.

Click here for more information.

As part of his book tour for Under the Dome, Stephen will be appearing in Portsmouth, NH, on December 1, 2009, in the author series Writers on a New England Stage presented by The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio. The one-hour program features an author presentation, interview, and live music.  The evening program will be rebroadcast in days following on the NH Public Radio’s “Word of Mouth” and available on The Music Hall’s website. 

Autographed copies of Stephen King's Under the Dome are $35. Books will be distributed on the evening to audience members who have secured a book voucher. A limited number of book vouchers will be sold, first come, first served; max one book voucher per ticket order, two book vouchers for orders of four or more tickets. Purchase a book voucher in advance at the Music Hall Box Office, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, or over the phone at 603-436-2400.

Visit the web site for The Music Hall for more information.  Tickets will be available for purchase on July 25th for members of The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio and August 8th for non-members.

On November 10, 2009, Stephen will be appearing in New York at The Times Center to promote his new book, Under the Dome, which will be released in stores on that day.  For more information and to order tickets for the event, please visit their site.

I'm delighted to tell you that I won not one but TWO Stoker Awards at this year's ceremony, one for Duma Key (Best Novel) and one for Just After Sunset (Best Collection). My motto is, You can never be too thin, too rich, or win too many Stoker Awards. (If you've never seen one, the awards are most excellently cool.) My thanks to everyone who voted, and my congratulations to all the other nominees. Most of all, though, thanks to everyone who bought those books and enjoyed them. (And if you bought them and didn't enjoy them, I still thank you.)

Steve

The production of the "Ghost Brothers of Darkland County" CD/book package is slated to commence on June 15, when producer T Bone Burnett begins laying down the tracks in Los Angeles for the 18 new songs John has written for his musical theater collaboration with Stephen King. King's dialog will later be assembled in John's Belmont Studio.

The cast for the production is still not finalized but will definitely be star-studded. Projected release of the completed project is next January and will be in more than one configuration, with a "deluxe" version to include a book containing the show's full text and song lyrics, a CD featuring the show's dialog and songs, and a second CD with only the songs.

The July 2009 issue of Esquire magazine (on newsstands in June) will feature a new short story titled "Morality". 

Chad, an aspiring writer who is teaching school until he lands a publishing contract, and his wife, Nora, who is working as a home nurse for a retired minister are, like most people these days, struggling financially.  Nora is approached by her employer with a proposition that could make their dream of a home in Vermont a reality.  But will it be worth the moral consequences?