Stephen King Headshot

Written by

Tabitha King, updated by Marsha DeFilippo

Photo Credit

Shane Leonard

Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his parents separated when Stephen was a toddler, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of the elderly couple. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged. KEEP READING STEPHEN'S BIO

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and then Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He and Tabitha Spruce married in January of 1971. He met Tabitha in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University of Maine at Orono, where they both worked as students. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many of these were later gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co. accepted the novel Carrie for publication. On Mother's Day of that year, Stephen learned from his new editor at Doubleday, Bill Thompson, that a major paperback sale would provide him with the means to leave teaching and write full-time.

At the end of the summer of 1973, the Kings moved their growing family to southern Maine because of Stephen's mother's failing health. Renting a summer home on Sebago Lake in North Windham for the winter, Stephen wrote his next-published novel, originally titled Second Coming and then Jerusalem's Lot, before it became 'Salem's Lot, in a small room in the garage. During this period, Stephen's mother died of cancer, at the age of 59.

Carrie was published in the spring of 1974. That same fall, the Kings left Maine for Boulder, Colorado. They lived there for a little less than a year, during which Stephen wrote The Shining, set in Colorado. Returning to Maine in the summer of 1975, the Kings purchased a home in the Lakes Region of western Maine. At that house, Stephen finished writing The Stand, much of which also is set in Boulder. The Dead Zone was also written in Bridgton.

In 1977, the Kings spent three months of a projected year-long stay in England, cut the sojourn short and returned home in mid-December, purchasing a new home in Center Lovell, Maine. After living there one summer, the Kings moved north to Orrington, near Bangor, so that Stephen could teach creative writing at the University of Maine at Orono. The Kings returned to Center Lovell in the spring of 1979. In 1980, the Kings purchased a second home in Bangor, retaining the Center Lovell house as a summer home.

Stephen and Tabitha now spend winters in Florida and the remainder of the year at their Bangor and Center Lovell homes.

The Kings have three children: Naomi Rachel, Joe Hill and Owen Phillip, and four grandchildren.

Stephen is of Scots-Irish ancestry, stands 6'4" and weighs about 200 pounds. He is blue-eyed, fair-skinned, and has thick, black hair, with a frost of white most noticeable in his beard, which he sometimes wears between the end of the World Series and the opening of baseball spring training in Florida. Occasionally he wears a moustache in other seasons. He has worn glasses since he was a child.

He has put some of his college dramatic society experience to use doing cameos in several of the film adaptations of his works as well as a bit part in a George Romero picture, Knightriders. Joe Hill King also appeared in Creepshow, which was released in 1982. Stephen made his directorial debut, as well as writing the screenplay, for the movie Maximum Overdrive (an adaptation of his short story "Trucks") in 1985.

Stephen and Tabitha provide scholarships for local high school students and contribute to many other local and national charities.

Stephen is the 2003 recipient of The National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.

Press Biography

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the 2014 National Medal of Arts.

Stephen lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.

Photo Credit: Shane Leonard

Click to download hi-res press photo

Film/TV Appearances

Hide List Show List
Name
Type
Role
Date
Movie
Shopkeeper
2019
TV Episode
Diner Patron
2017
TV Episode
Diner Patron
2014
TV Episode
Richard Bachman (The Cleaner)
2010
Diary of the Dead (voice over)
Movie
Newsreader
2007
Fever Pitch (Throwing out the first pitch at a Red Sox game)
Movie
Himself
2005
Movie
Mr. Ring
2005
TV Episode
Johnny B. Goode
2004
Rose Red (uncredited)
TV Mini-Series
Pizza Delivery Guy
2002
TV Episode
Brian
2000
TV Episode
Himself
2000
Storm of the Century (uncredited)
TV Mini-Series
Lawyer in Ad/Reporter on Broken TV
1999
TV Mini-Series
Band Leader
1997
Movie
Dr. Bangor
1996
TV Mini-Series
Tom Holby
1995
TV Mini-Series
Teddy Weizak
1994
Movie
Cemetery Caretaker
1992
TV Series
Bus Driver
1991
Movie
Minister
1989
Creepshow 2 (segment "The Hitchhiker")
Movie
Truck Driver
1987
Maximum Overdrive (uncredited)
Movie
Man At Cashpoint
1986
Creepshow (segment "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill")
Movie
Jordy Verrill
1982
Movie
Hoagie Man
1981
...
...

Awards & Nominations

Hide List Show List
Alex Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Fiction
Just After Sunset
Winner
2009
American Audio Publishers Association
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Audie Award: Fiction, Unabridged
The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Narrated by Frank Muller.
Winner
2002
Audie Award: Fiction
Duma Key. Narrated by John Slattery.
Winner
2009
Audie Award: Fiction
Doctor Sleep. Narrated by Will Patton.
Winner
2014
Audie Award: Thriller/Suspense
The Institute (Narrated by Santino Fontana)
Winner
2020
Audie Award: Lifetime Achievement
Audiobooks
Recipient
2020
American Library Association
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Best Books for Young Adults
'Salem's Lot
Recipient
1978
Best Books for Young Adults
Firestarter
Recipient
1981
American Society of Magazine Editors
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
National Magazine Award - Fiction
Rest Stop (Esquire)
2004
National Magazine Award - Fiction
Batman and Robin Have an Altercation (Harper's Magazine)
Winner
2013
Balrog Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Collection/Anthology
Night Shift
Nominee
1979
Novel
The Stand
Nominee
1979
Collection/Anthology
Night Shift
Winner
1980
Novel
The Stand
Nominee
1980
Professional Achievement
N/A
Nominee
1980
Novel
The Dead Zone
Nominee
1980
Professional Achievement
N/A
Nominee
1981
Novel
Firestarter
Nominee
1981
Professional Achievement
N/A
Nominee
1982
Novel
Cujo
Nominee
1982
Black Quill Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Dark Genre Novel of the Year - Reader's Choice
Duma Key
Winner
2009
British Fantasy Society
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
For Outstanding Contribution to the Genre
N/A
Winner
1981
Short Fiction
Crouch End
Nominee
1981
August Derleth Award
Firestarter
Nominee
1981
Best Novel
Cujo
Winner
1982
Short Fiction
Apt Pupil
Nominee
1983
Best Novel
IT
Winner
1987
Best Novel
Rose Madder
Nominee
1995
Best Novel
The Green Mile
Nominee
1996
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Best Novel
Nominee
1997
Best Novel
Bag of Bones
Winner
1999
Best Short Story
Hearts in Atlantis
Nominee
1999
Best Short Story
The Road Virus Heads North
Nominee
1999
Collection
Hearts in Atlantis
Nominee
2000
Collection
Everything's Eventual
Nominee
2003
Best Novel
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
Winner
2005
Best Novel
The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
Nominee
2005
Best Collection
Just After Sunset
Nominee
2009
Best Short Fiction
N.
Nominee
2009
Best Novel
Under the Dome
Nominee
2010
Best Novel
11/22/63
Nominee
2012
Canadian Booksellers Association Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Lifetime Achievement Award
N/A
Winner
2007
Deutscher Phantastik Preis Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Best International Novel
Hearts in Atlantis (Atlantis)
Winner
2000
Best International Novel
Winner
2001
Best International Novel
Dreamcatcher (Duddits)
Nominee
2002
Best International Novel
Black House (Das schwarze Haus)
Winner
2003
International Author of the Year
N/A
Nominee
2003
Best International Novel
Cycle of the Werewolf (Wolfsmond)
Nominee
2004
International Author of the Year
N/A
Winner
2004
Best International Website
N/A
Winner
2004
Honor Award
N/A
Nominee
2004
Best International Novel
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (Der Turm)
Winner
2005
Best International Novel
Lisey's Story (Liebe)
Nominee
2007
Gandalf Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Book-Length Fantasy
The Shining
Nominee
1978
Book-Length Fantasy
The Stand
Nominee
1979
Goodreads
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Choice Award: Science Fiction
11/22/63
Winner
2011
Choice Award: Fantasy
The Wind Through the Keyhole
Winner
2012
Choice Award: Horror
Doctor Sleep
Winner
2013
Choice Award: Mystery and Thriller
Mr. Mercedes
Winner
2014
Choice Award: Mystery and Thriller
End of Watch
Winner
2016
Choice Award: Horror
Sleeping Beauties
Winner
2017
Choice Award: Horror
Elevation
Winner
2018
Choice Award: Mystery and Thriller
The Outsider
Winner
2018
Choice Award: Horror
The Institute
Winner
2019
Horror Guild
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Novel
Desperation
Winner
1997
Long Story
Riding the Bullet
Winner
2001
Nonfiction
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Winner
2001
Novel
Black House
Winner
2002
Novel
From A Buick 8
Winner
2003
Collection
Everything's Eventual
Winner
2003
Horror Writers Association
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Bram Stoker Award - Best Novel
Misery
Winner (Tie)
1987
Bram Stoker Award - Long Fiction
The Night Flier
Nominee
1988
Bram Stoker Award - Long Fiction
The Langoliers
Nominee
1990
Bram Stoker Award - Fiction Collection
Four Past Midnight
Winner
1990
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
Needful Things
Nominee
1991
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
Nominee
1991
Bram Stoker Award - Fiction Collection
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Nominee
1993
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
Insomnia
Nominee
1994
Bram Stoker Award - Long Fiction
Winner
1995
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
The Green Mile
Winner
1996
Bram Stoker Award - Long Fiction
Everything's Eventual
Nominee
1997
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
Bag of Bones
Winner
1998
Bram Stoker Award - Short Fiction
Autopsy Room Four
Nominee
1998
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
Low Men in Yellow Coats
Nominee
1999
Bram Stoker Award - Fiction Collection
Hearts in Atlantis
Nominee
1999
Bram Stoker Award - Long Fiction
Riding the Bullet
Nominee
2000
Bram Stoker Award - Nonfiction
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Winner
2000
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
Black House
Nominee
2001
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
From A Buick 8
Nominee
2002
Bram Stoker Award - Fiction Collection
Everything's Eventual
Nominee
2002
Lifetime Achievement Award
N/A
Winner
2002
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
Nominee
2003
Bram Stoker Award - Short Fiction
Harvey's Dream
Nominee
2003
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
Nominee
2004
Bram Stoker Award - Long Fiction
Lisey and the Madman
Nominee
2004
Bram Stoker Award - Long Fiction
The Things They Left Behind
Nominee
2005
Bram Stoker Award - Novel
Lisey's Story
Winner
2006
Bram Stoker Award - Superior Achievement in a Novel
Duma Key
Winner
2009
Bram Stoker Award - Superior Achievement in a Collection
Just After Sunset
Winner
2009
Bram Stoker Award - Superior Achievement in a Collection
Full Dark, No Stars
Winner
2010
Bram Stoker Award - Superior Achievement in Short Fiction
Winner
2011
Bram Stoker Award - Superior Achievement in a Novel
Doctor Sleep
Winner
2013
Bram Stoker Award - Best Novel
Sleeping Beauties
Nominee
2018
Hugo Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Nonfiction
Danse Macabre
Winner
1982
International Horror Guild Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Film
Apt Pupil
Nominee
1998
Television
Storm of the Century
Winner
1999
Long Story
Riding the Bullet
Nominee
2000
Nonfiction
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Nominee
2000
Novel
Black House
Nominee
2001
Novel
From a Buick 8
Nominee
2002
Collection
Everything's Eventual
Nominee
2002
Television
Rose Red
Nominee
2002
Living Legends Award
N/A
Recipient
2003
Novel
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
Nominee
2003
Television
Kingdom Hospital
Nominee
2004
Novel
Lisey's Story
Nominee
2006
Italia Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
International Novel
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Nominee
1998
Library Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
'Salem's Lot
Winner
1978
American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
Firestarter
Winner
1981
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
Firestarter
Winner
1982
Spokane Public Library Golden Pen Award
N/A
Recipient
1986
Library of Congress
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Lifetime of Work Promoting Literacy
N/A
Recipient
2016
Locus Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Fantasy Novel
The Shining
Nominee
1978
Novelette
The Gunslinger
Nominee
1979
Single Author Collection
Night Shift
Nominee
1979
Novel
The Stand
Nominee
1979
Short Fiction
The Crate
Nominee
1980
Fantasy Novel
The Dead Zone
Nominee
1980
Science Fiction Novel
Firestarter
Nominee
1981
Fantasy Novel
The Mist
Nominee
1981
Novelette
The Way Station
Nominee
1981
Related Nonfiction Book
Danse Macabre
Winner
1982
Fantasy Novel
Cujo
Nominee
1982
Novella
The Breathing Method
Nominee
1983
Single Author Collection
Different Seasons
Nominee
1983
Short Fiction
It Grows On You
Nominee
1983
Novelette
The Raft
Nominee
1983
Fantasy Novel
Christine
Nominee
1984
Fantasy Novel
Pet Sematary
Nominee
1984
Novella
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet
Nominee
1985
Fantasy Novel
The Talisman
Nominee
1985
Collection
Skeleton Crew
Winner
1986
Fantasy Novel
IT
Nominee
1987
Fantasy Novel
The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three
Nominee
1988
Science Fiction Novel
The Tommyknockers
Nominee
1988
Horror Novel
The Dark Half
Nominee
1990
Collection
Four Past Midnight
Nominee
1991
Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition
Nominee
1991
Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands
Nominee
1992
Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
Needful Things
Nominee
1992
Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
Dolores Claiborne
Nominee
1993
Collection
Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Nominee
1994
Novella
The Ten O'Clock People
Nominee
1994
Dark Fantasy/Horror Novel
Insomnia
Nominee
1995
Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
Rose Madder
Nominee
1996
Novelette
Nominee
1996
Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
Desperation
Winner
1997
Horror/Dark Fantasy Novel
The Green Mile
Nominee
1997
Art Book
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Nominee
1998
Fantasy Novel
The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass
Nominee
1998
Novella
Everything's Eventual
Nominee
1998
Dark Fantasy/Horror Novel
Bag of Bones
Winner
1999
Collection
Hearts in Atlantis
Nominee
2000
Nonfiction
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Winner
2001
Fantasy Novel
Black House
Nominee
2002
Collection
Everything's Eventual
Nominee
2003
Fantasy Novel
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla
Nominee
2004
Fantasy Novel
The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
Nominee
2005
Fantasy Novel
Lisey's Story
Nominee
2007
Best Horror Novel
The Outsider
Nominee
2019
Los Angeles Times Book Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Best Mystery / Thriller
11/22/63
Winner
2011
Mystery Writers of America
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Grand Master Award
N/A
Winner
2007
Edgar Allan Poe Award - Best Novel
Mr. Mercedes
Winner
2015
Edgar Allan Poe Award - Best Short Story
Obits
Winner
2016
National Book Foundation
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
N/A
Recipient
2003
National Endowment for the Arts
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
National Medal for the Arts
N/A
Recipient
2014
O. Henry Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Best American Short Story
The Man in the Black Suit
Winner
1996
PEN America
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
PEN America Literary Service Award
N/A
Recipient
2018
Quill Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Sports
Faithful
Winner
2005
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower
Nominee
2005
Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror
CELL
Nominee
2006
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Nebula Award - Novelette
The Way Station
Nominee
1981
Shirley Jackson Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Best Novelette
Winner
2009
Takarajimasha
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! (Best Translated Mystery Fiction of the Year in Japan)
11/22/63
Winner
2014
University of Maine
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Alumni Career Award
N/A
Recipient
1980
Us Magazine
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Best Fiction Writer of the Year
N/A
Winner
1982
World Fantasy Awards
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
Novel
'Salem's Lot
Nominee
1976
Novel
The Stand
Nominee
1979
Collection/Anthology
Night Shift
Nominee
1979
Convention Award
N/A
Winner
1980
Novel
The Mist
Nominee
1981
Short Fiction
Do the Dead Sing?
Winner (Tie)
1982
Novella
The Breathing Method
Nominee
1983
Anthology/Collection
Different Seasons
Nominee
1983
Novel
Pet Sematary
Nominee
1984
Novel
The Talisman
Nominee
1985
Novella
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet
Nominee
1985
Anthology/Collection
Skeleton Crew
Nominee
1986
Novel
IT
Nominee
1987
Short Fiction
The End of the Whole Mess
Nominee
1987
Novel
Misery
Nominee
1988
Short Fiction
The Man in the Black Suit
Winner
1995
Collection
Hearts in Atlantis
Nominee
2000
Lifetime Achievement
N/A
Winner
2004
Novel
Lisey's Story
Nominee
2007
World Horror Convention
Award Category
Work
Status
Year
World Horror Grandmaster
N/A
Winner
1992
...
...