Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Stephen King
Discover the career path of Stephen King, from the first major opportunity to industry-changing achievements.
Stephen King, the "King of Horror," is a prolific American author renowned for his horror novels. He has successfully ventured into suspense, crime, science fiction, fantasy, and mystery genres. Beyond novels, he has penned around 200 short stories, largely compiled into collections, solidifying his status as a master storyteller.
1958: Setting of 11/22/63
In 1958, as depicted in Stephen King's novel '11/22/63,' the protagonist travels back in time to this year from the future via a time portal, with the mission of preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
1958: Setting of Christine's car
In the novel Christine, published in 1983, the haunted car Christine is a 1958 Plymouth Fury.
1965: First Independently Published Story
In 1965, Stephen King's first independently published story, "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber", was serialized over four issues of the fanzine Comics Review.
1967: First Professional Short Story Sale
In 1967, Stephen King sold his first professional short story, "The Glass Floor", to Startling Mystery Stories.
1971: Hired as an English Teacher
In 1971, Stephen King was hired as an English teacher at Hampden Academy in Hampden, Maine.
1974: Release of Blue Öyster Cult's Astronomy
In 1974, Blue Öyster Cult released their song Astronomy.
1974: Publication of Carrie
In 1974, Stephen King's debut novel, Carrie, was published, establishing him as a prominent figure in the horror genre.
1975: Return to Auburn, Maine and Completion of The Stand
In 1975, Stephen King's family returned to Auburn, Maine, where he completed The Stand, an apocalyptic novel. King has stated that The Stand took him the longest to write and remains a favorite among his readers.
1976: Release of Carrie (1976) film adaptation
In 1976, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Carrie, was released.
1978: Publication of Night Shift
In 1978, Stephen King's collection of short stories, Night Shift, was published, featuring many of his early works.
1979: Publication of The Dead Zone
In 1979, Stephen King published The Dead Zone, a novel set in Castle Rock, Maine, which King has identified as a turning point in his writing style.
1980: Release of The Shining film adaptation
In 1980, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Shining, was released.
1981: Publication of Danse Macabre
In 1981, King published Danse Macabre, his first major nonfiction work.
1982: Publication of Different Seasons
In 1982, King published Different Seasons, a collection of four novellas marking his initial departure from the horror genre. The collection includes novellas that would later be adapted into films like Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption.
1983: Establishment of Zone Corporation
In 1983, Stephen King and his wife established the Zone Corporation to acquire the radio station WACZ in Bangor, which was then renamed WZON.
1983: Publication of Christine and Pet Sematary
In 1983, Stephen King published Christine, a novel, and Pet Sematary, a novel King initially found too disturbing to publish but resurrected to fulfill his contract with Doubleday.
1983: Releases of The Dead Zone and Christine film adaptations
In 1983, two film adaptations of Stephen King's novels, The Dead Zone and Christine, were released.
1985: Publication of Skeleton Crew
In 1985, Stephen King published Skeleton Crew, a collection of short fiction including "The Reach" and The Mist.
1986: Release of Stand by Me film adaptation
In 1986, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novella The Body, titled Stand by Me, was released.
1987: Productive Year: The Eyes of the Dragon, Misery, and The Tommyknockers
In 1987, Stephen King had an unusually productive year, publishing The Eyes of the Dragon, a high fantasy novel; Misery, a thriller influenced by his addiction experiences; and The Tommyknockers, a science fiction novel filled with metaphors for addiction.
1988: Blue Öyster Cult Song with King's Narration
In 1988, the band Blue Öyster Cult recorded an updated version of their 1974 song "Astronomy", featuring a narrative intro spoken by Stephen King.
1990: Publication of Four Past Midnight
In 1990, Stephen King published Four Past Midnight, a collection of four novellas.
1990: Essay in The New Yorker
In 1990, Stephen King published an essay in The New Yorker about his son Owen's Little League team.
1990: Release of Misery film adaptation
In 1990, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Misery, was released.
1991: Publication of Needful Things
In 1991, Stephen King published Needful Things, his first novel since achieving sobriety.
1992: Publication of Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne
In 1992, Stephen King published Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne, two novels about women loosely linked by a solar eclipse.
1994: Co-authorship of "Midlife Confidential"
In 1994, Stephen King and his band-mates from the Rock Bottom Remainders coauthored "Midlife Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America With Three Chords and an Attitude".
1994: Publication of "The Man in the Black Suit"
In 1994, Stephen King's short story "The Man in the Black Suit" was published in The New Yorker.
1994: Release of The Shawshank Redemption film adaptation
In 1994, the film adaptation of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (from Different Seasons), titled The Shawshank Redemption, was released.
1995: Celebrity Jeopardy! Appearance
In 1995, Stephen King was a contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy!.
1995: Acquisition of Radio Stations
In 1995, the Zone Corporation added two radio stations, WKIT-FM and WNSW in Brewer. WNSW was quickly shut down.
1995: Release of Dolores Claiborne film adaptation
In 1995, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Dolores Claiborne, was released.
1996: Publication of The Green Mile as a Serial Novel
In 1996, Stephen King published The Green Mile as a serial novel in six parts, achieving considerable success on the New York Times bestseller list.
1998: Publication of Bag of Bones
In 1998, Stephen King published Bag of Bones with Scribner, marking a shift in his writing style and garnering critical acclaim.
1998: Celebrity Jeopardy! Appearance
In 1998, Stephen King was a contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy!.
1998: Release of "Stranger Than Fiction" Album
In 1998, the Rock Bottom Remainders, featuring Stephen King, released an album titled "Stranger Than Fiction" under Don't Quit Your Day Job Records.
1998: Release of Apt Pupil film adaptation
In 1998, the film adaptation of Apt Pupil (from Different Seasons) was released.
1999: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
In 1999, King's novella The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was released, where baseball plays a role.
1999: Publication of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and Hearts in Atlantis
In 1999, Stephen King published The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and Hearts in Atlantis, showcasing different aspects of his storytelling.
1999: Release of The Green Mile film adaptation
In 1999, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, The Green Mile, was released.
2000: Publication of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
In 2000, King published On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, a nonfiction book about writing and his life as a writer.
2000: Publication of On Writing and Riding the Bullet
In 2000, Stephen King published On Writing, a mix of memoir and style manual, and Riding the Bullet, the world's first mass e-book.
2001: Acquisition of WDME-FM
In 2001, the Zone Corporation acquired WDME-FM in Dover-Foxcroft, which was later renamed WZLO.
2002: Wavedancer Benefit
In 2002, Stephen King, along with Peter Straub, John Grisham, and Pat Conroy, organized the Wavedancer Benefit, a public reading event to raise funds for injured actor Frank Muller. The reading was later released as an audiobook.
2004: Publication of Faithful
In 2004, Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan coauthored Faithful, chronicling their correspondence about the Boston Red Sox's historic 2004 season and World Series win.
2005: Publication of Sons' First Story Collections
In 2005, both of Stephen King's sons published their first collections of stories. Owen King released "We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories" and Joseph Hillström King (Joe Hill) published "20th Century Ghosts".
2007: Release of The Mist film adaptation
In 2007, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novella, The Mist, was released.
2008: Endorsement of Barack Obama
In 2008, during the presidential election, Stephen King endorsed Barack Obama for president.
2010: Release of Blockade Billy
In 2010, Stephen King's novella Blockade Billy, in which baseball is featured, was released.
March 8, 2011: Speech at Political Rally
On March 8, 2011, Stephen King spoke at a political rally in Sarasota against Governor Rick Scott, expressing his opposition to the Tea Party movement.
November 2011: STK Foundation Donation
In November 2011, Stephen King's STK Foundation donated $70,000 in matched funding to help families in need in Bangor, Maine, with their heating bills during the winter.
2011: Publication of 11/22/63
In 2011, Stephen King's novel, '11/22/63,' was recognized as one of the top five fiction books of the year by The New York Times. The novel explores themes of memory, fate, and free will through a time portal that sends an English teacher back to 1958 to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
April 30, 2012: Article in The Daily Beast Calling for Higher Taxes
On April 30, 2012, Stephen King published an article in The Daily Beast advocating for wealthy Americans, including himself, to pay more taxes.
2012: Narration on Black Ribbons Album
In 2012, Stephen King provided the narration for Shooter Jennings's album Black Ribbons.
January 25, 2013: Publication of "Guns" Essay
On January 25, 2013, Stephen King released an essay titled "Guns" via Amazon.com's Kindle single feature, addressing the gun control debate following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and advocating for a ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons.
2013: Co-authorship of "Hard Listening"
In 2013, Stephen King and his band-mates coauthored the e-book "Hard Listening: The Greatest Rock Band Ever (of Authors) Tells All".
2014: Endorsement of Shenna Bellows
In 2014, Stephen King endorsed Shenna Bellows in the U.S. Senate election.
June 30, 2015: Criticism of Governor LePage
On June 30, 2015, Stephen King tweeted that Governor LePage was "a terrible embarrassment" to Maine, suggesting he should either govern or resign.
2015: Criticism of Paul LePage's Incorrect Tax Claim
In 2015, Stephen King criticized Maine Governor Paul LePage for incorrectly suggesting he avoided paying Maine income taxes, demanding an apology that was never issued.
August 27, 2016: Calling LePage a Bigot, Homophobe, and Racist
On August 27, 2016, Stephen King publicly labeled Governor LePage as "a bigot, a homophobe, and a racist".
2016: Signing Letter Against Donald Trump's Candidacy
In 2016, Stephen King was among a group of writers who signed a letter condemning Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, citing concerns about the abuse of language and the promotion of violence and aggression.
2017: Release of It film adaptation
In 2017, the film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, It, was released.
June 2018: Call for Oleg Sentsov's Release
In June 2018, Stephen King publicly called for the release of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was imprisoned in Russia.
2018: Declining to Run for Governor of Maine
In 2018, Stephen King addressed efforts to encourage him to run for Governor of Maine, stating that he would not run or serve.
2019: Plans to Convert Bangor Home
As of 2019, Stephen King and his wife planned to convert their Bangor, Maine home into a facility to house his archives and a writers' retreat.
2020: Endorsement of Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden
In 2020, during the Democratic Party presidential primaries, Stephen King initially endorsed Elizabeth Warren and later endorsed Joe Biden's campaign in the general election.
February 2021: Donation to Farwell Elementary School
In February 2021, King's Foundation donated $6,500 to help children from Farwell Elementary School in Lewiston, Maine, publish two novels halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 2022: Prank Call Incident and Apology
In July 2022, Stephen King was tricked by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus posing as Volodymyr Zelenskyy and made statements in support of Bandera before realizing it was a prank. King later apologized on Twitter.
August 2022: Testimony Against Publishing Merger
In August 2022, Stephen King testified in court against the proposed merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, arguing against his own publisher in a case brought by the U.S. Justice Department, and was credited with helping convince the judge to block the merger.
2022: List of Favorite Books
In 2022, Stephen King provided a list of his ten favorite books, including recurring titles such as Lord of the Flies, Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Blood Meridian, along with new additions such as Ship of Fools, The Orphan Master's Son, Invisible Man, Watership Down, The Hair of Harold Roux, American Pastoral, and The Lord of the Rings.
2022: Support for Ukraine
In 2022, amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Stephen King voiced his support for Ukraine, sharing a photo of himself wearing an "I stand with Ukraine" T-shirt and announcing that he would not work with Russian publishers.
December 2024: Announcement of Radio Station Closures
In December 2024, Stephen King announced that his radio stations would shut down at the end of the year due to his age and financial losses. A deal was reached to sell WKIT but WZON and WZLO are still planned for closure.
2025: Criticism of Epstein Client List Believers
In July 2025, after the United States House Committee on Rules voted against revealing the Jeffrey Epstein client list, Stephen King criticized people on X (Twitter) who believe in the list's existence, leading to backlash and speculation.
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