Stephen King

I have chosen the man Stephen Edwin King as my hero because of his work in the field of literature. He has had 56 novels (7 under the pen name Richard Bachman), 5 non-fiction books, and many, many short stories published. Many of which have been adapted into major motion pictures, which in a few instances he has made cameos. King has received many awards for literature, for individual works as well as collective achievement. His books have sold more than 350 million copies.

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine, on September 21, 1947. He and his adopted older brother were raised by his mother after his parents' divorce. From 1966-1970 King studied at the University of Maine, graduating with an arts degree. In the fall of 1971 he accepted a job teaching at Hampden Academy. In 1973 Carrie was accepted for publishing, and in 1977 he wrote both The Shining and The Stand.

On June 19, 1999 King was struck by a car while walking on Route 5, in Lovell Maine, and was hospitalized until July 9. The van was purchased from its owner and crushed at a junkyard, to keep it from appearing on eBay. During this time King's wife, Tabitha redesigned his studio. While his books and belongings were being moved from it, King was struck by inspiration, which resulted in the novel Lisey's Story.

In recent years King has released a collection of previously unpublished novellas (Full Dark No Stars), the eighth book in the Dark Tower series (The Wind Through the Key Hole). Currently, King says he is working on a story about an amusement park serial killer called Joyland. King's next work is the upcoming sequel to The Shining, titled Dr. Sleep. IT is scheduled to be published in 2013.

Stephen King is my hero due to his brilliant storytelling. King manages to create thousand page books that keep you interested, and guessing, right up until the very end. I also enjoy his inclusion of the multi-verse he uses in The Dark Tower series, and how the events in those novels are hinted at to influence other stories. I appreciate styles like H.P. Lovecraft more, but King's character heavy stories are more connectable, and have more of a chance to have sequels. For all these reasons, Stephen King is my favourite author and hero.