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Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947. His Parents were Donald Edwin King and Ruth King. Stephen's older brother David King was adopted at birth two years earlier.

In 1949 when Stephen was two his father went out for a pack of cigarettes and was never heard from again, Stephen hasn't seen his father since. At this point their mother Ruth took over raising the family with help from their other relatives. They spend several years moving between Massachusetts and Maine before finally moving back to Durham, Maine in 1958.

Stephen King started his writing career in 1959 when David and Stephen decided to publish their own local newspaper named Dave's Rag. David bought a mimeograph and they printed a paper that sold for five cents. Stephen's passion for writing began later that year when he found a box of old science-fiction and horror magazines at his aunt's house. Stephen wrote several short stories in 1963 including, Hotel at the End of the Road, The Thing at the Bottom of the Well and The Other Side of the Fog. In 1964 Stephen's amateur press Triad and Gaslight Books, published a two part book called The Star Invader.

In 1965 at the age of 18 Stephen King finally got published in "Comics Review " with his story "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber." Despite this early publication, his first Professional sale occurred in 1967 when "Startling Mystery Stories" accepted his story "The Glass Floor" for $35.

Stephen graduated from high school in 1966 and got a scholarship to attend the University of Maine in Orono. While attending college he finished his first full length novel called "The Long Walk"he submitted book to Bennett Cerf/Random House only to have it rejected. He took the rejection badly and filed the book away. During the same time Stephen met his soon to be wife Tabitha. In 1970 Stephen King received his Bachelors of Science in English and a certificate to teach high school.

The inspiration for a new novel came to him from a poem by Robert Browning titled "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came." So one night in March 1970, with the bright green paper that he "inherited" King recall's "I found myself sitting at my old office-model Underwood with the chipped 'm' and the flying capital 'O' and writing the words The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed" However do to events in his life (such as marriage and children) he had to file away what would one day become known as "The Gunslinger." Unfortunately it would be twelve years before it was completed.

In 1971 Stephen and Tabitha were married. Later that year Stephen King began teaching English at the Hampden Academy, a secondary school about eight miles from where he lived. At this time King began working on a story about a girl named Carrie White. Soon after he decided that Carrie was not worthy of a story and threw it in the trash, where, luckily it was rescued by his wife Tabitha. After reading the few pages that he had thrown away she convinced him to continue writing the story.

In 1974 King was teaching his second year at the Hampden Academy earning $6800 a year, before taxes. A small step up from the $6400 he earned in his first year. "We were not rich" King recalls, living with his wife and two kids in a trailer on the outskirts of Bangor Maine, "Our most draconian economy: no telephone, a state I now regard as blissful." But Stephen King was still determined to be a novelist, so he would write in the evenings after the kids were asleep and "Tabby" went to work the night shift at Dunkin' Donuts. "The office was the laundry room, my workstation was a child's desk between the washer and dryer. I can remember idly swinging that desk back and forth on my knees when I was stuck for a word. The wanting to be a novelist was a constant nagging at me, like an itch you can't scratch...." " I wanted to be a novelist, I'd spent half my life collecting the tools, and I wanted it to hurry up and happen."

One day in April 1974, Stephen received a call at school from his wife, he remembered thinking "If Tabby had gone next door to use the telephone, it had to be pretty important, either one of the kids had suffered a bad accident or I had sold the book."

Unable to contact them by phone Tabitha told him of a telegram she had received from his editor it said "CARRIE OFFICIALLY A DOUBLEDAY BOOK. DOES $2500 UP FRONT SOUND OKAY? CONGRATULATIONS. THE FUTURE LIES AHEAD LOVE, BILL."

A month later King received a call from Bill Thompson "yes , by then we had a telephone" and was told that the paperback rights to Carrie had sold for $400,000, of which due to his book contract he would get half. This figure had at that time only been surpassed by Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather." Not bad for a book Tabitha rescued from the trash can. Stephen King quit his teaching job and started writing full time.

To Date Stephen King has published 34 novels including 6 under the pseudonym "Richard Bachman." Also to Kings credit are 5 collection of short stories as well as "Danse Macabre" his only Non-Fiction book. King has also had several of his works turned into movies. His books have been translated into 33 different languages and published in over 35 different countries. There are presently over 300 million copies of his books in publication.

In 1989, King signed a deal with Viking Press for $35 million for four books, a new record. Despite that fact King announced his decision to leave Viking, his publisher of 18 years, in 1997. A decision he made so he could find a new publisher willing to pay the $17million asking price for his latest novel "Bag of Bones." King soon mad a deal with Simon & Schuster in which he would receive an $8 million advance for the 1000 page novel, as well as a 50% share of the profits from it's sale, and from the sale of 2 upcoming books. One is a collection of short stories the other a Non-Fiction book about writing. King is also presently working with New Line Cinema to turn "Desperation" into a Move.

In addition to writing, King loves Rock 'n' Roll. He is in a rock band called "Rock Bottom Feeders" along with other best selling authors Army Tan, Matt Groening, Dave Barry, Robert Fulghum and Roy Blount Jr. The band spent 2 weeks traveling the east coast playing in clubs, Massacring Rock 'n' Roll classics everywhere they played.

King lives in Bangor with his wife, the novelist, Tabitha King and their three children. He still does his writing at home.

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