Everything’s Eventual, by Stephen King

For a certain type of person, Stephen King has lived the ultimate American dream. He’s been a wildly successful novelist for more than 25 years, publishing some 60 books, and countless articles, comic books, and even poems. That’s not all—in this televisual age, you can’t be a true creative superstar until you make the leap to the big screen. Did you forget The Shining? How about Carrie? Not only were these memorable movies in their own horrific genre, they’re still counted as classics in any genre. Cripes, the man’s actually written an e-book, and been run over by a minivan. What hasn’t he done? Naturally, rumors suggest he’s less a person than a corporation or a trademark—like, say, The Simpsons, Tom Clancy, or George Lucas. Once you’ve reached this kind of mythic status and reaped the financial rewards, people want to discredit you as an artist. Some say King’s novels are all written by sweatshop teenagers in a secret creative writing program hidden in the Maine outback. Others say King has been recycling the same story since about 1987. We can’t say one way or another. But it is noteworthy that his next book will be a collection of short stories… a decidedly literary genre that you simply can’t hand off to unpaid interns or caged teenagers.