The Master: The Continuing Impact of Stephen King Carrie, Salem’s Lot, It, The Shining, The Stand, The Dark Tower series, Under the Dome, Joyland… Movies such as The Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me, Misery, The Green Mile, The Mist… The comic American Vampire, plus all of those wonderfully chilling short stories… Stephen King’s impact on not just the horror genre but the writing world in general is immense. Let’s delve down into it and see what this impact is, and why his name will forever remain indelibly imprinted upon the world of literature, and continue to influence generation after generation of writers.
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Special Guests:
Rocky Wood lives in Melbourne, Australia and is the co-author of three major works about Stephen King, all of which were nominated for the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award™ nomination for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction – Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished (latest edition from Overlook Connection Press), Stephen King: The Non-Fiction (Cemetery Dance) and Stephen King: The Literary Companion (McFarland), which won the 2011 Bram Stoker Award.
He is also the author of ‘Horror! Great Tales of Fear and Their Creators’ (McFarland), a graphic novel illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne, which was shortlisted for a Black Quills Award; and ‘Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times’ (McFarland), with Lisa Morton and illustrated by Greg Chapman, winner of the 2012 Bram Stoker Award.
He has spoken at numerous conventions, including the SKEMER Con in Estes Park, Colorado (2003); Continuum 3 (2005) and Continuum 4 (2006) in Melbourne; Conflux 3 in Canberra (2006); the 2nd Annual Stephen King Dollar Baby Festival in Bangor, Maine (2005), the World Horror Conventions in Salt Lake City (2008 and 2012); the World Horror Convention in Austin (2011); the Bram Stoker Award Weekends (Burbank, 2009 and Long Island, 2011); Worldcon in Melbourne (2010); the combined Bram Stoker Award Weekend/World Horror Convention in New Orleans (2012); and has even addressed Stephen King’s hometown Historical Society about the author’s works and motivations. He has undertaken seven research trips to Maine, rediscovering many previously lost or unknown pieces written by King. He has published non-fiction worldwide for over thirty years; and is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on King’s work.
He served as a Trustee of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) from 2008 to 2010; and was elected President of the HWA in 2010 and re-elected in 2012. He is also a proud member of the Australian Horror Writers Association.
Bev Vincent has been writing News from the Dead Zone for Cemetery Dance magazine since 2001. In each issue he provides news, reviews and commentary about current Stephen King projects. There is also an online version at www.newsfromthedeadzone.com. He is also the author of three books: The Road to the Dark Tower (2004, nominated for a Stoker), The Stephen King Illustrated Companion (2009, nominated for a Stoker and an Edgar) and The Dark Tower Companion (2013). In 2010 he was interviewed for an update to the Biography Channel International’s profile of King. In addition to his nonfiction work, Vincent is also the author of over 70 short stories, dozens of essays and interviews, and hundreds of book reviews. His website is www.bevvincent.com.
Michael Collings is Emeritus Professor of English and former director of Creative Writing and Poet-in-Residence for Pepperdine University. In addition to teaching subjects ranging from Beowulf to Stephen King, he has published over two dozen scholarly, critical, or bibliographic book-length studies of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, including books on Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Piers Anthony, and Brian W. Aldiss. Dr. Collings has also published novels and multiple volumes of poetry and short fiction, including The Slab, The House Beyond the Hill, Dark Transformations and Naked to the Sun. He has been a Guest/GoH at LTUE a number of conferences and twice Academic GoH at the World Horror Convention. He is a two-time finalist for the Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Award®; and currently serves as Senior Publications Editor for JournalStone Publications, reviewer for Hellnotes.com, and reviewer and columnist for Dark Discoveries, in addition to posting articles and reviews at Collings Notes.
Douglas E. Winter – Publisher’s Weekly has hailed Doug Winter as “the nation’s most accomplished critic of horror, dark fantasy, and dark crime.” His books include the only authorized biographies/critiques of Stephen King (Stephen King: The Art of Darkness) and Clive Barker (Clive Barker: The Dark Fantastic); the Book of the Month Club’s “Best Suspense Novel of the Year,” Run; and the best-selling anthologies Prime Evil and Revelations.
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