On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft

Stephen King

Oct 2000 · Simon and Schuster · Narrated by Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Owen King

About this audiobook

Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen King

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME

Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.

“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

The twentieth-anniversary audio edition includes Owen King reading his essay, “Recording Audiobooks for My Dad, Stephen King,” and a recorded conversation with Joe Hill and Stephen King.

Ratings and reviews

Thank you so very much for your life time spent writing this, especially after the accident. Sorry I haven't read anything else from you yet and am afraid I'm too skittish to do so at this stage in life. Today I'm grateful to have learned a lot about who this Stephen King guy even is and for the notes I could put down about writing. Also there was a thing in it that hit right centre, gave me chicken skin followed by tears, followed by similar words used when orgasm. A sentence in a book... how on earth? It was the part with the table and the cage, number 9. Telepathy. Different time and location, yet connected. I felt that. We were there together. What words can do! I also laughed quiet a lot. I remember the baby sitter farting on your face being the first burst out of laughter and I feel sick in the head for that spite of mine whilst still laughing about it again now - sorry. So much more to say than these 1000 letters allow. Thank you for your honesty. Foremost: Tabitha, I love you.

I read this 20yrs ago, and it convinced me NOT to become a "writer" 🤴 Poetry, songs, script dialogue, yes, but Novels? I am super glad He did though! Thank you, Ser!

An AA/NA Must-Read, also a handy-person's writerZ Tool

About the author

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Joe Hill is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Heart-Shaped Box and Horns and writes an ongoing comic book series, Locke & Key. He makes lots of noise on Twitter under the handle @joe_hill.

Owen King is the author of The Curator, Double Feature, and We’re All in This Together: A Novella and Stories. He is the coauthor of Sleeping Beauties and Intro to Alien Invasion and the coeditor of Who Can Save Us Now? Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories. He lives in upstate New York with his family.