King's books are filled with numerous references to American folklore and culture, from which he draws dark themes and builds novels around them. Many of his characters have to fight their fears and weaknesses. Frequent themes in his work include crime, war (especially the Vietnam War), violence, paranormal abilities, and racism. He is also liked for his informal language; he often refers to “Regular Readers” or “friends from the neighborhood”, which makes reading more pleasant. ¹⁾

In the 1970s and 1980s, after great success as a horror writer, King published several novels under the pseudonym “Richard Bachman.” These included Rage (1977), The Long Walk (1979), Bart Dawes' Last Bastion (Roadwork) (1981), The Running Man (1982), and The Leaner (Thinner) (1984). ²⁾

On June 19, 1999, at about 4:30 p.m., King was walking along the sidewalk of 5th Street in Center Lovell, Maine. Driver Bryan Smith deviated from the road while trying to calm down his rottweiler and hit King, who landed about four meters off the sidewalk of 5th Street. ³⁾

Shortly after a car accident, King wrote his first novel by hand (Dreamcatcher), using a Waterman pen, which he called “the best typewriter in the world”. ⁴⁾

Stephen King was awarded the prestigious Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (DCAL) by the National Book Foundation in 2003 and the National Medal of Arts in 2014. ⁵⁾