Owen King


Owen Philip King is an American author of novels and graphic novels, and a television film producer. He published his first book, We're All in This Together, in 2005 to generally positive reviews, but his first full-length novel, Double Feature, had a less enthusiastic reception. King collaborated with his father, writer Stephen King, in the writing of the women's prison novel Sleeping Beauties.

Early life

King was born in 1977 in Maine to parents Tabitha and Stephen King. He has two older siblings, Naomi King and Joseph Hillström King. He was raised in Bangor, Maine, showing an interest in writing during high school. King attended Vassar College and Columbia University, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree.

Career

King published his first book, We're All in This Together, a collection of three short stories and a novella, in 2005. His short fiction has been published in various journals, such as One Story and Prairie Schooner. His debut novel, Double Feature, was published in 2013.
Sleeping Beauties, a writing collaboration between Owen King and his father, Stephen King, was published in September 2017 and is set in a women's prison in West Virginia. King is working with filmmaker Josh Boone on adapting the Clive Barker novel The Great and Secret Show for television.
In 2020, he co-wrote and produced the CBS All Access Mini-series [The Stand (2020 miniseries)|adaption of his father's novel The Stand].
In June 2024, Syzygy Publishing, an imprint of Image Comics, began publishing the first five issues of Self Help, a serial comic book co-written by Owen King and Jesse Kellerman. A graphic novel collecting issues 1-5 is expected to be published by Simon & Schuster in February 2025.

Initial reception of works

The reception for King's collection We're All in This Together was positive, with both the Los Angeles Times and Independent giving it positive reviews.
King's first full-length novel, Double Feature, was called "overwritten" in a review in The New York Times.
King's graphic novel Intro to Alien Invasion reception was mixed, with Publishers Weekly opining that the comic was unable to consistently transcend its "B movie source material," while Booklist called the spoofing of B-list material "highly successful".

Personal life

King is married to writer Kelly Braffet and lives in New Paltz, New York.

Awards

;Collections and novels
  • We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories
  • * "We're All in This Together"
  • * "Frozen Animals"
  • * "Wonders"
  • * "Snake"
  • * "My Second Wife"
  • Double Feature
  • Sleeping Beauties, co-written with Stephen King
  • The Curator
;Short stories
  • "My Second Wife", The Bellingham Review #48, Spring 2001
  • "Wonders", Book Magazine #22, May/June 2002
  • "Frozen Animals", Harper Palate, Vol. 3 #1, Summer 2003
  • "The Cure", One Story #85, December 20, 2006
  • "Nothing is in Bad Taste", Subtropics #5, Winter/Spring 2008
  • "Home Brew", Prairie Schooner, Vol. 85 #2, Summer 2011
  • "The Idiot's Ghost", The Fairy Tale Review #7, The Brown Issue
  • "The Curator", Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet #31, Dec. 2014
  • "Confederate Wall", Subtropics Issue 19, Spring/Summer 2015
  • "Positive Comments", Ploughshares/Emerson College, Kindle Single
;Graphic novels
  • Intro to Alien Invasion, co-written with Mark Jude Poirier, drawings by Nancy Ahn
  • Sleeping Beauties, co-written with Stephen King, adapted by Rio Youers, illustrations by Alison Sampson
;Anthology contributions
  • Bottom of the Ninth: Great Contemporary Baseball Stories edited by John McNally
  • * "Wonders"
  • When I Was A Loser edited by John McNally
  • * "Sports"
  • HANG THE DJ: An Alternative Book of Music Lists edited by Angus Cargill
  • * "Spit it Out! The Top Ten Stutter Songs"
  • The Late American Novel: Writers On The Future Of Books edited by Jeff Martin & C. Max Magee
  • * "Not Quite as Dire as Having Your Spine Ripped Out, But…"
  • Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on their Unshakeable Love for New York edited by Sari Botton
  • * "Hot Time in the Old Town"
  • The Good Book: Writers Reflect on Favorite Bible Passages edited by Andrew Blauner
  • * "Never Quite As Simple: On Luke 2:19"
  • Detours edited by Brian James Freeman
  • * "The Curator"
  • Small Blows Against Encroaching Totalitarianism
  • * "The Idea of Reasonable Debate"
  • The Darkling Halls of Ivy edited by Lawrence Block
  • * "That Golden Way"
  • Minor Characters edited by Jamie Clarke
  • * "Rabbit"
  • Joe R. Lansdale's The Drive-In: Multiplex Edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
  • * "Behind Screen 4"
;Introductions/Afterwords
  • 25 Years in the Word Mines: The Best of Graham Joyce by Graham Joyce
  • * Foreword by Owen King
  • The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
  • * Introduction by Owen King
  • The Devil's Own Work by Alan Judd
  • * Introduction by Owen King
  • Westlake Soul by Rio Youers
  • * Introduction by Owen King
  • The World Lansdalean: The authorized Joe R. Lansdale Bibliography by Joe Lansdale
  • * Foreword by Owen King

    Web articles

  • "Singing Along To A Murderous Threat, NPR song of the day: "You Rascal You" by Hanni El Khatib"
  • "A Gallery of Drama, NPR song of the day: "Change the Sheets" by Kathleen Edwards"
  • "Tear For Tear, Without Peer, NPR song of the day: "Look the Other Way" by Justin Townes Earle"
  • "Interview with Tom Bissell" The Rumpus
  • "The Biggest Thing Ever, an excerpt from Double Feature" Guernica
  • "Interview with Erin McKeown" The Rumpus
  • "Book Notes: Double Feature" Largehearted Boy
  • "Role Remix: Steve Buscemi" Grantland
  • "" The Weeklings
  • "Best Guess: Owen King interprets the Exhibit Song Book, an exchange with singer/songwriter Jenny Owen Youngs"
  • "Interview with Peter Squires" The Rumpus
  • "Matters of Faint Import, Vol. 1: "The Dress Code of Mumford & Sons" The Weeklings
  • "Review of People Park by Pasha Malla" Publishers Weekly
  • "Matters of Faint Import, Vol. 2: "Holiday Special" The Weeklings
  • "The Heiress, Review of Havisham by Ronald Frame" Los Angeles Review of Books
  • "Director's Cut, Review of Mount Terminus by David Grand" The New York Times Book Review
  • "Nine Librarian-Approved Headlines For The Rest Of The Season" Just A Bit Outside
  • "Baseball's Greatest Hit" Just A Bit Outside
  • "Spinners 5, Gades 0" Just A Bit Outside
  • "No, Pitchers Don't Have To Look Like Pitchers" Just A Bit Outside
  • "JABO Book Club: Alison Gordon's Foul Balls, A Conversation with Rob Neyer" Just A Bit Outside
  • "Baseball Language and The Players" Just A Bit Outside
  • "Big Brother: A Conversation with Andrew Ervin" The Brooklyn Rail

    Editor

  • Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing Stories
  • * "The Meerkat"

    Film and television producer

  • The Stand, writer and producer
  • Let Me Go , writer