News From The Dead Zone #99

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

The debut entry Cemetery Dance’s MySpace blog is my report on The Three Kings event in Washington D.C. two weeks ago. There was also a nice write-up in The Washington Post.

Marvel announced Dark Tower: The End-World Almanac, which will be published on July 2. “Woe unto those who traverse beyond the cursed Borderlands into End-World! ‘Tis a twisted and desolate realm where it seems as if the world passed ages ago. From the blasted landscapes of Thunderclap to the frozen heights of Empathica, End-World shows no mercy to unwary young Gunslingers. In a world where information—and a bit of luck—is the key to survival, the End-World Almanac serves as your guide to the Badlands, Le Casse Roi Russe and beyond!”

Gunslinger Born and its artists received a total of four nominations in the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards: Best Limited Series, Best Penciller/Inker (Jae Lee), Best Cover Artist (Jae Lee) and Best Coloring (Richard Isanove). The results will be announced at an awards ceremony on Friday, July 25 at Comic-Con International.

“A Very Tight Place” will be in McSweeney’s #27, due out on May 1. Much of this 70+ page story takes place in a portable toilet at an abandoned construction site and is classic King. It is also the first King story I can recall that has a gay protagonist. You can get discounted issues at Amazon. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until Just After Midnight comes out this fall to read this great story. It’s not for the squeamish, though. Positively icky in places.

Mick Garris will direct Bag of Bones as a feature film, and executive-produce with Mark Sennett. The screenplay was written by Matt Venne. “What appeals to me about King in general and Bag of Bones in particular is how human it is,” Garris told Fangoria. “The recent King stuff is very adult and very passionate, which I really respond to. I just love the idea of doing a grown-up ghost story.”

Here are some reports about King’s appearance with Lauren Groff:

Recent Entertainment Weekly column: Videogame Lunacy.

News From The Dead Zone #95

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

The publication date for King’s upcoming short story collection Just Past Sunset (ISBN-10: 1-4165-8408-0) is November 11, 2008 in the US and UK. The book will have approximately 400 pages and has a cover price of $28.

Though the list hasn’t been finalized, here are the stories that are confirmed for the collection: The Gingerbread Girl, Harvey’s Dream, Rest Stop, Stationary Bike, The Things They Left Behind, Willa, Graduation Afternoon, N, The New York Times At Special Bargain Rates, Mute, Ayana, A Very Tight Place. One unnamed “bonus” story might be added to the list.  I’ve never heard of “N” before.

Look for a new three-part interview with King later this week at Lilja’s Library.

Bravo in Canada is airing the one-hour show An Evening With Stephen King on Thursday at 9 pm EST. “Recently honoured with the Canadian Booksellers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, King is the first non-Canadian to receive the honour. BookTelevision’s cameras were there to record the historic evening. Authors Margaret Atwood and Clive Barker toast this literary legend, and pop culture writer and essayist Chuck Klosterman interviews King one-on-one. In his heartfelt acceptance speech, King pays tribute to many Canadian writers who have made an impact on his life.” The show does not appear on the US Bravo schedule.

News From The Dead Zone #94

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

The official title for King’s upcoming short story collection is Just Past Sunset. The publication date and story list are still being finalized but a fall 2008 date is a possibility.

King enlisted input from posters on his message board for one of his upcoming essays. He writes: “As you know, I do a column for Entertainment Weekly, and I had an idea for a column called My Worst Entertainment Experience. If you have stories about your absolute worst entertainment experience—anything from a guy who threw up in your lap at a movie to a concert where the lead singer passed out—let me know. Please limit your responses to 100 or so words. After all Ms. Mod and I have to wade our way through these things. In any case, thank you for your help! And if you never had a terrible entertainment experience…I hate you!” Though the thread is no longer accepting contributions, you can read the stories here.

McSweeney’s 27 will contain the new King short story “A Very Tight Place.” Visit the web site for ordering information (it should be out in May or June) and for a description of the issue’s unique presentation. “A Very Tight Place” was inspired by King’s vision of what would happen if someone was in a port-a-pottie when it fell over and blocked the door shut. “And immediately I’m thinking Poe, The Premature Burial, I’m thinking about all the buried alive stories that I’ve ever read, and I’m thinking, but I’ve never read a story about anyone trapped in a Porta-Pottie. And there are so many interesting things that you can do with people who are in tight places, people’s feelings of claustrophobia are easy to bring out.”

News From The Dead Zone #82

Breaking News from the Dead Zone

A second new King story will come out in November. In addition to “Mute” in the December issue of Playboy, “Ayana” will appear in the fall issue of The Paris Review. This is the story Susan Moldow mentioned that King gave her when he appeared in Toronto earlier this year. See the June 11 post below for more details.

In a brief interview at USA Today, King talks about what he’s working on: “It’s called A Very Tight Place. Not a novel but a long story. I’ve been writing lots of stories lately.” The paper also reviews The Best American Short Stories 2007: At a story a night, there’s enough variety and talent in the 20 selections here to keep readers entertained for nearly three weeks. Guest editor Stephen King’s lineup includes literary all-stars: Alice Munro’s “Dimension” is a chilling look at criminal insanity; Richard Russo’s “Horseman” explores how a professor’s encounter with student plagiarism triggers questions about her authenticity. But the real finds are the lesser-known writers. Beverly Jensen’s haunting “Wake,” about a rousing funeral in the midst of a nor’easter, is made even more poignant by the note that Jensen died at age 49.

In an interview posted at The Overlook Connection’s web site, Peter Straub says: “The Talisman has just been shelved for the hundredth time, now because of the budget. Steve and I have agreed to do the last book in the series, but it will have to wait until our desks are clear.”

Director Tobe Hooper says that From a Buick 8 will not be “your stock horror film by any means. There’s a really cool, layered quality to the story. The producers, writers and I shared the same sensibility about the project and responded to it in a similar way.”

Note: Links to two web sites that posted clips from The Mist were removed from this page because the producers advised me the clips were unauthorized.