Tabitha King
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Tabitha "Tabby" Jane King (Template:Née Spruce, born March 24, 1949) is an American author.<ref>Dooley, Jeff (June 2, 1985). "Terror Mistress Tabitha King Spins A Thriller". Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved August 11, 2012.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
Early life
[edit]Born in Old Town, Maine, Tabitha King is the third eldest daughter of Sarah Jane Spruce (née White; December 7, 1923 – April 14, 2007)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Raymond George Spruce (December 29, 1923 – May 29, 2014).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> King attended John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor, Maine<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> before enrolling at the University of Maine, where she met her husband Stephen King through her work-study job in the Raymond H. Fogler Library.
Career
[edit]As of 2006, King had published eight novels and two works of non-fiction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She published her first novel, Small World, through Signet Books in 1981,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in 2006, Candles Burning was published through Berkley Books.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The paperback rights for Small World were bought by New American Library for $165,000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Candles Burning was written predominantly by Michael McDowell, who died in 1999, and the McDowell family requested that King finish the work.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In 2023, she was the executive producer of the independent horror film The Sudbury Devil.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Partnership with Stephen King
[edit]Prior to her husband's commercial success, Tabitha worked extra shifts at Dunkin' Donuts to help provide for their family and assisted in Stephen's editorial process during her little spare time.<ref name=":0" /> As Stephen King recalled the origin of his debut novel, Carrie: "Two unrelated ideas, adolescent cruelty and telekinesis, came together." It began as a short story intended for Cavalier; Stephen tossed the first three pages in the trash but Tabitha recovered them, saying she wanted to know what happened next. He followed her advice and expanded it into a novel.<ref>King, Tabitha, Introduction to Carrie (Collector's Edition) Plume 1991</ref> She told him: "You've got something here. I really think you do."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
This began a practice that continues today: Tabitha and Stephen review each other's drafts and also those of their children.<ref name=":0" />
Reception
[edit]Reception to King's work has ranged from negative to positive.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pearl received positive mentions from the Los Angeles Times and the Bangor Daily News,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while the Chicago Tribune panned Survivor.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The Arizona Daily Star criticized One on One, calling King "a hack",<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> whereas Entertainment Weekly, Time, and the Rocky Mountain News gave the novel positive reviews.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Caretakers received positive praise by The New York Times,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> while Bookreporter.com wrote that some readers might be disappointed by the changes made to McDowell's Candles Burning.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Awards and recognition
[edit]- Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters, University of Maine in Orono (May 1987)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Dowd Achievement Award (1992)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities Prize (1998)<ref name="ConstanceAward">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Social activism
[edit]King has served on several boards and committees in the state of Maine, such as the Bangor Public Library board.<ref name="MaineLegislature">Template:Cite web</ref> She also served on the board of the Maine Public Broadcasting System until 1994.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1998 she received the inaugural Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities Prize, the Maine Humanities Council's highest award, for her work with literacy for the state of Maine.<ref name="ConstanceAward" /> In 2019, Tabitha and Stephen donated $1.25M to the New England Historic Genealogical Society.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
She currently serves as vice president of WZON/WZLO/WKIT radio stations, as well as in the administration of two family philanthropic foundations.<ref name="MaineLegislature" /> The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, chaired by her and her husband, ranks sixth among Maine charities in terms of average annual giving, with over $2.8 million in grants per year, according to The Grantsmanship Center.<ref name="Grantsmanship">Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal life
[edit]Tabitha and Stephen King married on January 2, 1971.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They have three children: a daughter Naomi and two sons, Joe Hill and Owen King, who are both writers.<ref name="Vincent">Template:Cite web</ref>
Bibliography
[edit]Novels
[edit]| Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN | Pages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Small World | Signet Books | Template:ISBN | 312 | |
| 1983 | Caretakers | Scribner's | Template:ISBN | 274 | First novel set in King's fictional community of Nodd's Ridge |
| 1986 | The Trap | Template:ISBN | 352 | Also published as Wolves at the Door; second novel set in King's fictional community of Nodd's Ridge | |
| 1988 | Pearl | Signet Books | Template:ISBN | 368 | Third novel set in King's fictional community of Nodd's Ridge |
| 1993 | One on One | Template:ISBN | 528 | Fourth novel set in King's fictional community of Nodd's Ridge | |
| 1994 | The Book of Reuben | Template:ISBN | 432 | Fifth and last novel set in King's fictional community of Nodd's Ridge | |
| 1997 | Survivor | Template:ISBN | 496 | ||
| 2006 | Candles Burning | Berkley Publishing Group | Template:ISBN | 423 | with Michael McDowell. King continued her writing after McDowell's death in 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
Nonfiction
[edit]| Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN | Pages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Playing Like a Girl; Cindy Blodgett and the Lawrence Bulldogs Season of 93-94 | Dendrite Corporation | N/A | 42 | The work is about basketball player Cindy Blodgett during her time at Lawrence High School.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
| Mid-life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America with Three Chords and an Attitude | Berkley Publishing Group | Template:ISBN | 222 | Written by all of the Rock Bottom Remainders with photos by Tabitha King.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> |
Short stories
[edit]- The Blue Chair (1981)
- The Demonstration (1985)
- Road Kill (1986)
- Djinn and Tonic (1998)
- The Women's Room (2002)
- Archie Smith, Boy Wonder (2011)
Poetry
[edit]- A Gradual Canticle for Augustine<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> (1967)
- Elegy for Ike<ref name="abebooks.com">Template:Cite web</ref> (1967)
- Note 1 from Herodotus<ref name="abebooks.com" /> (1968)
- Nonsong<ref name="abebooks.com" /> (1970)
- The Last Vampire: A Baroque Fugue<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (1971)
Teleplay
[edit]- "The Passion of Reverend Jimmy"Template:Efn (2004)
Contributions and compilations
[edit]- Murderess Ink: The Better Half of the Mystery, Dilys Winn, ed., Bell, 1979
- Shadows, Volume 4, C. L. Grant, ed., Doubleday, 1981
- Midlife Confidential, ed. David Marsh et al., photographs by Tabitha King, Viking Penguin, 1994
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- Mcaleer, Patrick. The Writing Family of Stephen King: A Critical Study of the Fiction of Tabitha King, Joe Hill and Owen King. McFarland. 2011.
External links
[edit]- 1949 births
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American poets
- 20th-century American short story writers
- 20th-century American women philanthropists
- 20th-century American philanthropists
- 20th-century American women photographers
- 20th-century American photographers
- 20th-century American women writers
- 21st-century American novelists
- 21st-century American screenwriters
- 21st-century American short story writers
- 21st-century American women philanthropists
- 21st-century American philanthropists
- 21st-century American women photographers
- 21st-century American photographers
- 21st-century American women writers
- Activists from Maine
- American fantasy writers
- Film producers from Maine
- American horror writers
- American literacy advocates
- American science fiction writers
- American television writers
- American women activists
- American women non-fiction writers
- American women novelists
- American women photographers
- American women poets
- American women screenwriters
- American women sportswriters
- John Bapst Memorial High School alumni
- Living people
- Novelists from Maine
- People from Old Town, Maine
- Poets from Maine
- Screenwriters from Maine
- Sportswriters from Maine
- University of Maine alumni
- Writers from Bangor, Maine
- American women film producers