Is 2013 the Year of Stephen King?

See that shadowy figure over there? No? Well, it’s Stephen King. And he’s been watching you. Yep, an author doesn’t rack up more than 50 titles (many of them bestsellers) without knowing his audience—and inspiring adjectives like “copious” and “prolific.” But if it’s possible, the literary legend has had a hand in even more projects than usual this year—and he isn’t confining himself to bookstore shelves. No, much like Paul Sheldon’s #1 fan, King is nearly inescapable right now. (Though we’re hardly in Misery over it. [See what we did there?])
Indeed, the author’s bounteous output has us wondering if he is, truly, the King of All Media. Need some evidence, you say? Just take a gander at this dizzying list of his 2013 accomplishments thus far, and those yet to come.
January 25: Guns
King began the year courting controversy with a 25-page essay in support of gun control following the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. “I think the issue of an America awash in guns is one every citizen has to think about,” King said. “If this helps provoke constructive debate, I’ve done my job.” Proceeds from sales benefit the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
June 4: Joyland
It’s not all fun and games at the local amusement park. This hard-boiled crime novel follows college student Devin Jones as he takes a job as a carny and confronts not only the memory of a murder, but the fate of an ailing child—with a slice of the supernatural thrown in for good measure, of course.
June 24: Under the Dome
Nothing gets in…and nothing gets out. Based on King’s 2008 novel of the same name, the action takes place in Chester’s Mill, a small town that suddenly finds itself ensconced in an invisible field of energy. (One particularly gory scene shows a stray cow sliced down the center—from tongue to shank—by the descending dome. Ick.) Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the small-screen adaptation stars Mike Vogel, Rachelle Lefevre and Dean Norris.
July 26: “Stuck in Love“
King can be heard, not seen in this romantic drama from first-time writer/director Josh Boone. Originally titled “The Writers,” the movie follows a family of—you guessed it!—writers, as they fall in and out of love over the course of a year. Son Rusty (played by Nat Wolff) is a King obsessive, and when his sister (played by Lily Collins) passes one of his manuscripts on to the master of horror, Rusty receives an encouraging phone call from the King himself.
July 30: The Dark Man: An Illustrated Poem
Perhaps King’s greatest villain, Randall Flagg began simply as “The Dark Man” in a verse the author penned in college. Forty years later, King has teamed with illustrator Glenn Chadbourne to bring his ghoulish vision of a faceless man forever walking the roads to vivid life on the page. (So maybe don’t pick up any hitchhikers for a while…)
September 24: Doctor Sleep
Thirty-six years after taking readers on a chilling trip to the Overlook Hotel in The Shining (and 33 years after Jack Nicholson scared the stuffing out of us in Stanley Kubrick’s big-screen adaptation), King revisits telepath Danny Torrance in this long-awaited sequel. Now middle-aged, Dan is a nursing home worker who uses his gift to sooth dying souls, but when he meets a 12-year-old girl who shines brighter than any before, he’s forced to battle a group of murderous paranormals for her life.
October 18: “Carrie“
Speaking of classic King characters, the author’s bullied and bloodied prom queen Carrie White is getting a modern-day makeover (of sorts) at the hands of director Kimberly Peirce in a remake of the 1976 classic. Sixteen-year-old Chloe Moretz takes over the titular telekinetic role Sissy Spacek originated, while Julianne Moore plays her fundamentalist mother Margaret. Quick! Hide the Cutco!
Fall 2013: “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County“
A Southern Gothic supernatural musical? Yeah, this has King written all over it. The author teamed up with John Mellencamp and musical director T Bone Burnett to stage this production about two sets of brothers (one dead, one alive) back in April 2012 in Atlanta. King recently told Parade magazine that he intends to launch a “road show tour” of U.S. cities this fall. You can preview the production thanks to a recently released libretto.
Now if only the Rock Bottom Remainders would reunite, King could unequivocally drop the mic on 2013.