In addition to being one of the most famous people in america, Stephen King has used his talents and imagination to bring fame and recognition to the Horror Fiction genre in the world of serious literature, making millions in the process. Stephen King was born in Portland Maine on September 21, 1947. He was raised by his mother, Nellie Ruth Pillsbury after his father went out for a package of ciggarettes and never returned when Stephen was about two years old. Ruth had to work to support Stephen and his adopted older brother,David and the family had to move often.
King probably inherited his love for the written word from his parents. His mother often read aloud to the boys. His favorite was Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde and when he was around seven Stephen began writing horror stories of his own. When he was a little older he found some stories Donald King, his father, had written with hopes of publication in a trunk along with some hopefull rejection slips and some Horror fiction novels. Soon he would have rejection slips of his own. .
King actually began his writing career in1959 when he and his brother decided to publish their own newspaper they called Dave's Rag. David bought a mimeograph and they sold copies to the neighborhood for five cents an issue. .
In school he was always writing or in a book, and his teachers said that his writing abilities outstrip the other students by far. He graduated grade school at the top of his class.of three, and the school aranged for the students who wanted to attend high school be taken to Lisbon High nearby.
King joined the school paper his sophmore year, and by the time he was a junior he was the editor. He also wrote his own paper on the side he titled the Village Vomit which often mocked the school administrators. The principal put an end to it by directing Stephen's obvious talents elswhere. He arranged for King to write high school sports for the Lisbon newspaper, where he was paid five cents a word.