Tabitha "Tabby" Jane King ( Spruce, born March 24, 1949) is an American author.

Early life

Born in Old Town, Maine, Tabitha King is the third eldest daughter of Sarah Jane Spruce (née White; December 7, 1923 – April 14, 2007) and Raymond George Spruce (December 29, 1923 – May 29, 2014). King attended John Bapst Memorial High School in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

before enrolling at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

, where she met her husband

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

through her work-study job in the Raymond H. Fogler Library.

Career

As of 2006, King had published eight novels and two works of non-fiction. She published her first novel, ''Small World'', through Signet Books in 1981, and in 2006, ''Candles Burning'' was published through Berkley Books. The paperback rights for ''Small World'' were bought by New American Library for $165,000. ''Candles Burning'' was written predominantly by Michael McDowell, who died in 1999, and the McDowell family requested that King finish the work. In 2023, she was the executive producer of the independent horror film '' The Sudbury Devil''.

Partnership with Stephen King

Prior to her husband's commercial success, Tabitha worked extra shifts at

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

so that Stephen could write full-time.As Stephen King recalled the origin of his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' 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. She told him: "You've got something here. I really think you do." This began a practice that continues today: Tabitha and Stephen review each other's drafts and also those of their children.

Reception

Reception to King's work has ranged from negative to positive. ''Pearl'' received positive mentions from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' and the ''Bangor Daily News'', while the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' panned ''Survivor''. The '' Arizona Daily Star'' criticized ''One on One'', calling King "a hack", whereas ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', and the '' Rocky Mountain News'' gave the novel positive reviews. ''Caretakers'' received positive praise by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', while Bookreporter.com wrote that some readers might be disappointed by the changes made to McDowell's ''Candles Burning''.

Awards and recognition

*Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters, University of Maine in Orono (May 1987) *Dowd Achievement Award (1992) *Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities Prize (1998)

Social activism

King has served on several boards and committees in the state of Maine, such as the Bangor Public Library board. She also served on the board of the Maine

Public Broadcasting System The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prom ...

until 1994. 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. In 2019, Tabitha and Stephen donated $1.25M to the New England Historic Genealogical Society. She currently serves as vice president of WZON/ WZLO/ WKIT radio stations, as well as in the administration of two family philanthropic foundations. 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.

Personal life

Tabitha and Stephen King married on January 2, 1971. They have three children: a daughter Naomi and two sons, Joe Hill and Owen King, who are both writers.

Bibliography

Novels

Nonfiction

Short stories

* ''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

* ''A Gradual Canticle for Augustine'' (1967) * ''Elegy for Ike'' (1967) * ''Note 1 from Herodotus'' (1968) * ''Nonsong'' (1970) * ''The Last Vampire: A Baroque Fugue'' (1971)

Teleplay

* "The Passion of Reverend Jimmy" (2004)

Contributions and compilations

* ''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

References

External links

* *
Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation

Joseph Hillstrom King

Owen Phillip King
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Tabitha 1949 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Activists from Maine American women novelists John Bapst Memorial High School alumni Living people Novelists from Maine People from Old Town, Maine Stephen King University of Maine alumni Writers from Bangor, Maine