Ever wanted to peek into the mind of one of horror’s greatest authors? Well, now you can, courtesy of Penguin Random House. The publisher has just announced their latest horror nonfiction title, Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King, a new book by University of Maine professor Caroline Bicks that explores never before seen access into King’s private archives.
As the University of Maine’s inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, Bicks is the first scholar to ever be granted access to King’s archives, including numerous manuscripts never studied or published — or even seen outside of King himself. Monsters in the Archives chronicles Bicks’ year exploring drafts of some of the author’s most iconic early works, including The Shining, Carrie, Pet Semetary, and ‘Salem’s Lot, to unearth just how he crafted the stories that defined horror as we know it today.
Bicks’ investigation centered around the question that every reader of a King story has ever asked themselves: what is it about how work that makes it so scary? Not only is the book an exploration of his language and process, but also an examination of her own experience with King’s work, including numerous conversations with the man himself to unmask her own fears and understand how his stories changed from first draft to publication.
While this is the first time an academic has stepped into the world of King’s earliest (and perhaps biggest) horror hits, Hollywood is still barrelling on adapting the author’s best-known stories — and some obscure ones, too — for the big screen. Currently on the dock include Mike Flanagan’s Carrie series and Edgar Wright’s upcoming The Running Man movie, as well as adaptations of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Rat, and more.
Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King hits shelves on April 21, 2026. Check out the cover down below:
