Monsters in the Archives

My Year of Fear with Stephen King

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Published by: Hogarth
Release Date: April 21, 2026
Pages: 304
ISBN13: 978-0593736722

 
OVERVIEW

After Caroline Bicks was named the University of Maine’s inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, she became the first scholar to be granted extended access by King to his private archive, a treasure trove of manuscripts that document the legendary writer’s creative process—most of them never before studied or published. The year she spent exploring King’s early drafts and hand-written revisions was guided by one question millions of King’s enthralled and terrified readers (including her) have asked themselves: What makes Stephen King’s writing stick in our heads and haunt us long after we’ve closed the book?

Part literary master class, part biography, part memoir and investigation into our deepest anxieties, Monsters in the Archives—authorized by Stephen King himself and informed by interviews Bicks had with him—is unlike anything ever published about the master of horror. It chronicles what Bicks found when she set out to unearth how King crafted some of his scariest, most iconic moments. But it’s also a story about a grown-up English professor facing her childhood fears and getting to know the man whose monsters helped unleash them.

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PRAISE

“[A] compulsively readable mix of memoir, biography, and heady analysis of Stephen King’s iconic early works enhanced by access to early drafts and notes. Monsters in the Archives is a treat for fans of Stephen King as well as anyone who ever wanted more of a peek behind the curtain at the great and terrible authorial Oz.”
—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts

“Literary scholars dream of having access to the drafts and notes of a major writer, then talking with the author about decisions, great and small, that inform the work. Caroline Bicks, who gets this rare chance, makes the most of it, offering a deeply engaging account of her discoveries in Stephen King’s archives. It will be treasured by admirers of his novels and is a must-read for anyone curious about how great books get written.”
—James Shapiro, Professor of English, Columbia University

“Illuminating and original, Monsters in the Archives takes us deep into Stephen King’s private papers to show us how he crafted some of his most iconic, haunting books and took possession of so many of our imaginations.”
—Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club

“These word-by-word comparisons of different stages of these canonical stories are a master class in craft—and a peek behind the curtain.
Thank you, Caroline Bicks.”
—Stephen Graham Jones, author of My Heart is a Chainsaw, and Don't Fear the Reaper

“If you ever were afraid to go down into the basement after encountering a Stephen King story, Monsters in the Archives is for you: a massively enjoyable, fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of his previously unseen literary archive, with Caroline Bicks as your savvy guide. Indispensable reading for any fan of King’s work — and who isn’t one of those?”
— Elizabeth Hand, author of A Haunting on the Hill and Wylding Hall