Popular Authorship Reconfigured: Stephen King’s Authorial Personae from Print to Digital Environments

Abstract

The convergence of literary practices with computer information technologies (ICTs) has immensely affected writing processes and theories of authorship. This paper aims to foreground contemporary sociocultural conditions which have reconfigured authorship in relation to the materiality of the product through the example of Stephen King’s writing and marketing choices. An investigation of selected printed and digital works, including Misery, Lisey’s Story, Duma’s Key, and UR, showcases King’s concern for the future of authorship in the digital age and the position of the writer in the book and entertainment industries. This article seeks to trace the trajectory of the concept of the author who is seen moving from print to digital environments and being entangled in new forms of communication with the reader. In particular, King, who leaves control of the narrative story to experts in digital mediation, takes advantage of the new medium’s immediacy, comes closer to the recipients of his works, and manages to re-invent his authorial image while his name turns into a brand.