New Stephen King Short Story Collection To Include Writing Advice

For all the thousands of budding authors out there: help is at hand.

The legendary Stephen King will be giving his first insights into his writing process since his 2000 book On Writing, in a new collection of short stories coming out later this year.

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, which reaches shelves on 3 November, will feature 20 short stories - a mixture of previously published and brand new works - but each will be preceded by an introduction from King, featuring "autobiographical comments on when, why and how he came to write it" and "the origins and motivation of each story".

Among the confirmed works is the short story A Death, which was published in The New Yorker in March this year. Another featured short, according to Philippa Pride, King's editor at Hodder & Stoughton, involves "a man who keeps reliving the same life, repeating the same mistakes over and over again", with others set to include "a firework competition between neighbours which reaches an explosive climax" (Drunken Fireworks, due to be released in June as an audiobook), "a columnist who kills people by writing their obituaries" and "a poignant tale about the end of the human race". King had previously confirmed that Bad Little Kid and a revised version of Ur would also feature. 

An extract from the introduction to the new collection reads, "there’s something to be said for a shorter, more intense experience. It can be invigorating, sometimes even shocking, like a waltz with a stranger you will never see again, or a kiss in the dark, or a beautiful curio for sale laid out on a cheap blanket at a street bazaar... feel free to examine them, but please be careful. The best of them have teeth."

Before The Bazaar of Bad Dreams arrives there's plenty for King fans to get their own teeth stuck into, with Under The Dome's third series due soon, as well as upcoming new book Finders Keepers and the aforementioned audio short story Drunken Fireworks, both due in June. Meanwhile, the TV adapatation of 11/22/63, Cary Fukunaga's It remake, The Dark Tower, Mr Mercedes, The Things They Left Behind and The Jaunt all remain in development.

(Image: Rex)

[via The Guardian]