Stephen King

NEW YORK — Ralph Vicinanza, a literary agent whose clients included Stephen King, Augusten Burroughs, and the Dalai Lama, has died. He was 60. Mr. Vicinanza died of a brain aneurysm Saturday night in Bronxville, his colleague Christopher Schelling said in a statement Tuesday on behalf of Mr. Vicinanza’s agency, Ralph M. Vicinanza Ltd. Mr. Vicinanza was in publishing for nearly 40 years and early on took a special interest in what he...

Chuck Hogan, author of the best-selling novel "Prince of Thieves," will visit the Flint Memorial Library, 147 Park St., at 7 p.m. May 15 to read from his work, talk about current projects, and answer questions. A book signing will be held after the discussion. "Prince of Thieves" won the Hammett Prize for Excellence in Crime Writing, and Stephen King named it one of the best books of the year. Ben Affleck's Academy Award-nominated film "The Town" is based on the novel, which tells the tale of a complicated man who is trapped in a life he is desperately seeking to change.

A film with a humorous take on Stephen King will premiere in the horror writer's home state of Maine in April. "You Can't Kill Stephen King" will be part of this year's Lewiston Auburn Film Festival. The film will be shown on April 14 at the Community Little Theatre in Auburn. The film follows a group of friends who visit Maine in hopes of meeting King, but come face-to-face with several eccentric characters. It's already received national mainstream attention in cinema magazines.

R.L. Stine, author of the "Goosebumps" series of books for young adults, will be at the Harvard Book Store Saturday for the sci-fi and fantasy convention Vericon. Stine, whom some have called the "Stephen King of children's literature," tweeted to his followers Friday that he would sign "new books and old. " Also expected at the event are authors Vernor Vinge, Lev Grossman, Thomas Sniegoski, and Greer Gilman.

Horror author Stephen King is stepping up to help struggling Maine residents buy heating oil. The state is facing deep cuts to a federal heating oil assistance program. The Maine native announced Tuesday that his foundation will work with the three radio stations he owns in the Bangor area to raise $140,000 to buy heating oil for low-income residents. He's asking listeners to donate $70,000, and the foundation will double it. King tells the Bangor Daily News (http://bit.ly/tTJMtO)

ORONO, Maine -- Delivering the commencement speech at his alma mater, the best-selling author Stephen King counseled University of Maine graduates yesterday to be voracious readers, to donate a tenth of their earnings to worthy causes, and to carve out their careers in Maine. King, a member of the class of 1970, spoke twice, because rain forced officials to move the 203d commencement to Alfond Arena. No indoor facility could accommodate all the graduates, friends and family members, and staff, so two ceremonies were held.

Time magazine ran a Halloween feature on its website yesterday about what scares the people who've made a profession of scaring the rest of us. In it, two of the most frightening New Englanders - author Stephen King and Newton-bred "Hostel" director Eli Roth - disclosed what makes their skin crawl. King admitted that the bathtub scene in the 1955 movie "Diabolique" freaks him out. Meanwhile, Roth admitted that he's petrified of what baseball fandom can do to people. "I remember as a kid going to Yankee Stadium absolutely terrified to wear a Red Sox uniform, yet when I...

For a guy who's sold more than 350 million copies of his books and short stories, Stephen King is remarkably unaffected. During an appearance yesterday at the JFK Library, King could barely answer a question without using a common profanity or making a joke at his own expense. (Would you, for example, reveal that you bought your wife a hair dryer with your first big payday, as King did with his "Carrie" cash?) King's latest is "11/22/63," about a high-school teacher who travels back in time in an attempt to prevent the ...

BAG OF BONES Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Melissa George, Annabeth Gish, William Schallert, Jason Priestley On: A&E Time: Sunday and Monday nights, 9-11 A&E's "Bag of Bones" is very "Boo!" Every time something scary is about to happen in this two-part adaptation of the 1998 Stephen King novel, the soundtrack jolts you upright with blaring horns, heavy strings, and creepy choral sounds. It's the orchestral version of "Boo!" and it's about as effective as the laugh track on "2 Broke Girls.

Deadline.com reports that Ben Affleck has been tapped to direct an adaptation of Stephen King 's 1978 novel "The Stand," which was written long before Steven Soderbergh directed that movie called "Contagion. "

A film with a humorous take on Stephen King will premiere in the horror writer's home state of Maine in April. "You Can't Kill Stephen King" will be part of this year's Lewiston Auburn Film Festival. The film will be shown on April 14 at the Community Little Theatre in Auburn. The film follows a group of friends who visit Maine in hopes of meeting King, but come face-to-face with several eccentric characters. It's already received national mainstream attention in cinema magazines.

BAG OF BONES Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Melissa George, Annabeth Gish, William Schallert, Jason Priestley On: A&E Time: Sunday and Monday nights, 9-11 A&E's "Bag of Bones" is very "Boo!" Every time something scary is about to happen in this two-part adaptation of the 1998 Stephen King novel, the soundtrack jolts you upright with blaring horns, heavy strings, and creepy choral sounds. It's the orchestral version of "Boo!" and it's about as effective as the laugh track on "2 Broke Girls.

11/22/63 By Stephen King Scribner, 849 pp., $35 T ime travel is tricky. Problem number one: You probably don't have a time machine parked in your garage. Not yet, anyway. But let's assume you do. You rev up your metallic silver Chronos 1000. The future doesn't interest you. You are, however, tempted to visit the past because who can resist the temptation of mucking with history? Nobody. OK, what would happen if you time-trekked back to 1963 and killed the assassin before he got to President Kennedy?

Horror author Stephen King is stepping up to help struggling Maine residents buy heating oil. The state is facing deep cuts to a federal heating oil assistance program. The Maine native announced Tuesday that his foundation will work with the three radio stations he owns in the Bangor area to raise $140,000 to buy heating oil for low-income residents. He's asking listeners to donate $70,000, and the foundation will double it. King tells the Bangor Daily News (http://bit.ly/tTJMtO)

For a guy who's sold more than 350 million copies of his books and short stories, Stephen King is remarkably unaffected. During an appearance yesterday at the JFK Library, King could barely answer a question without using a common profanity or making a joke at his own expense. (Would you, for example, reveal that you bought your wife a hair dryer with your first big payday, as King did with his "Carrie" cash?) King's latest is "11/22/63," about a high-school teacher who travels back in time in an attempt to prevent the Kennedy assassination.

Thanks to PEN New England, Roxbury Community College, and New England Blacks in Philanthropy, "Devil in a Blue Dress" author Walter Mosley (inset) read from his latest novel, "The Last of Days Ptolemy Grey," and confirmed something we'd heard: NBC is developing a series based on Mosley's hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins… . Meanwhile, Bangor bestseller Stephen King will read from his new novel, "11/22/63: A Novel," at the JFK Library Monday and then discuss his literary career with fellow novelist Tom Perrotta … . Pats cornerback Devin McCourty ...

R.L. Stine, author of the "Goosebumps" series of books for young adults, will be at the Harvard Book Store Saturday for the sci-fi and fantasy convention Vericon. Stine, whom some have called the "Stephen King of children's literature," tweeted to his followers Friday that he would sign "new books and old. " Also expected at the event are authors Vernor Vinge, Lev Grossman, Thomas Sniegoski, and Greer Gilman.

Variety reports that Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme ("Silence of the Lambs") has optioned rights to produce and direct a film based on horrormeister Stephen King 's upcoming novel "11/22/63," scheduled for release in November. King's latest novel follows a Maine high-school teacher who travels back in time, hoping to thwart John F. Kennedy 's assassination. Demme plans to start shooting in fall 2012, with King as executive producer. Meanwhile, Ron Howard 's adaptation of King's "Dark Towers" series "recently fell apart," the trade mag reports, while an...