Joseph Hillström King, also known by his pen name Joe Hill, is an author from the United States. Heart-Shaped Box, Horns, NOS4A2, and The Fireman are some of his novels, as are the short story collections 20th Century Ghosts and Strange Weather, and the comic book series Locke & Key. But did you know how he succeeded as an author?
Stephen King’s son, author Joe Hill, went through ten years of successful independent writing before announcing his relationship with his father, not even his agent was aware of his true identity.
Who is Joe Hill?
Joe Hill was born on June 4, 1972, in New York City, to famous authors Tabitha King and Stephen King. He was born in Hermon, Maine, and raised in Bangor. Owen King, his younger brother, is also a writer. Naomi King is his older sister. At the age of nine, he appeared in the 1982 film Creepshow, directed by George A. Romero and co-written by his father.
Hill chose an abbreviated form of his middle name as his professional surname in 1997, wanting to succeed on his own merits rather than as the son of one of the world’s best-selling and most-recognized living novelists. Hill publicly confirmed his identity in 2007, the year his first novel was published, following an article in Variety the previous year that revealed his identity. (Source: Stephen King Fandom)
Who Exactly is Stephen King?
Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947. He is a horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novelist from the United States. His books have sold over 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. He is known as the King of Horror, a play on his surname and a reference to his celebrity in pop culture.
King has written 64 novels, seven of which were published under the pen name Richard Bachman, as well as five non-fiction books. He has also written about 200 short stories, the majority of which have been collected in book collections. Bram Stoker Awards, World Fantasy Awards, and British Fantasy Society Awards have all been bestowed upon King.
The National Book Foundation honored him with the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters in 2003. He has also received honors for his contributions to literature throughout his career, including the 2004 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award in 2007. He received a National Medal of Arts from the United States in 2015. For his contributions to literature, he received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. (Source: Britannica)
Joe Hill’s Achievements and Awards
Joe Hill has received numerous honors and awards. Among them are four Bram Stoker Awards, given annually by the Horror Writers Association, for his collections 20th Century Ghosts and Strange Weather, as well as the short story Best New Horror, and his debut novel, Heart-Shaped Box.
Hill also won British Fantasy Awards for 20th Century Ghosts, Strange Weather, and Best New Horror, as well as a World Fantasy Award for his novella, Voluntary Committal. He won the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award in 2011 for his comic books Locke & Key, and the Locus Award for Best Horror Novel in 2017 for The Fireman. (Source: The Famous People)