# Owen King

**Owen King** (born Owen Philip King, 1979) is an American author of novels, short fiction, and comics, and a screenwriter, best known as the coauthor with his father [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king) of the novel *[Sleeping Beauties](https://www.edgepedia.org/sleeping-beauties-novel)* and as the writer of *Double Feature* and *The Curator*. He should not be confused with Owen King, a glaciologist at [Newcastle University](https://www.edgepedia.org/newcastle-university) who publishes on glacier mass balance in the Andes, High Mountain Asia, and Svalbard.<sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/author/331391)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name / born | Owen Philip King, born 1979, Maine, USA<sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.booknotification.com/authors/owen-king/)</sup> |
| Family | Youngest son of authors Stephen and Tabitha King; siblings Naomi and Joseph Hillstrom King (the novelist Joe Hill); married to the writer Kelly Braffet<sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup> |
| First book | *We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories*, Bloomsbury, 2005<sup>[4](https://www.pw.org/node/703357)</sup> |
| Novels | *Double Feature* (Scribner, 2013); *The Curator* (Scribner, 2023)<sup>[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)</sup> |
| Collaboration | *Sleeping Beauties*, with Stephen King, published September 26, 2017<sup>[6](https://stephenking.com/works/collaboration/index.html)</sup> |
| Recognition | Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror 2017 for *Sleeping Beauties*; 2018 Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel; Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award nominations<sup>[7](https://shortyawards.com/10th/owenkingwriter)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup> |
| Screen work | Staff writer and producer on Paramount+'s *The Stand* miniseries (2020); signed by Independent Artist Group in February 2024<sup>[8](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/iag-signs-stand-owen-king-211148706.html)</sup> |

## Life and family

Owen King grew up in a family of writers. Fantastic Fiction lists him as the youngest son of Stephen King and [Tabitha King](https://www.edgepedia.org/tabitha-king), with two older siblings, Naomi and Joseph Hillstrom King, the latter better known as the novelist [Joe Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-hill). He is married to the writer Kelly Braffet.<sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup> His father's story collection *Skeleton Crew* includes a poem titled "For Owen", and the nonfiction piece "Head Down" in *Nightmares & Dreamscapes* is about Owen's Little League baseball team.<sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup> He lives in upstate New York with his family.<sup>[9](https://owen-king.com/)</sup>

## Books

**Debut and first novel.** King's first book, *We're All in This Together: A Novella and Stories*, was published by [Bloomsbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/bloomsbury) in 2005.<sup>[4](https://www.pw.org/node/703357)</sup> Publishers Weekly's review described a debut collection of four short stories, both creepy and heartfelt, plus a novella about a 15-year-old son of a single mother set in Maine.<sup>[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)</sup> His first novel, *Double Feature* (Scribner, 2013), is about film and family: its protagonist, Sam Dolan, is a young filmmaker whose father, the B-movie actor Booth Dolan, presents what the review calls a big father problem.<sup>[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)</sup>

**Sleeping Beauties.** King coauthored the novel *Sleeping Beauties* with his father, published by Scribner on September 26, 2017.<sup>[6](https://stephenking.com/works/collaboration/index.html)</sup> Publishers Weekly called it a horror-tinged realistic fantasy imagining what could happen if most of the women of the world fall asleep, leaving the men to cope.<sup>[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)</sup> The novel won Best Horror in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2017, and father and son toured the country together to promote it.<sup>[7](https://shortyawards.com/10th/owenkingwriter)</sup> It was a 2017 Bram Stoker Award nominee for Superior Achievement in a Novel and won the 2018 Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel.<sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup>

**The Curator.** King's novel *The Curator* (Scribner, 2023) expands his 2014 short story of the same name, which first appeared in *Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet* #31.<sup>[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://owen-king.com/stories/)</sup> Publishers Weekly describes it as a Victorian-esque fantasy containing moments of both horror and humor.<sup>[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)</sup> His most recent book is *Letter Slot* (2025), a contribution to The Shivers Collection; it was a 2025 nominee for the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novelette.<sup>[1](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)</sup>

## Short fiction, editing, and comics

King's short fiction has appeared in literary and genre magazines including *Ploughshares* ("Positive Comments," Fall 2018), *Subtropics* ("Confederate Wall," 2015; "Nothing is in Bad Taste," 2008), *One Story* ("The Cure," 2006), *Harpur Palate* ("Frozen Animals," 2003), and *The Fairy Tale Review* ("The Idiot's Ghost").<sup>[10](https://owen-king.com/stories/)</sup> He has also written reviews and essays for outlets including *The New York Times Book Review*, the *Los Angeles Review of Books*, Grantland, and NPR.<sup>[10](https://owen-king.com/stories/)</sup>

His anthology contributions include "Wonders" in *Bottom of the Ninth: Great Contemporary Baseball Stories* (2003) and "Behind Screen 4" in *The Drive-In: Multiplex* (Thunderstorm Books, Fall 2023).<sup>[11](https://owen-king.com/anthology-contributions/)</sup> In 2008 he co-edited, with John McNally, the anthology *Who Can Save Us Now? Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories* (Free Press), to which he contributed the story "The Meerkat".<sup>[11](https://owen-king.com/anthology-contributions/)</sup>

King has written two graphic novels: *Intro to Alien Invasion* (2015), with Mark Jude Poirier and artist Nancy Ahn, and *Self Help Vol. 1* (published June 2024), a neo-noir comic written with Jesse Kellerman and artist Marianna Ignazzi.<sup>[9](https://owen-king.com/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)</sup>

## Screen work

King served as a staff writer and producer on Paramount+'s nine-episode miniseries adaptation of his father's novel *[The Stand](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stand-2020-miniseries)*, which premiered in December 2020. In February 2024, Independent Artist Group signed him as a writer-producer, seeking opportunities for him in film and television and in media rights. His screenplay *Nackles* is in development with Tango Productions, with Larysa Kondracki attached to direct, and he has done work for AMC, Working Title, and Miramax TV.<sup>[8](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/iag-signs-stand-owen-king-211148706.html)</sup>

## References

1. [Owen King, Fantastic Fiction](https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/owen-king/)
2. [Publications by Dr Owen King, Newcastle University ePrints](https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/author/331391)
3. [Owen King List of Books, Book Notification](https://www.booknotification.com/authors/owen-king/)
4. [Owen King, Poets & Writers](https://www.pw.org/node/703357)
5. [Books by Owen King and Complete Book Reviews, Publishers Weekly](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/owen-king.html)
6. [Stephen King, Collaborations](https://stephenking.com/works/collaboration/index.html)
7. [Owen King, The Shorty Awards (10th Annual)](https://shortyawards.com/10th/owenkingwriter)
8. [IAG Signs 'The Stand's Owen King, Yahoo Entertainment](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/iag-signs-stand-owen-king-211148706.html)
9. [Owen King, official author site](https://owen-king.com/)
10. [STORIES, Owen King official site](https://owen-king.com/stories/)
11. [ANTHOLOGY CONTRIBUTIONS, Owen King official site](https://owen-king.com/anthology-contributions/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Writers and literary biographies › Fiction writers: novelists and genre › American literary novelists › Contemporary writers*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license
