Stephen King shares book he’d love to write next ahead of latest release

Stephen King is known for writing gripping horror books, but he’d love to write a very different kind of book one day – and shared some of his favorite authors

Stephen King has spoken out about the type of book he’d love to write next and shared the authors who inspire him. King’s newest novel – Never Flinch – will be released on May 27, and the master storyteller gave fans a sneak peek during a reading ahead of the launch.

On the Simon & Schuster Books YouTube channel, King also shared some of his favourite genres. He said: “I like detective fiction, and I like horror fiction, and I like suspense fiction, but not necessarily in that order.” While King made his name writing spine-chilling horror novels like ‘IT,’ ‘Cujo,’ and ”Salem’s Lot,’ he has recently expanded his repertoire to include detective stories, particularly with his Mr Mercedes series.

His upcoming novel revisits the character Holly Gibney from the saga, but King has no plans of stopping there.

The veteran writer said he would like to write a classic ‘whodunnit’ story, where readers are presented with a cast of potential culprits and left guessing who committed the crime.

He then expressed his admiration for some literary greats, stating: “I admire Agatha Christie, and people like Ruth Ware.

“But I also like books like ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith, where you know right away from he start who the bad guy is, and this once, I wanted to try to write something different.”

He then said that during the writing phase he “had to have a plot,” and described “plotted novels” as nothing but “trouble” for him.

In the clip, he read a snippet from Never Flinch, adding that Holly will serve as a bodyguard for a celebrity.

He shared his fondness for Holly as a character, which motivated him to extend her narrative beyond his 2023 novel ‘Holly’.

One viewer commented on the video: “There will never be an author that is better than Stephen King.”

Another fan expressed: “And I am so glad this man continues to write. I am grateful.”

A horror enthusiast praised: “His stories have been entertaining me for some 50 years. Thank you, Mr. King. From a lot of us.”

One reminisced: “Growing up with him as a writer…and I’m going back to the 80s…he is like this crazy uncle you’ve known all your life who gives you some comfort still being around in this crazy world.”

Another viewer noted: “I love to see him in such great spirits. He really looks like he had fun with this one!”