Stephen King's Background

Below is a quote from Stephen King's 2003 speech when he was awarded a medal for his distinguished contributions to American Letters by the National Book Foundation:

"Far too long the so-called popular writers of this country and the so-called literary writers have stared at each other with animosity and a willful lack of understanding. This is the way it has always been... But giving an award like this to a guy like me suggests that in the future things don't have to be the way they've always been. Bridges can be built between the so-called popular fiction and the so-called literary fiction." 

Early Career Timeline:

1966: Graduates from Lisbon High School and enters the University of Maine, at Orono (UMO)
1967: Makes his first short story sale, receiving $35 for "The Glass Floor" from Startling Mystery Stories.
1969: Begins writing a weekly column, King's Garbage Truck, for the Maine Campus, UMO's student newspaper. Meets and falls in love with Tabitha Jane Spruce.
1970: Graduates from UMO and takes a job pumping gas; later gets a job pressing sheets at a laundry in Bangor.
1971: Marries Tabitha Spruce; daughter Naomi is born; King takes a teaching job at Hampden Academy where he did his student teaching.
1972: First son, Joe, is born
1973: His first novel, Carrie, is published. He initially received $2,500 for the book, but is paid $400,00 0 for the paperback rights. Quits teaching.
1974: Carrie appears in bookstores; King moves to Boulder, CO.
1975: Publishes Salem's Lot
1977: King publishes The Shining, and under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, Rage.