There’s an interesting debate about King and Hard Case’s decision to publish in paperback only (with a hardcover collector’s edition later, but no ebook plans), so far with contributions from UK literary agent Jonny Geller in The Guardian and from Hard Case Crime publisher Charles Ardai in Boing Boing.

If you want more on Joyland as we await its release, there’s an excerpt in The Huffington Post, and a NPR interview with Terry Gross that includes a reading from the book.

I go over the debate, then throw my own two cents in, in 20:30 of audio goodness. Hope you like the episode, and I really want to know what YOU think of the decision. Tell me!

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Joyland:

Colorado Kid hardcover deluxe edition:

Colorado Kid paperback:

This episode has discussions of Under the Dome, The Tommyknockers, and 11/22/63, as well as news about movie  adaptations of Joyland and “A Good Marriage,” as well as a fond farewell to Ray Harryhausen.

Hope you like it.

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Here’s a letter from Ray Harryhausen, read at a tribute to Famous Monsters of Filmland’s Forrest J. Ackerman:

There was a 2011 documentary, Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan, that I haven’t seen but desperately want to RIGHT NOW.

There are many clips on Youtube, for example this one, showing the direct line from Harryhausen to Jurassic Park:

And the UK newspaper The Telegraph has a wonderful obituary. The Tely obituary notes his long frienship with Ray Bradbury, who fictionalized their work together in the 1950s in his novel A Graveyard For Lunatics.

Take some time to remember Ray Harryhausen, and to appreciate his work whenever you can.

But I’m back. And I promise to be back soon.

Richard Dawson and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the adaptation of “The Running Man.” Read the book instead, willya? You’ll thank me.

This time, I’m taking a flying tour through the Stephen King bibliography to look at how he deals with politics, and what this might tell us about King the man.

In this episode, I talk about Hearts in Atlantis, Firestarter, The Dark Tower series, the story “Everything’s Eventual”, and the Bachman books: Rage, Roadwork, The Running Man, and The Long Walk.

Next time, I’m going to continue the look at politics with a discussion of The Tommyknockers, Under the Dome and 11/22/63.

Enjoy the episode in all of its hour-long glory. Download it here!

As always, love feedback: thekingcast@gmail.com

And this weekend, I’m at the Ontario Council of Folk Festival’s conference, with 700 or so of Canada’s and the world’s best roots and folk musicians and presenters.

And who do I meet at a showcase performance but … Kingcast guest Nicole Christian!

It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise to get to meet the cowriter of “Barn Dance” and hear her live. Thanks to friend James Dean for the photo.

Courtesy of Lilja’s Library, a cover for the Dutch edition of Doctor Sleep.

ago, Kingcast 16 was the first place you got to hear an excerpt from Doctor Sleep, a sequel to 1977′s The Shining.

Here’s what I’m wondering about in my head:

• Are there novels I wish had sequels?
• Has SK written sequels I wish he hadn’t?
• Can the novel Doctor Sleep survive the pop-culture impact that Stanley Kubrick’s film version of The Shining has had? Can we read Jack Torrance without seeing Jack Nicholson?

I’m hoping to record later this week, so if you have thoughts about this, let me know.

Also have some tidbits on the Dark Tower movie project, the new production of Carrie, and a little bragging. Enjoy!

RIP Salem’s Lot, 1975-2012.
Fondly remembered.

I’m back with episode 27 of The Kingcast, featuring some thoughts about the power of secrets in Stephen King’s work. In other news… there was a death in the family last week. I’m a little broken up about it, but I know that with your support I’ll get over it.

In addition to some meandering about secrets, there’s always Stephen King news to be shared. For example:

• Justin Long is booked to star in “The Ten O’Clock People”, an adaptation of the story which appeared in 1992′s “Nightmares and Dreamscapes.” The adaptation will be written and directed by Tom Holland, who previously adapted “The Langoliers” for TV and “Thinner”  for the big screen. (He also played Carl Hough in “The Stand”). Here’s a little glamour shot of a younger Mr. Holland:

• The Rock Bottom Remainders recently played their last show. The band, which has featured tons of authors but has had a core membership including Dave Barry, King, Ridley Pearson, and Amy Tan, has been playing benefits and fun shows for nearly 20 years. Dave Barry claims they’ve quit because nobody can get through a show without a pee break anymore.
• Haven starts season three in September. A primer on the series will catch new viewers up on the action.
• My fellow Stephen King podcaster and fan Matt Jacobs recently nailed a remarkable guest to interview– physicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. You can read about the encounter on his site.
• Via the Stephen King forum, I got a chuckle or two out of “The King’s Road,” a series by Mind Circus Comics featuring SK in some wacky (and possibly NSFW) adventures.

In any case, here’s the episode. Enjoy. As always, your comments are welcomed.

Ray Bradbury as I will remember him.

But this weekend is the final PAB conference. PAB was originally “Podcasters Across Borders.” And I’ve been to several of them. So as I prepared to present at the final PAB, podcasting has been more and more on my mind. So I’m back.

This is episode 26, right? So where is episode 25? I have episode 25 half done. I will get it completed and posted VERY soon, I promise. Then we’ll be back on track.

In any case, this episode is also brought to you by the sad loss of Ray Bradbury this week, at the age of 91. He will be missed, by me and many others. Thank you, Ray.

There’s also some thoughts about “Wind Through the Keyhole.” And you might not want to have your plot spoiled, so be careful.

Enjoy.

Matthew Kirschenbaum

Episode 24 of the Kingcast features some news from Kingland, a mention of Matt Jacob and my discussion of “The Dark Tower 7: The Dark Tower” on his SK Fancast, a mini-review of David Cronenberg’s 1983 film The Dead Zone (a film cast by episode 23 guest Jane Jenkins) and of course, a feature interview with Matthew Kirschenbaum.

Matthew Kirschenbaum is an associate professor of English at the University of Maryland. He’s currently working on a history of word processing for Harvard University Press called Track Changes (due out next year), and recently gave a talk at the New York Public Library with the irresistible title of “Stephen King’s Wang.”

You can find out just where that title comes from, and a lot more, in our conversation.

For Toronto listeners, Matthew is speaking at the University of Toronto on March 1.

Enjoy the podcast, and always feel free to give me your feedback at thekingcast@gmail.com.