Stephen King as MWA Grandmaster

[Angela Zeman]

I'm disgusted to hear muttering in the writer underground that Stephen King, as a 'horror' writer, should never have been granted Mystery Writers of America's highest title of honor--Grandmaster.
IMHO, the worst horror would be to overlook Stephen King.

Sure he writes horror. Others write romance, mainstream, PI pulps, spy, police procedurals, suspense, historicals, thrillers, cozies, even that oddity called 'woo woo.' And all contain some kind of mystery that needs solving or they'd be a waste of a tree. A yawn.

Can you imagine any of his, or anyone's, stories working without an element of suspense, conflict, or surprise? Can ANY story in ANY medium hold a reader's/viewer's interest without conflict and then the resolution of that conflict--a ploy otherwise known as a 'mystery'? A mystery is something we don't know. If we knew all about it, it wouldn't be a story, I don't care if you write in that vaporous stratosphere called 'literary,' you better include something that we'll wonder about or nobody will turn the page to see what happens. And your book will tank.

Guess my point is, everybody writes mysteries, no matter the subgenre you occupy, because if not, you'll always be a writer, never a published author.

Stephen King, one of publishing's most inventive, prolific producer of suspenseful, mystifying plots, deserves more than just a momentary pat on the back from one writing organization. He's one of the world's writing wonders. We who have enjoyed the products of his imagination over the decades owe him far more than a little acknowledgement from a few hundred peers in a tacky ballroom in a tacky hotel.

C'mon, authors. Play nice. Now. Ask me about Mickey Spillane.

A

[Margot Renne Payne]

You're preaching to the choir! I love Stephen King and have been reading him for 30 years. He is a great writer, storyteller--and a great teacher of the craft. I don't know why people/writers are so unwilling to recoginze him for all he has done. Hmm...jealousy?

[Todd Robinson]

I wouldn't be here without the writing of Mr. King. Period. As a member of the first part of the video game generation, I read his short story Strawberry Spring in this collection Night Shift and was hooked. He created an avid reader - who eventually became a writer.

Oh, and Strawberry Spring is a murder mystery, in case any of those hating bee-yatches have a complaint.