Reverse course! Stephen King, who in 2000 surprised the industry by making his novella Riding the Bullet available only as an e-book, will now offer his new novel, Joyland, only in a print edition, the Wall Street Journal reported.
King has kept the book's digital rights, saying, "I have no plans for a digital version. Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one."
King has supported independent bookstores before. In 1994, he famously did an independent bookstore tour from coast to coast, traveling via motorcycle, for his novel Insomnia.
Joyland will be published in paperback June 4 by Hard Case Crime, an independent publisher that published King's The Colorado Kid in 2005. "Part of the reason he publishes with us is to support our authors but I also think he enjoys the pulp presentation," Hard Case Crime owner Charles Ardai told the Journal.
In another interesting King twist, this fall Scribner is publishing Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining. In the meantime, Anchor Books is publishing two new editions of The Shining, each of which will include an excerpt from Doctor Sleep. In an apparent tip of the hat to its publishing competitor, Scribner will likely mention The Shining in ads for Doctor Sleep.