There's a humorous story in the 1995 edition of The Stephen King Companion, in which Dr. Michael Collings relays a tale told to him by his teenaged son. According to his son, his English teacher was assigning a term paper to be written on an American author. When someone in the class noted that Stephen King was not on the list, the English teacher went on and on about the lack of sophistication in modern American literature, etc. etc. But she also stated something remarkably intriguing: There's not enough criticism about him to make the project worthwhile.

I have been reading books about King almost as long as I've read books by King. My first was a now-battered copy of The Stephen King Quiz Book, by Stephen Spignesi, the first of many, many books I've read by him. The second was Beahm's first Stephen King Companion, and the two of them worked together to deepen and expand my love of King. It's fair to say that without Spignesi, Beahm, and, later, Collings, this site would not exist.

This is why I've decided to single these three writers out - all prolific, all startlingly intelligent critics of the weird niche genre that is Stephen King literary criticism. As time goes by, I may find a need to single out other influential King scholars (folks such as Bev Vincent, Brian Freeman, and Rocky Wood seem to be on the fast track to become the "new wave" of King critics.), but for now, my Big Three stand. Below them, you'll find my attempt at listing, chronologically, every book about King ever published. I've bolded the ones that are either very important to the study of King, or simply among my favorites. Enjoy!

Stephen Spignesi first appeared on the King scene in 1990 with his inauspicious debut The Stephen King Quiz Book. I remember stumbling upon this book entirely by accident, finding it sandwiched between copies of The Dark Half on one of the many King shelves in the horror section of my local bookstore. A moment ago, I selected this book from my own King section at home, and what a tattered wreck I've made of it. Stephen Spignesi's tiny paperback ushered me unceremoniously into the land of King criticism, beginning a now-lifetime fascination with books about my favorite books. Spignesi followed up The Stephen King Quiz Book with The Shape Under the Sheet: The Stephen King Encyclopedia, one of the most important texts on King ever published. Following that, Spignesi released book after book of defining, landmark publications about King and his work.