This is a list of short fiction works by Stephen King (b. 1947). This includes short stories, novelettes, and novellas, as well as poems. It is arranged chronologically by first publication. Major revisions of previously published pieces are also noted. Stephen King is sometimes credited with "nearly 400 short stories" (or a similarly large number).[1] However, all the known published pieces of short fiction are tabulated below. In all, 218 works are listed. Most of these pieces have been collected in King's seven short story collections: Night Shift (1978), Skeleton Crew (1985), Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993), Everything's Eventual (2002), Just After Sunset (2008), The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015), and You Like It Darker (2024); in King's five novella collections: Different Seasons (1982), Four Past Midnight (1990), Hearts in Atlantis (1999), Full Dark, No Stars (2010), and If It Bleeds (2020); and in the compilation Secret Windows: Essays and Fiction on the Craft of Writing (2000). Some of these pieces, however, remain uncollected.
1950s
1959
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Land of 1,000,000 Years Ago" |
short story |
|
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| Thirty-One of the Classics |
novella |
|
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "Jumper" |
short story |
Dave's Rag (1959) |
Secret Windows (2000) |
Self-published
|
1960s
1960
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Rush Call" |
short story |
Dave's Rag (1960) |
Secret Windows (2000) |
Self-published
|
| "The Cursed Expedition" |
short story |
People, Places and Things (1960) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "I've Got to Get Away!" |
short story |
People, Places and Things (1960) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "The Hotel at the End of the Road" |
short story |
People, Places and Things (1960) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "Never Look Behind You" |
short story |
People, Places and Things (1960) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "The Other Side of the Fog" |
short story |
People, Places and Things (1960) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "The Stranger" |
short story |
People, Places and Things (1960) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well" |
short story |
People, Places and Things (1960) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
1963
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Undead" |
short story |
The Undead (1963) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
| "Trigger Finger" |
short story |
Trigger Finger (1963) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
1964
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Star Invaders" |
short story |
The Star Invaders (1964) |
Uncollected |
Self-published
|
1965
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Codename: Mousetrap" |
short story |
The Drum (October 27, 1965) |
Uncollected |
Lisbon Falls High School publication
|
| "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber" |
short story |
Comics Review (1965) |
Uncollected |
First published in Comics Review, 1965. Later reprinted in Stories of Suspense (1965) retitled as “In a Half-World of Terror”. Partly reprinted in The Stephen King Illustrated Companion (edited by Bev Vincent, 2009).
|
1966
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The 43rd Dream" |
short story |
The Drum (January 29, 1966) |
Uncollected |
Lisbon Falls High School publication
|
1967
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Glass Floor" |
short story |
Startling Mystery Stories (Fall 1967) |
Night Shift (2020 Deluxe Edition)[2] |
First professional story; republished in Weird Tales #298 (Fall, 1990)
|
1968
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Cain Rose Up" |
short story |
Ubris (Spring 1968) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| "Here There Be Tygers" |
short story |
Ubris (Spring 1968) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| "Harrison State Park '68" |
poem |
Ubris (Fall 1968) |
Uncollected |
|
| "Strawberry Spring" |
short story |
Ubris (Fall 1968) |
Night Shift (1978) |
Collected heavily revised
|
1969
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Night Surf" |
short story |
Ubris (Spring 1969) |
Night Shift (1978) |
Collected heavily revised
|
| "The Reaper's Image" |
short story |
Startling Mystery Stories (Spring 1969) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
Collected heavily revised
|
| "The Dark Man" |
poem |
Ubris (Fall 1969) |
Uncollected |
Republished as a standalone book (2013)
|
| "Stud City" |
short story |
Ubris (Fall 1969) |
Uncollected |
Incorporated into The Body (1982)
|
1970s
1970
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Slade" |
short story |
The Maine Campus (June 11 – August 6, 1970) |
Uncollected |
|
| "Graveyard Shift" |
short story |
Cavalier (October 1970) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "Donovan's Brain" |
poem |
Moth (1970) |
Uncollected |
|
| "Silence" |
poem |
Moth (1970) |
Uncollected |
|
1971
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Blue Air Compressor" |
short story |
Onan (January 1971) |
Uncollected |
Republished revised in Heavy Metal (July 1981)
|
| "In the Key Chords of Dawn" |
poem |
Onan (January 1971) |
Uncollected |
|
| "I Am the Doorway" |
short story |
Cavalier (March 1971) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "Brooklyn August" |
poem |
Io #10 (1971) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
|
| "She Has Gone to Sleep While..." |
poem |
Contraband #1 (October 31, 1971) |
Uncollected |
Credited as 'Stephan King'
|
| "Woman with Child" |
poem |
Contraband #1 (October 31, 1971) |
Uncollected |
Credited as 'Stephan King'
|
| "The Hardcase Speaks" |
poem |
Contraband #2 (December 1, 1971) |
Uncollected |
Credited as 'Stephan King'
|
1972
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Suffer the Little Children" |
short story |
Cavalier (February 1972) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
|
| "The Fifth Quarter" |
short story |
Cavalier (April 1972) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
As John Swithen
|
| "Battleground" |
short story |
Cavalier (September 1972) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "The Mangler" |
short story |
Cavalier (December 1972) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
1973
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Boogeyman" |
short story |
Cavalier (March 1973) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "Trucks" |
short story |
Cavalier (June 1973) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "Gray Matter" |
short story |
Cavalier (October 1973) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "It Grows on You" |
short story |
Marshroots (Fall 1973) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
Republished revised in Whispers (August 1982), collected further revised Nominee, Locus Award, 1983[3]
|
1974
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Sometimes They Come Back" |
short story |
Cavalier (March 1974) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
1975
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Lawnmower Man" |
short story |
Cavalier (May 1975) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "The Revenge of Lard Ass Hogan" |
short story |
The Maine Review (July 1975) |
Uncollected |
Incorporated into The Body (1982)
|
1976
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Weeds" |
short story |
Cavalier (May 1976) |
Night Shift (2020 Deluxe Edition)[2] |
Appears in comic book form in Creepshow (1982) as "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" and reprinted in Dark Screams: Volume One (2014)
|
| "The Ledge" |
short story |
Penthouse (July 1976) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "I Know What You Need" |
short story |
Cosmopolitan (September 1976) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
1977
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Children of the Corn" |
short story |
Penthouse (March 1977) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "One for the Road" |
short story |
Maine (March/April 1977) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
| "The Cat from Hell" |
short story |
Cavalier (June 1977) |
Just After Sunset (2008) |
|
| "The King Family and the Wicked Witch" |
short story |
Flint (August 25, 1977) |
Uncollected |
|
| "The Man Who Loved Flowers" |
short story |
Gallery (August 1977) |
Night Shift (1978) |
|
1978
1979
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Crate" |
short story |
Gallery (July 1979) |
Uncollected |
Appears in Fantasy Annual III (1981) and Shivers VI (2011). Appears in comic book form in Creepshow (1982) Nominee, Locus Award, 1980[3]
|
1980s
1980
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| The Way Station |
novella |
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (April 1980) |
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982) |
Collected revised; Nominee, Nebula Award,1981; Nominee, Locus Award, 1981[3]
|
| "Big Wheels: A Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2)" |
short story |
New Terrors Two (July 1980) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| The Mist |
novella |
Dark Forces (August 1980) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1981; Nominee, Locus Award, 1981[3]
|
| "Crouch End" |
short story |
New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos (October 1980) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 1981[3]
|
| "The Monkey" |
short story |
Gallery (November 1980) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
Collected heavily revised; Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 1982[3]
|
| "The Wedding Gig" |
short story |
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (December 1980) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
1981
1982
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Survivor Type" |
short story |
Terrors (July 1982) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| "Before the Play" |
short story |
Whispers (August 1982) |
Uncollected |
Unused prologue to The Shining (1977)
|
| Apt Pupil |
novella |
Different Seasons (August 27, 1982) |
Different Seasons (1982) |
Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 1983[3]
|
| The Body |
novella |
Different Seasons (August 27, 1982) |
Different Seasons (1982) |
|
| The Breathing Method |
novella |
Different Seasons (August 27, 1982) |
Different Seasons (1982) |
Winner, British Fantasy Award, 1983; Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1983; Nominee, Locus Award, 1983[3]
|
| Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption |
novella |
Different Seasons (August 27, 1982) |
Different Seasons (1982) |
|
| "The Raft" |
short story |
Gallery (November 1982) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
Nominee, Locus Award, 1983[3]
|
| "Skybar" |
short story |
The Do-It-Yourself Bestseller (August 1982) |
Uncollected |
Partial short story
|
1983
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Word Processor of the Gods" |
short story |
Playboy (January 1983) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
Originally titled "The Word Processor"; collected heavily revised
|
| "Uncle Otto's Truck" |
short story |
Yankee (October 1983) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| Cycle of the Werewolf |
novella |
Land of Enchantment (November 1983) |
Uncollected (standalone book) |
|
| "The Return of Timmy Baterman" |
short story |
Satyricon II (1983) |
Uncollected |
Incorporated into Pet Sematary (1983)
|
1984
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Gramma" |
short story |
Weirdbook (Spring 1984) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| "Mrs. Todd's Shortcut" |
short story |
Redbook (May 1984) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet |
novella |
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (June 1984) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1985; Nominee, Locus Award, 1985[3]
|
| "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson" |
short story |
Rolling Stone (July 19 – August 2, 1984) |
Uncollected |
Collected in the limited edition of Skeleton Crew (1985); incorporated into The Tommyknockers (1987)
|
| "Beachworld" |
short story |
Weird Tales (Fall 1984) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
1985
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| Dolan's Cadillac |
novella |
Castle Rock (February – June 1985) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
|
| "For Owen" |
poem |
Skeleton Crew (June 1985) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| "Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1)" |
short story |
Skeleton Crew (June 1985) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
| "Paranoid: A Chant" |
poem |
Skeleton Crew (June 1985) |
Skeleton Crew (1985) |
|
1986
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "For the Birds" |
short story |
Bred Any Good Rooks Lately? (September 1986) |
Uncollected |
|
| "The End of the Whole Mess" |
short story |
Omni (October 1986) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
Nominee, World Fantasy Award, 1987[3]
|
1987
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Popsy" |
short story |
asques II: All-New Stories of Horror and the Supernatural (June 1987) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
|
| "The Doctor's Case" |
short story |
The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (November 1987) |
Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993) |
|
1988
1989
1990s
1990
1992
1993
1994
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Killer" |
short story |
Famous Monsters of Filmland #202 (Spring 1994) |
Uncollected |
Written in the mid-1960s
|
| "Blind Willie" |
short story |
Antaeus #75/76 (October 1994) |
Hearts in Atlantis (1999) |
Collected heavily revised
|
| "The Man in the Black Suit" |
short story |
The New Yorker (October 31, 1994) |
Everything's Eventual (2002) |
Winner, World Fantasy Award, 1995[3]
|
| "Dino" |
poem |
Salt Hill Journal (Fall 1994) |
Uncollected |
|
1995
1997
1998
1999
2000s
2000
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| Riding the Bullet |
novella |
Riding the Bullet (March 14, 2000) |
Everything's Eventual (2002) |
Originally published as an ebook Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2001[3]
|
| "The Old Dude's Ticker" |
short story |
NECON XX (July 2000) |
Uncollected |
Written in the early 1970s
|
2001
2003
2004
2005
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Things They Left Behind" |
short story |
Transgressions (May 2005) |
Just After Sunset (2008) |
Nominee, Bram Stoker Award, 2006[3]
|
| "The Furnace" |
short story |
Weekly Reader (September 2005) |
Uncollected |
Partial short story
|
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010s
2010
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Tommy" |
poem |
Playboy (March 2010) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
|
| Blockade Billy |
novella |
Blockade Billy (April 2010) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
|
| 1922 |
novella |
Full Dark, No Stars (November 2010) |
Full Dark, No Stars (2010) |
Nominee, British Fantasy Award, 2011[3]
|
| Big Driver |
novella |
Full Dark, No Stars (November 2010) |
Full Dark, No Stars (2010) |
|
| Fair Extension |
novella |
Full Dark, No Stars (November 2010) |
Full Dark, No Stars (2010) |
|
| A Good Marriage |
novella |
Full Dark, No Stars (November 2010) |
Full Dark, No Stars (2010) |
|
2011
2012
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| In the Tall Grass |
novella |
Esquire (June/July–August 2012) |
Uncollected |
In collaboration with Joe Hill, part of Hill's collection Full Throttle
|
| A Face in the Crowd |
novella |
A Face in the Crowd (August 21, 2012) |
Uncollected |
Originally published as an ebook; in collaboration with Stewart O'Nan
|
| "Batman and Robin Have an Altercation" |
short story |
Harper's Magazine (September 2012) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
|
2013
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Afterlife" |
short story |
Tin House #56 (June 2013) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
|
| "The Rock and Roll Dead Zone" |
short story |
Hard Listening (June 18, 2013) |
Uncollected |
Originally published as an ebook
|
| "Summer Thunder" |
short story |
Turn Down the Lights (December 2013) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
|
2014
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Bad Little Kid" |
short story |
Bad Little Kid (March 14, 2014) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
Originally published as an ebook in French and German languages only
|
| "That Bus Is Another World" |
short story |
Esquire (August 2014) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015) |
|
2015
2016
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Cookie Jar" |
short story |
Virginia Quarterly Review (Spring 2016) |
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (paperback edition) |
|
| "The Music Room" |
short story |
Playboy (December 2016) |
You Like It Darker (paperback edition) |
Included with audio readings of Gwendy's Button Box.
|
2017
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| Gwendy's Button Box |
novella |
Gwendy's Button Box (May 2017) |
Uncollected (standalone book) |
written with Richard Chizmar
|
| "Thin Scenery" |
play |
Ploughshares (Summer 2017) |
Uncollected |
|
2018
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Laurie" |
short story |
stephenking.com (May 17, 2018) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
Free download;[5] included in the Elevation audiobook
|
| "The Turbulence Expert" |
short story |
Flight or Fright (September 4, 2018) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
|
| Elevation |
novella |
Elevation (October 2018) |
Uncollected (standalone book) |
|
2019
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Squad D" |
short story |
Shivers VIII (April 18, 2019) |
Uncollected |
written in the late 1970s; first published in German two months earlier
|
2020s
2020
2021
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Red Screen" |
short story |
Humble Bundle (September 9, 2021) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
Originally published as e-book
|
2022
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "Willie the Weirdo" |
short story |
McSweeney's 66 (Spring 2022) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
Originally planned for #65 in 2021, postponed to #66 for Spring 2022
|
| "Finn" |
short story |
Scribd (May 25, 2022) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
Originally released as ebook and audiobook
|
2024
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| The Answer Man |
novella |
You Like It Darker (May 2024) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
|
| Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream |
novella |
You Like It Darker (May 2024) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
|
| The Dreamers |
novella |
You Like It Darker (May 2024) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
|
| Rattlesnakes |
novella |
You Like It Darker (May 2024) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
|
| Two Talented Bastids |
novella |
You Like It Darker (May 2024) |
You Like It Darker (2024) |
|
2025
| Title |
Type |
Originally published in |
Collected in |
Notes
|
| "The Extra Hour" |
short story |
Cemetery Dance Publications Magazine #79 (January 2025) |
Uncollected |
|
| "Hansel and Gretel" |
short story |
Hansel and Gretel (September 2025) |
Uncollected (standalone book) |
|
See also
References
- Wood, Rocky (November 9, 2004). The Complete Guide to the Works of Stephen King (ISBN 0-9750593-3-5)
- Wood, Rocky (September 4, 2012). Stephen King: Uncollected, Unpublished, Overlook Connection Press. (ISBN 1-58767-130-1 and ISBN 0-9750593-4-3)
- Brooks, Justin; Wood, Rocky (April 6, 2013). Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author, Overlook Connection Press. (ISBN 1-58767-153-0).
Citations
External links
King, Stephen (May 17, 2018). Laurie (PDF). StephenKing.com.
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| Novels |
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Short fiction collections | |
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| Nonfiction |
- Danse Macabre (1981)
- Nightmares in the Sky (1988)
- On Writing (2000)
- Secret Windows (2000)
- Faithful (2004)
- "Guns" (2013)
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| Children's books |
- Charlie the Choo-Choo (2016)
- Hansel & Gretal (2025)
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| Screenplays | |
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| Teleplays | |
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| Comics | |
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Musical collaborations | |
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Anthologies edited |
- The Best American Short Stories 2007 (2007)
- Six Scary Stories (2016)
- Flight or Fright (2018)
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In-universe concepts | |
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| Family | |
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| Related |
- Hearts in Suspension
- The Secretary of Dreams
- King on Screen
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Category
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