Lawrence D. Cohen (Book): Lawrence D. Cohen's first feature script was his adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie (1976). His screenplay for the classic Brian de Palma film earned him an Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. After beginning his career as a film/theater critic and essayist for a number of leading periodicals, he worked as an assistant to famed Broadway director-choreographer Michael Bennett on the latter’s Tony Award-winning Twigs, as well as the musical Seesaw. While working for film and TV producer David Susskind, he discovered the script of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, and went on to become Production Executive of the 1975 Martin Scorsese film. Continuing his ongoing relationship with Stephen King in 1990, he wrote the 4-hour teleplay of IT which USA Today called “the scariest movie ever made for TV.” It and his subsequent adaptation of King's The Tommyknockers (1993) became two of the network's highest-rated miniseries. In 2007, he was reunited with the Master of Horror with his adaptation of The End of the Whole Mess for TNT’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes anthology series; its script was nominated by The Writers Guild of America for Best Drama. He is also credited as co-writer of the 2013 feature remake of Carrie. Among his current projects as screenwriter plus co-producer with partner Gore, he is developing 90 Days, an original drama with songs, as well as a Hitchcockian romantic thriller set in New York and Buenos Aires. Also in the works is a chronicle charting his singular relationship to Carrie over the years.
Stephen King (Novelist): Stephen was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1973, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Working at nights and on weekends, he continued to write short stories, as well as novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co. accepted the novel Carrie for publication; its sale to paperback provided him with the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He subsequently went on to become one of the world’s most successful authors whose works include well over 50 novels, hundreds of short stories, nonfiction and essays, as well as screenplays. Over 100 of his works have been adapted for film, television, theater and opera. He also plays guitar for the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock band whose members include a number of distinguished fellow authors. In 2003, the National Book Foundation awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. King lives in Maine and Florida with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. They are regular contributors to a number of charities including many libraries and have been honored locally for their philanthropic activities.
