New Stephen King Story Published Electronically

Posted on March 8, 2000

Simon & Schuster has announced that a new story by Stephen King will appear exclusively as an eBook on March 14th. Riding the Bullet, a story described by King as ``a ghost story in the grand manner,'' will go directly to readers electronically, who will pay $2.50 for the 16,000-word story. The story will be a co-publication between Scribner and Philtrum Press, King's own press, and electronically published through Simon & Schuster Online. The announcement was made by Jack Romanos, President & Chief Operating Officer of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and Susan Moldow, Vice President and Publisher of Scribner.

``Riding the Bullet is yet another example of how Stephen King and Simon & Schuster continue to embrace new possibilities in every facet of their relationship,'' said Romanos. ``This innovative publication strategy takes the eBook from the realm of novelty and directly into the very mainstream of today's culture. And it reaffirms the publisher-author relationship at a moment when it is fashionable to predict its demise.''

``What an exciting opportunity this is for both us and the author,'' said Moldow. ``From the issue of adapting traditional book design to an e-friendly format to creating instant alliances for making the story available to as many of our customers as possible, Riding the Bullet is an exceptionally apt title for this leap into the digital future.'' The concept of an original eBook was presented to Scribner by Ralph Vicinanza, King's longtime agent for foreign rights. He also initiated King's innovative 6-part book serial of The Green Mile.

``I'm curious to see what sort of response there is and whether or not this is the future,'' said King, who wrote Riding the Bullet shortly after his near-fatal accident in June 1999. King has since written several works. Riding the Bullet is his first work to go directly to readers via eBook.

EBook vendors participating to date include: Glassbook, Inc., netLibrary, Nuvomedia Inc.'s Rocket eBook, Peanutpress.com, SoftBook Press, and SoftLock.com. In support of Riding the Bullet, Simon & Schuster and Scribner marketing activities, including press releases, review copies, newsletter and consumer bulletins, and business-to-business promotional materials will be produced and transmitted electronically. An excerpt from Riding the Bullet can be read at SimonSays.com.