Stephen King, 79, was spotted walking with a cane through New York City on Wednesday ahead of a rare public appearance.
The horror novelist kept his outfit casual for the outing, wearing a black sweater beneath a dark green puffer vest, jeans, casual sneakers and his trademark eyeglasses. He celebrated his birthday less than two months ago.
King traveled to the city for an evening event at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn celebrating “Other Worlds Than These,” the final installment in the fantasy trilogy he co-authored with the late Peter Straub. The book was released Oct. 6, according to King’s website.
The event is hosted by local independent bookstore Books Are Magic and features King in conversation with Emma Straub, 48, the best-selling author and daughter of his late collaborator. The website states the event was announced Sept. 24 and sold out that same day. General admission tickets cost $10, while signed book bundles were priced at $41.
A free livestream of the conversation will be available on YouTube at a later date, the website also notes.
The trilogy began with “The Talisman” in 1984, followed by “Black House” in 2001. Straub died in 2022.
King remains best known for horror novels including “Carrie,” “The Shining,” “It” and “Misery,” several of which have been adapted for screen and stage. His 1986 novel “It” became a major film franchise with Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, following a 1990 miniseries starring Tim Curry, and spawned the HBO series “It: Welcome to Derry.”
“Misery” reached Broadway in 2015 for Bruce Willis’ debut opposite Laurie Metcalf, while the 1990 film adaptation directed by Rob Reiner starred James Caan and won Kathy Bates an Oscar. “Carrie” has received multiple adaptations, with the latest being an Amazon Prime Video series renewed for a second season. The first adaptation was Brian De Palma’s 1976 film starring Sissy Spacek, John Travolta and Piper Laurie.
In an interview last month, series creator Mike Flanagan, 48, said he “didn’t need” to run his changes to the storyline by King, who served as an executive producer on the show.
“Very excited,” Flanagan said King was about the storyline exploring “the legacy of other powerful women.” He also exclusively said that he is “desperate” to adapt King’s “The Dark Tower” series next.
The Brooklyn event marks one of King’s few public appearances in recent years as he has largely maintained a reclusive profile.
The free YouTube livestream of King’s conversation with Emma Straub will be released at a later date.