Joseph Hillstrom King, better known by his pen name Joe Hill, is a highly acclaimed American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction novels, short stories, and graphic novels. He was born in Hermon, Maine in 1972, and grew up in Bangor, ME, the son of the renowned horror author Stephen King and Tabitha King, who are both authors. In order to establish his own identity as a writer, separate from his father's significant reputation, Hill chose to use a pseudonym, which is a shortened version of his own name.
Hill's debut novel, Heart-Shaped Box, was a critical and commercial success, winning the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His subsequent novels, including Horns, NOS4A2, and The Fireman, have also been well-received, with The Fireman becoming a #1 New York Times Best-Seller and the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel. Hill has also written a collection of short stories, 20th Century Ghosts, which won the Prize-winning collection. In addition to his work in prose, Hill has made a significant contribution to the world of comic books, co-creating and writing the long-running series Locke & Key with illustrator Gabriel Rodriguez, for which he won the Eisner Award for Best Writer.
Hill's work has been adapted for various media, including film and television. His second novel, Horns, was made into a film in 2014, starring Daniel Radcliffe. NOS4A2 is now a hit series on AMC, starring Zachary Quinto. The first season of Locke & Key was released on Netflix in early 2020 and became an overnight smash. His story, "In The Tall Grass," co-written with Stephen King, was made into a feature for Netflix, and became a mind-bending cult horror sensation. Most recently, Hill has returned to graphic novels, his latest comics include Basketful of Heads and Plunge for D.C., and Dying is Easy for IDW.
In addition to his writing, Hill is also a winner of the A.E. Coppard Long Fiction Prize, the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella, the International Thriller Writers Inc. Award for Best First Novel and several Bram Stoker Awards. He is known for his collaborations with his father, Stephen King and his work has been translated into many languages and is available in different countries. He currently resides in New Hampshire with his family and a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, was released in October of 2017.