Taking Stephen King Seriously: “Critics have rarely embraced Stephen King as a serious writer. But the prolific novelist, best known for his horror stories, is about to enter some serious company. The National Book Foundation is honoring the best-selling author with a lifetime achievement award whose previous recipients have included Arthur Miller, Eudora Welty and John Updike.” —NPR One of the interesting facets of this interview is to hear King avow that his writer’s block has become permanent; he refers to himself the novelist in the past tense.