UMass Lowell to host free virtual event with author Stephen King

Books

Renowned author Stephen King is set to join UMass Lowell professor Andre Dubus III for a free, virtual event later this month.

By Annie Jonas

October 22, 2025 | 4:58 PM

1 minute to read

Renowned author Stephen King is set to join UMass Lowell’s Andre Dubus III for a free, virtual event later this month.

King, a Portland, Maine native, has become one of the world’s preeminent horror writers. He will join Dubus, an English professor, for the Andre Dubus III UMass Lowell Alumni Book Club event on Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. The virtual, live event is free and open to the public. The two will discuss King’s 2023 novel, “Holly.” 

“Who better to be our inaugural author guest than Stephen King, a writer who has moved (and horrified) millions and millions of readers in dozens of countries for decades,” Dubus said in a news release.

King first visited UMass Lowell in 2012 to a sold-out crowd and announced the Stephen and Tabitha King Scholarship, which supports UML English majors.

Set during the COVID-19 pandemic, King’s crime novel, “Holly,” follows the recurring character Holly Gibney as she investigates a girl’s mysterious disappearance. The book is reported to be slated for adaptation into a television series, according to SlashFilm.

King sold his first professional short story in 1967 before publishing his debut novel, “Carrie” in 1974. He has penned over 65 novels since, and has been dubbed the “King of Horror.”

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.