Stephen King Is Finally Writing A Sequel To “The Shining”

In a move that suspense fans have been waiting for since 1977, renowned horror author Stephen King is finally writing a follow-up to his suspense classic "The Shining". On November 19, 2009, while on a promotional tour in Toronto, Ontario for his latest novel Under the Dome, during a reading at the Canon Theatre being moderated by the filmmaker David Cronenberg, Stephen King described to the audience an idea for a sequel novel to his 1977 novel The Shining. The story, King said, would follow a character from the original novel, Danny Torrance, now in his 40s, living in upstate New York, where he works as an orderly at a hospice and helps terminally ill patients pass away with the aid of some extraordinary powers. Later, on December 1, 2009, Stephen King posted a poll on his official website, asking visitors to vote for which book he should write next, Dr. Sleep or the next Dark Tower novel:

"I mentioned two potential projects while I was on the road, one a new Mid-World book (not directly about Roland Deschain, but yes, he and his friend Cuthbert are in it, hunting a skin-man, which are what werewolves are called in that lost kingdom) and a sequel to The Shining called Dr. Sleep. Are you interested in reading either of these? If so, which one turns your dials more? [We] will be counting your votes (and of course it all means nothing if the muse doesn't speak)."

Voting ended on December 31, 2009, and it was revealed that Dr. Sleep received 5,861 votes, while The Wind Through the Keyhole received 5,812. On September 23, 2011, Stephen King received the Mason Award at the Fall for the Book event at the George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, during which he read an excerpt from Dr. Sleep[5] King's official site confirmed three days later that King is currently working on the novel.

King will then finish "The Wind Through the Keyhole" to be released sometime in 2012.