Stephen King Cites 'Lord of the Flies' As the Novel That Made Him Want to Become a Writer

Like every artist, best-selling novelist Stephen King has been collectively shaped by a variety of influences, from the personal surroundings of his New England childhood to more immediate inspirations found in books, movies and TV shows.

While the 78-year-old writer has long remained candid about certain key pieces of literature that helped shape his interest in writing, perhaps no book had a more immediate impact on King than the classic 1954 horror novel, Lord of the Flies.

A thrilling novel commonly taught in schools across the country, Lord of the Flies famously follows a group of British school boys who find themselves stranded on a deserted island following a devastating plane crash.

As they attempt to survive in their new environment, the boys slowly devolve into primal violence, leading to fatal consequences for some of the boys in the group.

In the past, King has repeatedly emphasized the life-changing significance of reading Lord of the Flies at a younger age. As King wrote in the foreword to the Centenary Edition of the book, "To me Lord of the Flies has always represented what novels are for, what makes them indispensable."

At a speaking event, King went on to say emphasize the deeper meaning he found in the novel, as well as hos profoundly the book's ending opened his eyes to the possibilities of complex storytelling.

As readers might remember, Lord of the Flies concludes with the timely arrival of British sailors, preventing the boys from falling further into a primal state.

"Golding writers in the afterword, and I never forgot this, he says, 'The sailors saved the boys, but who will save the sailors?'" the Shining author remembered. "And it kind of opened my eyes and I thought, 'Wait a minute, there's a whole other level to this story right here.'"

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 8:45 AM.