Stephen King, since writing the opening sentence of The Gunslinger, has written more than forty novels and two hundred short stories. He has won the World Fantasy Award, several Bram Stoker Awards, the O. Henry Award for his story "The Man in the Black Suit," and the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Bernie Wrightson (1948-2017) was a comics illustrator and horror artist best known for cocreating Swamp Thing and his adaptation of the novel Frankenstein, both featuring his trademark intricate inking. He worked on Spider-Man, Batman, and The Punisher, among many others, as well as works including Frankenstein Alive, Alive; Dead, She Said; The Ghoul; and Doc Macabre, all cocreated with esteemed horror author Steve Niles. His bestselling collaborations with Stephen King on The Stand, The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla, Creepshow, and Cycle of the Werewolf are considered fan favorites. As a conceptual artist, Bernie worked on many movies, particularly in the horror genre, including Ghostbusters, The Faculty, Galaxy Quest, Spider-Man, George Romero's Land of the Dead, and Frank Darabont's Stephen King film The Mist.

The Final Argument

Prologue: Roont

Part One: Todash

I: The Face on the Water

II: New York Groove

III: Mia

IV: Palaver

V: Overholser

VI: The Way of the Eld

VII: Todash

Part Two: Telling Tales

I: The Pavilion

II: Dry Twist

III: The Priest's Tale (New York)

IV: The Priest's Tale Continued (Highways in Hiding)

V: The Tale of Gray Dick

VI: Gran-pere's Tale

VII: Nocturne, Hunger

VIII: Took's Store; The Unfound Door

IX: The Priest's Tale Concluded (Unfound)

Part Three: The Wolves

I: Secrets

II: The Dogan, Part 1

III: The Dogan, Part 2

IV: The Pied Piper

V: The Meeting of the Folken

VI: Before the Storm

VII: The Wolves

Epilogue: The Doorway Cave

Author's Note

Author's Afterword