Although studies on Stephen King (1947-) traditionally belong to the field of popular culture, some of his work, such as The Dark Half and 'Secret Window, Secret Garden,' give an insightful perspective on contemporary fiction. Drawing upon methods used in literary analysis and textual interpretation, this book proposes a new reading of Stephen King's fiction as a literary reflection on the artistic identity of the writer and on writing and shows that horrific descriptions do not necessarily exclude metafiction. Stephen King as a Postmodern Author aims to serve as an introduction to major theories influencing contemporary American literature, such as narratology, psychoanalysis, postmodernism, and various theories of fiction.