Conversations From the Pointed Firs

Conversations from the Pointed Firs is a monthly series of discussions between host Peter Neill and Maine-connected authors and artists about new books and creative projects that invoke the spirit of Maine, its history, its ecology, its culture, and its contribution to community and quality of life. Authors and artists interviewed live in Maine, work in Maine, or otherwise derive their creativity from its essence.

All Episodes

Conversations From the Pointed Firs

Caroline Bicks

September 15, 2026 • Peter Neill

0:00 | 58:00

This month on Conversations from the Pointed Firs, host Peter Neill speaks with author Caroline Bicks whose latest book, "Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King" chronicles what she discovered when the Master of Horror himself granted her extended access to his private archives. And she shares stories of the year she spent reading never-before-studied drafts of his most iconic stories. Today King calls it “the best book about my process that I have ever read.”

Caroline Bicks is the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine. Her previous books include Cognition and Girlhood in Shakespeare’s World; Shakespeare Not Stirred: Cocktails for Your Everyday Dramas (co-authored with Michelle Ephraim); and Midwiving Subjects in Shakespeare’s England. "Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King" (Hogarth, 2026) is her latest book.