Stephen King will read from his latest book and talk about his days as a student in Orono at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus. King’s newest book, “Hearts in Suspension,” includes a reprint of “Hearts in Atlantis,” which tracks the “awakenings and heartbreak” of his fictional counterpart, Peter Riley, during King’s first year at UMaine. The novella is accompanied by King’s new essay, “Five to One, One in Five,” in which he reflects on his undergraduate years.

Tickets for the reading are free, and can be reserved by the public beginning Monday.

The 373-page “Hearts in Suspension,” published by the University of Maine Press, marks the 50th anniversary of King’s enrollment at UMaine in fall 1966. Along with photographs and documents of the era, the book also includes four installments of King’s student newspaper column, “King’s Garbage Truck,” reprinted for the first time, and essays by 12 of King’s classmates and friends, including Jim Bishop, one of King’s college English teachers and the book’s editor.

King’s former classmates and friends will join the discussion Nov. 7, and books will be for sale at the Collins Center.

Members of the public can register for two tickets per person at collinscenterforthearts.com or at the Collins Center box office beginning Monday. For details, call 581-1755.

King has published more than 50 books. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Earlier this year, the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature was established at UMaine by a $1 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation.


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