Stephen King To Make Appearance At Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall 11/6

Just days after the release of the much-anticipated Stephen King novel Under the Dome, the superstar novelist himself sits down for a rare appearance which includes an on stage interview with Sarasota Tribune's Susan Rife as well as an audience Q&A at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Monday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are $15 and $20 (a limited number of "Smart Seats" are available for $10).

King, master of the macabre -- a sometime Sarasota resident -- will be interviewed by The Sarasota Herald-Tribune's Arts and Book Editor Susan Rife. Publishers Weekly calls Under the Dome "irresistibly compelling," a nonstop thrill ride" and "a disturbing, moving meditation on our capacity for good and evil." On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, ME, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when -- or if -- it will go away.

Author of more than 50 books, all worldwide bestsellers, King has spawned a multi-media franchise that includes movies, TV shows, video games and comic books. His string of books include Carrie (1974); The Stand (1978); Firestarter (1980); Cujo (1981); Pet Sematary (1983); Insomnia (1984); Misery (1987); Delores Claiborne (1992); Bag of Bones (1998); and Cell (2006).

King's horror novels also include Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (1977) and The Dead Zone (1979), all of which have been adapted for film or television. Since conquering the horror market, King has written novels in other genres and under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

The first 250 ticket buyers will receive a voucher to purchase a signed copy of Under the Dome. Unsigned copies also will be available for purchase.

Tickets to the event may be purchased at the Van Wezel Box Office, by calling (941) 953-3368 or logging onto www.vanwezel.org.