FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DEL REY ANNOUNCES CREATIVE TEAM ON

STEPHEN KING AND PETER STRAUB’S THE TALISMAN

NEW YORK, NY – February 2, 2009 – Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, announced today the adaptor and artist on the comic book and graphic novel versions of The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub.

The book will be penciled and inked by Tony Shasteen, who has been an illustrator since 1995. His clients have included Coca-Cola, Nascar, Hasbro, DC Comics, Wildstorm, Top Cow, Dark Horse, Virgin, Boom Studios, and Image Comics, among many others. Tony illustrated Image Comic’s The Occult Crimes Taskforce (The O.C.T.), co-created by David Atchison and Rosario Dawson. Film rights to The O.C.T. are in development with Dimension Films.

It will be scripted by Robin Furth, who co-writes Marvel’s bestselling Dark Tower comics taking place in King’s Dark Tower Universe. The Gunslinger Born – the first of the Dark Tower series – was nominated for both an Eisner and a Harvey award. Robin has written “Satana and The Electric Pentacle” for Marvel’s Legion of Monsters and has adapted Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Lords of Avalon series to comic book form. She worked as Stephen King’s research assistant between 2000 and 2004 and continues to do freelance work for the Master of Horror.

Lettering and project management will be handled by Dabel Brothers Publishing. The first issue of the monthly comic is planned for early fall 2009.

Originally published in 1984, The Talisman is the story of a young teen named Jack Sawyer, who can save his dying mother only by retrieving a magical talisman. To find it he must cross back and forth between our world and the frightening and dangerous landscape of its “twinner” counterpart. Both The Talisman and its sequel, Black House, are in print with Ballantine Books. Television rights to The Talisman are under development by Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Peter Straub is the author of 17 novels which have been translated into more than 20 languages. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, for Koko.

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