KingCon Planning Committee

Where do I start? When I was a wee lad or when my King collecting journey began? Or maybe you want to hear about my hobbies and what I do day to day? haha Well, we only have so much space here, so King it is! I was in Grade 9, and a friend gave me a paperback of IT. He said it was the best book he’d ever read and he was right. I was hooked. My parents found out and banned me from reading IT or Stephen King. I could not stop, however, so I read it on the bus, at recess/lunch and anywhere I could. It took me ALL of that school year to finish. That was it. I was on my journey. I did not really collect until I stumbled upon signed limiteds while trying to complete my 1sts through eBbay in the 2000s. I was blown away! SIGNED!?? And with protective cases? Hell yeah! I'M IN! It was not long after that my wife saw a $700 charge for a Dolan’s Cadillac S/L on the Visa AND LOST IT. She banned me from buying books, much like my parents did from reading them! I had to make a choice. How can I get more of these? I was good at sales, as it was my profession, so I sold all my gift editions, got a 'kitty' and started a small book selling business (Indy Editions) to fund my addiction. Through good service, hard work, customer satisfaction and honesty? It grew and grew. I love helping collectors. I started doing long term payment plans to help some get books they coveted that they otherwise could not. I started Rare King on Facebook to help people learn and buy and sell in a safe environment. Also, to weed out the sheer volume of fakes that plague our community. It grew and grew. KingCon was the next vision. I am beyond thankful for anyone that is taking their time, spending their money or just being positive about this monumental task. I hope to keep doing it for the rest of my life. This is NOT a business and we do NOT make any money. This is just my (our) way of giving back to the world of the best people I have met in my life. YOU. SO, I will see YOU in Vegas fellow Constant Reader... until then.. shine on.

I am a lifelong horror enthusiast and have been collecting Stephen King since 2019. My favorite King novels include IT, Christine, Duma Key, The Stand, and Pet Sematary. I can't wait to finally meet the many like-minded weirdos I've grown to love through the King community. GO CHIEFS!

I've been a King fan since middle school, but a rare King collector only since 2019. The Dark Tower is my favorite story (all 9 books!). I'm married with three kids - and will be starting GoFundMes for all of their colleges because their tuition is sitting on my shelves at home. I'm very much looking forward to meeting so many people at KingCon that I've only chatted with on-line or via the phone.

I'm married (hence the grey hair), with 3 children (hence the grey hair), and run my own business (hence… oh you get it by now). In 2016 I decided that I wanted hardcover first editions of my favourite books (IT, The Stand, 11/22/63, Firestarter). It kind of got out of hand… Anyway, this will be my first trip to Vegas, and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone.

Hey all! I have been collecting King books for about 5 years and it is such a fun hobby for me. I work as a nurse and am owned by a 6 month old Great Dane puppy named Atticus and a mischievous cat named Gus. I am originally from Ohio and am a die hard OSU fan...Go Bucks! I am going back to school to become a trauma therapist and am very excited about what that future holds. Aside from collecting King and college football, I have traveled overseas 6 times for surgical mission trips (most recent being in Guatemala). I enjoy spending time with friends but also spending some free time at home relaxing and reading! I'm an open book and love helping people. I don't consider myself to be too exciting but am very happy with my life. :)

Patrick has been enthralled by books as long as he can remember, but never read Stephen King until senior year of high school. Much later, he discovered rare and collectible books while searching for information on the expected release of the next Dark Tower book after Wizard and Glass. He stumbled onto the original TheDarkTower messageboard and twenty-ish years later, Patrick is still at it. He has established long-standing friendships with truly wonderful King collectors both virtually and in-person and he enjoys meeting those new to the community as well. The people are what keeps him engaged and enthused. When he isn’t engrossed in the world of books (and his job which supports the addiction), Patrick enjoys attending volleyball games for the youngest of his three kids as well as a variety of outdoor activities on the Central Coast of California.

The first King book I read was The Shining. My older brother (who was 15) gave it to me - the Signet cover with the mirror finish (I still have it). I was nine at the time and understood, at best, 50% of what I was reading. Then a couple years and many books later, I recognized the name "Stephen King" on a copy of IT at the bookstore, and have been reading him steadily since. Twenty-ish years after that, King made an impact on my collecting also. I first discovered limited editions via Centipede Press. Not King though! American Psycho. But when I started looking at the Centipede back catalog and saw Salem's Lot, I had to find out more. I was so impressed with that book and it was my grail for a long time. It also led me down the rabbit hole of other King limiteds, particularly the Charnel House The Regulators, the Philtrum Press Eyes of the Dragon, and the Subterranean Press The Green Mile, all of which are just beautiful books. That really widened my appreciation for books as objects of art and got me interested in more binding and design qualities, which I've enjoyed enormously. In my non-book-collecting life I am a biostatistician and epidemiologist and I run a small statistical consulting firm.

Hi everyone! I have been reading King since 1984 when I picked up The Shining at my high school library. I was intrigued with the cover of the paperback and had no idea that with the first line "Jack Torrance thought: officious little prick" I would start a life long journey into the country of Stephen King. From that point forward I either bought my self or was gifted every single hard cover since then. (Unfortunately some of those had my parents signatures instead of Kings). I started my advanced collecting with a first/first of The Stand that I found in a book store near my university and I spent my food money on it. $100 in 1991 was a lot of money for me. And then it was off to the races. I was a member of the SKEEMERS group in the 90's and I made the pilgrimage to Bangor after I graduated Nursing school in 2010. I was fortunate enough to See King read at Radio City Music Hall with J.K Rowling and John Irving and again In NYC upon release of Lisey's Story.Unfortunatly I have never met the man himself and would probably cry were that to happen. I joined Rare King at the invitation of Kris Webster after discovering the Suntup Facebook page. It was like coming home to find a great group of people who were as invested in collecting King as I was. I cannot wait to meet all of you at King Con!

I'm a recovered attorney that now runs a bookstore in Las Vegas. I've been a book collector since I was very young, and a serious book collector for roughly ten years, my favorite part is still "the hunt" - even with the bookstore, there's nothing I enjoy more than opening a fresh box of books I've never seen before to see what's there. Now, I get to facilitate other people hunts, too!