Stephen King's memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft was first published in 2000.
The book combines personal history with practical guidance about becoming and working as a writer. King divides it into five sections: “C.V.”, “What Writing Is”, “Toolbox”, “On Writing”, and “On Living: A Postscript”. Together, they cover his early ambitions, writing habits, language mechanics, creative principles, and recovery after a serious accident.
King began composing the memoir in 1997 but set it aside before returning to it in 1999. In June of that year, he was struck by a van while walking in Maine. The accident became an important part of the book's final section and affected his ability to write and his view of his career.
The 2000 edition was published by Charles Scribner's Sons. Later editions can cause date confusion: a 10th-anniversary edition appeared in 2010, and a 20th-anniversary edition followed in 2020. Those are revised editions, not the book's original publication.