Which 1982 Stephen King collection includes Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption?

Different Seasons is the 1982 Stephen King collection that includes Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. Published by Viking Press, the book gathers four novellas organized around seasonal subtitles and is notably more dramatic and realistic than King’s usual horror fiction.

The collection opens with “Hope Springs Eternal,” the subtitle for Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, a prison story narrated by inmate Ellis “Red” Redding. It also contains Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method. Three of the four novellas were later adapted into films: The Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, and Stand by Me.

Readers sometimes remember the film title, The Shawshank Redemption, rather than the original novella title. The book’s full title is Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, and it was first published in Different Seasons in 1982. King explained that the collection helped provide a home for longer “straight” fiction pieces that did not fit neatly into the commercial market for standalone novellas.