Stephen King to get National Book Foundation Medal?

Now don't get me wrong. I'm a Stephen King fan. Love his writing. Very little missed over the years.

That said, I'm not sure I understand this decision. Previous winners of this award include Eudora Welty, Phillip Roth, John Updike, Toni Morrison, Studs Terkel, and Ray Bradbury. Perhaps in that last entry we find some common ground. I haven't firmly decided he doesn't deserve it, but I can't go gung-ho on the attaboys for him either.

Non-committal, that's me.

In my next post on this subject, I'll explore the info available on previous selections on the National Book Foundation site and see where that leads.