"The Running Man" was written by Stephen King, who originally published it under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982. King created the Bachman pen name to serve as a long-term writing alias, and "The Running Man" was the last of four books he published under this pseudonym before his true identity was exposed.

Writing Process

King wrote the original draft in February 1973, completing it within a single week, which was notably faster than his usual pace. In his memoir "On Writing," he described "The Running Man" as a book written by a young man who was angry, energetic, and passionate about the craft of writing.

The Bachman Reveal

The connection between King and Bachman was discovered by a Washington, D.C. bookstore clerk named Steve Brown, who noticed similarities in their writing styles and found publisher's records at the Library of Congress confirming King's authorship. The novel was later collected with King's other Bachman works in the 1985 omnibus "The Bachman Books".