Ariel Bosi
SKSM: Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Who is Ariel Bosi and what do you do or have you done?
Ariel Bosi: Hello! I’m 44, I’m from Argentina, and I’ve been a Constant Reader for almost 30 years. Stephen King’s works made a huge impact in my life and without planning it or thinking about it I ended up channeling all my passion and knowledge into my daily responsibilities. I wrote a book about King’s works and life that has been approved by the man himself, I work for his Spanish publisher promoting his works and being part of the team that designs each launching, and nowadays I write and host a podcast and a newsletter produced by Penguin Random House about King. I also have a bookstore that’s mainly focused on King’s books with more than 600 Stephen King’s items in stock.
My hobby ended up being my job and I love it. Since 2006 I receive King’s books several months prior their publication to review. I was invited by Warner Bros and walked the red carpet in Hollywood when Doctor Sleep hit theaters, and new opportunities rise every now and then. And the cherry of the cake is that I saw Stephen King live a couple of times, asked questions to him and even shook his hand. 🙂 I can’t complain!
SKSM: Since January 2010 you have been in charge of the social networks dedicated to the dissemination and promotion of Stephen King’s works in the Hispanic community. Can you tell us about this? How do you feel 14 years later?
Ariel Bosi: Let’s put it this way: back in 1998, I was 18 and I used to send letters to the publishers of my favorite authors to ask for merchandise, posters, bookmarks, catalogs, info on when the new books are coming, etc. Internet wasn’t what it is today and everything was a little more complicated, even more considering King is from the USA and I’m in Argentina, 5600 miles and a language away. I was EXTREMELY HAPPY if I got a reply every now and then. The opportunity I got from the great team at Penguin Random House (Stephen King’s Spanish publisher) is something I still treasure nowadays. It’s been really fun and insightful, and I enjoyed (and still do!) every day. We share news, promotions, media. It’s fun!
SKSM: Let’s talk about your excellent Todo sobre Stephen King book. This book is an encyclopedia dedicated to the Maine author. Not a single detail is missing and it’s essential for every fan of the author. It was published in 2016 and was a great success. How did the idea to write it come about? How long did it take to write it? What was the most difficult part of writing?
Ariel Bosi: It’s funny: my first idea was to write a book about the dollar babies, but I ended up dismissing it because that was only one small part of Stephen King’s universe. When I’m into something, I really love to investigate and learn, and I’ve been doing that about Stephen King’s life and works for more than 25 years already. I’ve been around the block with Stephen King for a long time now, and I was confident I could write a good book, one that would do justice to Stephen King.
The first draft took me a year and a half to write, and then I got some extra months to revise it and make some corrections. Finally, due to the launch being delayed by one year, I was able to update it a little more, just in time for its release. I don’t think it was difficult, but the Film chapter took me a long time. And I definitely spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted The Dark Tower chapter to be.
SKSM: It’s not the only thing you wrote. What are your other published books and stories?
Ariel Bosi: I wrote a couple of short stories that were published. For example, one in English, which proved a nice challenge, was accepted and included in a short story collection titled ‘In Mint Condition‘ (Ambannon Books, 2012). Additionally, I co-wrote and published a book of stories about rare books titled ‘Edición Limitada‘ (Restaurant de la Mente ediciones, 2021). I still write so who knows what happens next.
SKSM: You are the current editorial advisor of Insomnia digital magazine, the most read online magazine dedicated to Mr. King’s work. You have written a lot of articles for the magazine before taking up your current position, you shared news that Constant Readers were unaware of at that time. How did the ‘apt pupil’ get involved in the magazine?
Ariel Bosi: Haha. It’s been some time since the last time I wrote an article for Insomnia Magazine. Insomnia is my Alma Mater. It gave me a solid ground when I wanted to take my first steps. I admired it from the very first time I learned about it and devoured all the issues published. Back in 2003, I think my brother was a fan of Slipknot, and he showed me one of their videos (‘Spit it Out‘) that paid homage to The Shining. I had an idea to write an article about it, so I contacted the magazine and proposed it, and I got the green light from Ricardo Ruiz, director and founder of the magazine. That one was the first and luckily not the last. I lost count of how many articles and interviews I did for the magazine, but I’m pretty sure there are more than 100. I’m proud to be a part of it, and every now and then I think about writing a new article for an upcoming issue. The thing is that my free time is almost nonexistent these days, but… who knows.
SKSM: This question could not be missing from SKSM. You have organized several Dollar Baby Festivals and you were the first person to get permission from Mr. King’s office to do it online. Can you tell us how many editions you have organized? How were they received by the public and what feeling did you have after having organized them?
Ariel Bosi: I enjoyed the Dollar Babies program a lot. I learned about it back in 2002/2003 and immediately wrote letters to directors who worked on a couple. I received some back then on VHS and reviewed them for the magazine. Over time, I started to receive more, and in 2006, I learned about an international Film Festival in Argentina that was planning to have a section dedicated to Dollar Babies. I got in touch with them and offered to help. It ended up being great because not only was I able to oversee the section, but I also proposed to invite Julie Sands, who was the producer and main actress of the most desired Dollar Baby back then: Stephen King’s ‘Gotham Cafe.’ I got the Dollar Baby, met Julie, and spent a couple of days in the coastal city where the festival took place. Afterward, I organized a couple more Dollar Baby film festivals, all approved by King (I used to contact Marsha DeFilippo back then). If my memory serves me well, I organized festivals in 2011, 2013, 2017, and one online in 2021. I still have a big DVD folder with more than 200 Dollar Babies somewhere in my study, and not a month goes by without someone asking me when I’ll organize a new DB Festival. I like to do it, but it takes a lot of time and work, and life gets in the way. Also, to be honest, the last few years have been explosive for the DB program, and while it’s great that one can film one these days just with their own cellphone, it has its downsides. When the program ended last December, I wasn’t completely surprised. I think it had a great life, was a great opportunity, and it’s okay to let it go and move on.
SKSM: What is Los tesoros del Rey? What is the advantage of being subscribed to this newsletter?
Ariel Bosi: It’s a newsletter we do at Penguin Random House about the life and works of Stephen King that is sent every two weeks. We’re in the middle of its second season, and it ended up being something I enjoy a lot to write every week. It keeps me fresh and moving. As for the advantages, basically, you get all the info about King first-hand and in your email box. 🙂
SKSM: I noticed that you also made several podcasts. Can you talk about it?
Ariel Bosi: The first one I did was for HBO. Back in 2020, they hired me along with director, writer, and producer Sebastián De Caro to produce 10 episodes for The Outsider series. It was AWESOME and it paved the way for the next ones: one about book collecting I did with Patricio Tarantino (one of the people that knows the most about JK Rowling and Harry Potter in the whole world. He even had been consulted by Rowling’s publisher and office several times along the years) called Edicion limitada, and finally, we started LA CORTE DEL REY at Penguin, a podcast about Stephen King that’s on its third season now. I have plans to have another one of very short episodes exclusively for subscribers, but I’m still toying with that idea.
SKSM: You are a founding partner of Restaurant de la Mente, a bookstore specializing in Stephen King and other authors. Tell us why the Constant Reader should visit your website? What can we find in your bookstore?
Ariel Bosi: Restaurant de la Mente is now 16 years old already, and our motto remains the same: no matter if you’re a newcomer, a casual reader, a collector, or a Constant Reader for the last 50 years, we have something you’ll be interested in. We aim for that. If you want a cheap edition to read, we have them. If you want a book signed by Stephen King, we have those too. Is merch your thing? We have it. Don’t want to buy but want info about King? We have our news blog, YouTube Channel, and our social network accounts where we share all we know about King.
SKSM: Restaurant de la Mente also has its own YouTube channel. I personally loved the interviews you did with Idris Elba and Bev Vincent. Tell us about this YouTube channel.
Ariel Bosi: We try to offer content you don’t find elsewhere. I spend a lot of hours every day in the SK universe, and that has proved to be a fertile ground for new content. As for the interviews, for Idris Elba, we were invited to the avant premiere of The Dark Tower in Miami in 2017 and attended the press junket. For others, we worked on them for some time and scheduled zoom calls. Bev Vincent’s interview was great, as well as Glen Mazara’s (we talked for 1:30 hours about all his projects related to the Dark Tower series. He even shared that there were ideas for a theme park related to the saga!), Mike Flanagan (another great one), Andy and Barbara Muschietti as well. As a matter of fact, I’ve just finished writing the treatments for 4 new videos that I hope to record this week.
SKSM: Have you ever met Stephen King?
Ariel Bosi: Luckily, yes. 🙂 The first time I saw him live was on November 10th, 2009, when he was invited to Good Morning America to promote Under the Dome. I saw him again that night at a New York theater where he presented the book. On the next day, I was able to ask him a question personally and shake his hand during his presentation in Dundalk, Maryland. Years passed by, and I saw him live again in January 2015 in Bradenton, Florida, and in 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts, with Joe Hill. Through the years, I had other ‘indirect virtual contacts’ with him: he wrote about something I posted on his website for Entertainment Weekly once, replied to questions I submitted for a couple of virtual events (the adaptation of Under the Dome and one Zoom he had with John Grisham), and he even wished me happy birthday once during an event for a library. All might sound silly, but I treasure these things. Once he replied and retweeted on Twitter, and I have that printed and framed haha.
SKSM: Not everything is Stephen King, you have worked on several video games as a producer, coordinator, designer, analyzer… Can you tell us about your projects and your experience?
Ariel Bosi: Yeah, I have a life outside King. 🙂 I have my family, friends; I’m a common guy like anyone else. I used to work in the video games field between 2006 and 2014. It was fun but not as enjoyable (anyone who worked in the field knows what I’m talking about). First, as a tester, and then in the post-production field. Finally, I was able to work as a game designer (something I enjoyed a lot) and as a producer (something I didn’t enjoy). From time to time, I remember those days and smile, but I don’t miss them. I don’t think I’ll work in the field again, but who knows.
SKSM: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Ariel Bosi: I trully don’t know. Alive, I hope, and enjoying things as I try to do these days. I’d love to be able to interview King, something I’ve been trying to do for the last 18 years.
SKSM: What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
Ariel Bosi: Tough one. Stephen King’s life and work related: the things I learnt and I can’t share would surprise a lot of people.
SKSM: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you want to say to the fans that read this interview?
Ariel Bosi: Hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading!
SKSM: Do you like to add anything else?
Ariel Bosi: Since this interview is in English it’s good to say that not everything I do is in Spanish and that I also have one small project in English. Several months ago I started Stephen King News on Instagram and Facebook and there I share all the news about our favorite author so you can keep up to date every day. You can follow it at https://www.instagram.com/stephenking.news/ and https://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-King-News/100092679971688/
