It is a 1986
horror novel by American author
Stephen King. The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by the
eponymous being, which exploits the fears and
phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It" primarily appears in the form of a
clown in order to attract its preferred prey of young children. The novel is told through
narratives alternating between two time periods, and is largely told in the third-person omniscient mode.
It deals with themes that eventually became King staples: the power of memory, childhood trauma, and the ugliness lurking behind a façade of traditional small-town values. The novel won the
British Fantasy Award in 1987, and received nominations for the
Locus and
World Fantasy Awards that same year.
Publishers Weekly listed
It as the best-selling book in the United States in 1986.