Different Seasons (1982) is a collection of four Stephen King novellas with a more dramatic bent, rather than the horror fiction for which King is famous. The four novellas are tied together via subtitles that relate to each of the four seasons. The collection is notable for having three out of its four novellas turned into Hollywood films, one of which, The Shawshank Redemption, was nominated for the 1994 Academy Award for Best Picture, and another, Stand by Me, was nominated for the 1986 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

At the ending of the book, there is also a brief afterword, which King wrote on January 4, 1982. In it, he explains why he had not previously submitted the novellas (each written at a different time) for publication. Early in his career, his agents and editors expressed concern that he would be "written off" as someone who only wrote horror. However, his horror novels turned out to be quite popular and made him much in demand as a novelist. Conversely, the novellas, which did not deal (primarily) with the supernatural, were very difficult to publish as there was not a mass market for "straight" fiction stories in the 25,000- to 35,000-word format. Thus, King and his editor conceived the idea of publishing the novellas together as "something different", hence the title of the book.

The story takes place in Maine at Shawshank State Penitentiary and is told from the first-person perspective of prisoner Ellis “Red” Reddings as he recounts his time in prison. His writings mainly focus on his friend and fellow prisoner, Andy Dufresne. Red opens by describing himself and why he was in prison- having staged a car accident in 1938 intended only to kill his wife after insuring his wife for a large amount of money, but incidentally also killed his neighbor and her child as his wife had offered to give them a ride- thus leading to him being sentenced soon after to serve three life sentences, one for each murder. One of Red’s most important aspects is that he’s “the guy who can get it for you” as his various connections allow him to easily smuggle contraband into the prison.

Red describes meeting Andy Dufrense for the first time in 1948, one year after Andy was potentially falsely accused of murdering his wife and her lover, a well-to-do golfer. Andy asks Red to get him a rock hammer, stating that he is a “rock hound”. A year later, Andy asks Red to get him a large poster of Rita Hayworth. Red also details the various encounters he had during his time in prison, detailing his initial trouble with one of the prison’s rape gangs. Red insinuates that Andy eventually paid off the prison guards to beat up the leader of the rape gang, Bogs Diamond. Along with this, Red describes how Andy had become somewhat of a financial advisor to many of the prison’s guards and higher-ups through his encounter with prison guard, Byron Hadley, in which Andy advises him to use a loophole to avoid the taxation on the inheritance he recently received. Along with helping prison guards with their tax returns, loans, and any other financial advice, Andy begins to help some of the higher-ups with money laundering.

Andy eventually begins working as the prison’s librarian and expands it past its original location, a small room that was originally used to store paint. It is during this time that he meets prisoner fellow Tommy Williams. Tommy tells Andy that his former cellmate at the previous prison he was in, a man by the name of Elwood Blatch, had confided in Tommy that he had been the one who killed Andy’s wife and her lover. Andy uses this information to go to the prison’s warden, Samuel Norton, as a means to try and gain his freedom. Norton denies Andy’s request, stating he is far too valuable as an asset and that he knows too much since he aided the administration in money laundering. Norton sentences Andy to twenty days in solitary confinement and transfers Tommy to a different prison during his sentence.

Four years after his time in solitary confinement, Andy confronts Red and tells him about his pseudonym- “Peter Stevens”. Andy had sold all of his assets to this pseudonym before getting sentenced to prison, stating he had upwards of $370,000 in the bank waiting for him once he got out of prison. Andy shares that he intends to use this money to move to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, and open a small hotel. He implies that he wishes for Red to come with him when that day ever comes. On March 12, 1975, 8 years after Andy tells Red about his pseudonym, Andy is missing from his cell. They discover that he had used his rock hammer to create a hole in the prison wall through which he could escape and had hidden it behind the poster he hung up in his cell. Nine months after his escape, Red receives a blank postcard from McNary, Texas, and assumes that it is from Andy and that he has successfully crossed the border.

In 1977, Red was released on parole. He finds a note addressed to him from “Peter Stevens” inviting Red to join him in Zihuatanejo along with $1,000. The story ends with Red deciding to join Andy and sharing his hope for the future.

The story is set in Los Angeles in 1974 and is told in the third-person perspective. The story follows Todd Bowden from the age of thirteen up until he graduates high school. The story opens with Todd as he arrives at the doorstep of an elderly German immigrant, named Auther Denker, and accuses him of being Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander. Dussander does little to deny his identity and Todd insists that Dussander tells Todd about the crimes he had committed lest he turn him in to the authorities. Todd then begins to go to Dussander’s house every day demanding to know the details of all of his crimes in excruciating detail.