In Maine, reading is not necessarily a purely sedentary experience.
There are towns and islands all over Maine that have been the inspiration or setting for so many books, from classic children’s literature to contemporary novels. So a good way to fully engage with our favorite Maine-set books is to go to the places that inspired them.
Bangor: ‘IT’ by Stephen King
King has lived in Bangor most of his adult life and makes no secret that the city and surrounding area are the inspiration for the town of Derry, terrorized by Pennywise the clown, in his 1986 horror classic “IT.” The book spawned two movies and an HBO series called “IT: Welcome to Derry. ”
King’s longtime home, where he doesn’t spend much time these days, is a spooky-looking Victorian at 47 West Broadway.
Brooklin: ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E.B. White
This classic 1952 children’s book is about a runt pig named Wilbur and his spider friend, Charlotte, who saves him from being slaughtered by writing messages in her web in the barn. White was inspired by his own saltwater farm, in Brooklin, on the Blue Hill Peninsula. He wrote some of his other most famous books in Brooklin, including “Stuart Little.”
Cape Neddick: ‘Maine’ by J. Courtney Sullivan
This 2011 novel follows three generations of a family at their Maine beach house in the Cape Neddick section of York, near Ogunquit. Sullivan grew up spending summers in Ogunquit and as an adult comes to the area with her own family. Her 2024 novel “The Cliffs” is set in Ogunquit and traces the lives of the women who have lived there over some 400 years.
Damariscotta: ‘The Midcoast’ by Adam White
White grew up in Damariscotta and set his 2022 novel there. The story focuses on a lobsterman who is also a drug runner and the richest man in town. About a year after the book’s release, it was announced that Hulu planned to develop it into a series, though no further details have come out. As a young man, White worked at the fisherman’s co-op in South Bristol nearby, which helped him craft the story.
Deer Isle: ‘Everyone Knows But You’ by Thomas E. Ricks
Ricks, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his journalism, set his 2024 crime novel on fictional Liberty Island, Maine. But the location was inspired by and physically resembles Deer Isle, where Ricks has had a home since about 2010. It’s a mystery involving an FBI agent working out of Bangor, who investigates a dead body washed up on Isle Au Haut, just south of Deer Isle.
Kennebunkport: ‘Kittybunkport’ by Scott Rothman
Colby College alum Scott Rothman was on vacation in Kennebunkport when his 6-year-old son, noting the town’s funny name, suggested he write a book called “Kittybunkport.”
Rothman, who lives in Connecticut, took on the challenge and wrote this 2025 children’s book about two cats trying to save the town’s lighthouse. You can see Goat Island Lighthouse by driving to the end of Pier Road in the Cape Porpoise section of town.
Mexico: ‘When We Were The Kennedys’ by Monica Wood
This small paper mill town, across the Androscoggin River from Rumford, is where Wood grew up. The 2012 book is a memoir focused on the 1960s, and her father’s death. An unexpected twist brings the family down to Washington, D.C. at the same time President John F. Kennedy is assassinated, and the Woods start to see parallels between themselves and the first family.
Peaks Island: ‘Island Storm’ by Brian Floca
New York-based author and illustrator Brian Floca was doing a residency at the Illustration Institute on Peaks Island a few years ago when a storm came rolling in. He used that feeling and experience for his 2025 children’s book, “Island Storm.” It’s about two kids who feel a a violent thunderstorm coming, and are drawn to the shore to watch and experience it. Peaks Island is a 15-minute ferry ride from Portland.
Skowhegan: ‘Empire Falls’ by Richard Russo
Russo, who lives in Portland, won the Pulitzer Prize for this 2001 novel inspired by Maine mill towns, including Skowhegan and Waterville. A former pizza place in Skowhegan was transformed into the Empire Grill when the book was made into an HBO mini-series in 2005, starring Paul Newman, Ed Harris and Helen Hunt.
Russo had spent several years teaching at Colby College in Waterville and his fictional Empire Falls had been home to a shirt factory. The Hathaway shirt factory operated in Waterville until 2002 and is today home to the Hathaway Creative Center.
South Portland: ‘Spectacular Things’ by Beck Dorey-Stein
Dorey-Stein lives in South Portland and opens her 2025 novel with a driver getting stuck on the Casco Bay Bridge, which connects that city with Portland. The town in the book is called Victory, but many Greater Portland landmarks are mentioned by name, including the bridge, Becky’s Diner in Portland and Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. The story focuses on two sisters who grow up in Maine, including one who goes on to be a serious soccer player, and was a Reese’s Book Club pick.
Vinalhaven: ‘Big Truck, Little Island’ by Chris Van Dusen
Camden based children’s author and illustrator Van Dusen based this 2022 book on something that really happened on Vinalhaven, an island off the Midcoast. In 2009, a truck accident blocked the island’s only north-south road for hours, Instead of just sitting there, islanders switched cars and headed off in the direction they needed to go. Van Dusen’s 2009 book “The Circus Ship,” was inspired by a steamboat carrying circus animals that caught fire off Vinalhaven in 1836.
Waterville: ‘The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne’ by Ron Currie
Currie’s 2025 novel is focused on a tough but beloved Franco-American woman who runs an illegal drug operation in Waterville, where Currie grew up. He wanted to focus a story on the French heritage of Waterville, where mills attracted French-speaking immigrants from Canada for generations. Soon after the book’s release, plans for a Netflix series based on it were announced.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Ray Routhier can be reached at [email protected].
