mentor

Mentor was the man the Greek hero Odysseus trusted more than anyone else in his kingdom of Ithaca. In The Odyssey, Athena disguises herself as Mentor and advises Telemachus, Odysseus' son, to try to find information about his father. Mentor guides the young man to the people who will help him.

Today when we call someone a mentor, we remember a trustworthy, wise counselor who gave good advice and set a good example for someone younger.

Question: American horror writer Stephen King says that he considers one of the following writers to be a kind of mentor. He never met the writer, but his works have influenced King. Which writer was it?