Insomnia Common
What it’s about
When recently widowed Ralph Roberts begins waking earlier and earlier each morning, his worsening insomnia starts to reveal things ordinary sleepers never see — shimmering auras around people and strange little figures moving through the streets of Derry, Maine. As Ralph and his neighbor Lois Chasse are drawn into a hidden war between forces of order and chaos, an escalating crisis over a controversial pro-choice rally threatens to tip their quiet town toward catastrophe.
Significance A Stephen King novel (sole author, not a Bachman title), set in the recurring town of Derry and woven directly into the Dark Tower mythos — its Crimson King and "Random/Purpose" cosmology link it to King's larger multiverse.
How to spot a true first 30-second check
⚠ High married-copy risk. The book block can’t independently confirm a first here — the jacket is effectively the only separator, so be doubly sure the priced first-state jacket is genuine AND original to this book.
What to look for
- Verify the unclipped $27.95 price + "1094" code on the front flap — for Insomnia this is THE trade-first-vs-BCE discriminator.
- Number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" must include the low "1", but the BCE shares it exactly — never confirm on the line alone.
- BCE trap: full-sized, near-identical book with an UNPRICED flap and a blind-stamp dot/square on the lower-right rear board.
- A price-clipped flap makes a BCE indistinguishable from a first — don't pay a first premium for any clipped copy.
- Married jackets: confirm the number line in the book AND the priced unclipped flap together, not separately.
- Reverse red-ground jacket is a simultaneous legit first — no premium for "true state"; don't reject it as wrong.
Verified listings marker-checked
Each copy screened against the seller's own photos. ✓ confirmed = a photo shows the decisive marker; ⚠ not pictured = the shot to ask for before buying. Condition grades are as-pictured.
Buyer beware — verify before you buy. These are our screening opinions, read from each seller’s own photographs; we can misjudge a copy or misread an image. A listing marked “1st/1st confirmed” is not a guarantee — independently confirm the decisive book and jacket markers with the seller before any purchase. Authentication and the buying decision remain the buyer’s responsibility.
A genuine Viking 1994 trade first with both decisive tells legibly photographed on the one copy — the unclipped $27.95 priced flap and the full first-printing number line — but every frame is shot under a red lamp, so nothing that turns on colour (board and endpaper grey) can be judged from this photoset.
- Jacket price — Photo 3 shows the front flap's red head band printing "U.S.$27.95 / Canada $34.99" with the flap corner whole and unclipped — the decisive trade-first-vs-BCE tell, since the Insomnia book club flap carries no price at all.
- Copyright — Photo 5 shows the copyright page legibly: "First published in 1994 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.", with Copyright (c) Stephen King 1994 and Illustrations copyright (c) David Johnson 1994.
- Number line — Photo 5 shows the complete line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" including the low "1" — a first printing, though on this title the line alone does not separate first from book club, as the BCE prints the identical line.
- Dust jacket — Photos 0, 4 and 8 show the white ground with bold red title/author and the red Viking ship colophon at the spine foot, and photo 2 shows the rear panel (King in the "WE NEVER SLEEP" eye T-shirt) with ISBN 0-670-85503-0 and barcode 9 780670 855032, consistent with the trade issue.
- Binding — Photo 6 shows the book out of its jacket: quarter-bound with a coated spine strip, the spine lettered "Stephen King" above a red panel reading "Insomnia" with "Viking" at the foot, and the small red "SK" square on the front board.
- Endpapers / edges — The front pastedown is in frame in photo 3 but sits in deep shadow, and the boards in photo 6 are blown out by the same red lamp, so neither the grey endpapers nor the grey board colour can be read — ask for the front board opened flat and the top edge, shot in daylight or under a neutral white bulb.
- Flap "1094" code — The price at the flap head is legible but the flap foot in photo 3 is out of focus and washed out, so the small "1094" (Oct 1994) code that corroborates the first-state jacket cannot be read — ask for a close-up of the bottom two inches of the front flap.
The textbook photoset for this title — a Viking 1994 trade first with the unclipped $27.95 flap, the "1094" code, the full first-printing number line and the grey endpapers all legibly shot in daylight on the one copy; only the jacket-off boards go unpictured, and they are corroborative rather than decisive.
- Jacket price — Photo 2 shows the front flap head printing "U.S.$27.95 / Canada $34.99" with the flap entirely intact and unclipped — the decisive tell that separates the trade first from the unpriced-flap book club edition.
- Flap "1094" code — Photo 2 also shows the flap foot printing "1094" beside "(continued on back flap)", with "£18.00 (export only)" at the outer edge — the correct first-state flap furniture.
- Copyright — Photo 4 shows the copyright page in full: "First published in 1994 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.", ISBN 0-670-85503-0, LCCN 94-784, printed by Arcata Graphics and set in Simoncini Garamond.
- Number line — Photo 4 shows the complete line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" with the low "1" present — a first printing, noting that on this title the line is shared with the club edition and so is corroborative, not decisive.
- Dust jacket — Photos 0, 1 and 6 show the white ground with bold red title/author and the red Viking ship colophon panel at the spine foot, and photo 5 shows the rear panel with ISBN 0-670-85503-0 and barcode 9 780670 855032.
- Endpapers — Photo 2 shows the front board opened flat in neutral daylight with the grey pastedown and the grey free endpaper plainly visible at the hinge, along with the red-and-white checkered headband.
- Binding — The jacket is never removed in any frame, so the quarter-bound white coated spine over grey paper boards and the red "SK" square on the front board are unphotographed — corroborative only, since the decisive pair is already in hand; ask for the book stood out of its jacket showing the front board and spine.
Genuine unsigned Ziesing Gift Edition, fully confirmed; $189 sits inside the fair $175–$250 band for NF/NF with slipcase.
- Stated First Edition line — CP legible: "A Mark V. Ziesing Book ... FIRST EDITION / June 1994" with both Gift (-37-6) and Signed (-38-4) ISBNs listed.
- Jacket price — Front flap reads "GIFT EDITION / $75.00", unclipped and priced — this copy is the unsigned Ziesing Gift Edition.
- Binding — Slate-blue boards, red spine title, red ribbon, matching blue slipcase, Ziesing winged-clock colophon — all correct issue points.
- Dust jacket — Phil Hale art + Arnie Fenner lettering; plates show the printed artist signature (not a King autograph) — consistent with the unsigned Gift issue.
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
Genuine Ziesing Gift Edition stated first; at $199.99 it's upper-fair — get the flap/edge/limitation shots before committing.
- Stated First Edition line — CP (photo 4) states "FIRST EDITION / June 1994", "A Mark V. Ziesing Book", with both Gift and Signed ISBNs present.
- Dust jacket — Phil Hale jacket art (pocket-watch motif) + Arnie Fenner design; correct Ziesing rear panel and "Z / Mark V. Ziesing Books" spine logo.
- Binding — Matching slipcase present with Ziesing logo and "INSOMNIA / STEPHEN KING" spine — correct trade dress for the issue.
- Stated First Edition line — Limitation/colophon page not shown — seller calls it the unsigned Gift issue; ask for the colophon to rule the signed/numbered limited in or out.
- Dust jacket — Metallic spine titling rubs/flakes on this issue; no close-up — ask for one to confirm it holds at NF/Fine.
- Endpapers / edges — Only 5 photos: no flap, fore-edge, top-edge, corner, or endpaper close-ups — request these to rule out bumps/foxing.
A genuine first edition, but of the Mark V. Ziesing deluxe illustrated issue rather than the Viking trade book — the copyright page reads "FIRST EDITION / June 1994" and the flap is priced "GIFT EDITION/$75.00", so the $27.95 flap and number-line rubric has no bearing here; what is outstanding is the book itself, which never leaves its jacket in any frame.
- Copyright — Photos 3 and 4 show the copyright page in full and straight-on: "INSOMNIA. Copyright (c) 1994 by Stephen King", "A Mark V. Ziesing Book by arrangement with the author", printed by R.R. Donnelley and Sons, and the edition statement "FIRST EDITION / June 1994".
- Issue ISBNs — Photo 4 shows both issue numbers printed together — "Gift Edition ISBN 0-929480-37-6" and "Signed Edition ISBN 0-929480-38-4" — with LOC Catalog #94-060305; both are printed in every copy, so this fixes the Ziesing edition but not which of its two issues this copy is.
- Publisher imprint — Photo 4 shows the Ziesing winged pocket-watch colophon above "MARK V. ZIESING BOOKS, P.O. BOX 76, SHINGLETOWN, CA 96088".
- Jacket price — Photo 2 shows the front flap head printing "GIFT EDITION/$75.00", unclipped and whole — this issue's own priced-flap state, and the tell that fixes the copy as the Gift issue rather than the Signed one.
- Dust jacket — Photo 1 shows the Phil Hale jacket art (the seated figure in the crumpled shirt) with the red handlettered "iNSOMNiA" under a clear protector, and photos 8 and 9 show the jacket spine reading "STEPHEN KING / INSOMNIA" over the red "Z" device and "MARK V. ZIESING BOOKS" at the foot.
- Illustration credits — Photo 4 credits "Jacket, endpaper, and interior art copyright (c) 1994 by Phil Hale" and Arnie Fenner's design and handlettering, and photos 5 and 6 show the full-page interior plates in place.
- Slipcase — Photos 0, 7, 9 and 11 show the matching navy publisher's slipcase with the cream handlettered "iNSOMNiA" on the front panel.
- Ribbon marker — Photos 8, 9 and 11 show the dark red silk ribbon marker protruding at the foot of the book — a binding feature of this deluxe issue.
- Binding / endpapers — The book is never taken out of its jacket in any of the sixteen frames, so the cloth boards, the board spine titling and the Phil Hale endpapers are entirely unphotographed; ask for the volume out of jacket and case, front board and spine under flat light, plus the open front endpaper.
- Limitation / half-title leaf — No frame shows the leaf facing the half-title, so the absence of a signed or numbered limitation statement is not independently pictured — corroborative only, as the priced "GIFT EDITION/$75.00" flap already fixes the issue; ask for a photograph of that opening to close it out.
First-printing line and correct boards check out, but the decisive priced flap is unshown — needs the plate to clear the BCE risk.
- Number line — Full "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" clearly legible with the low 1 = first printing.
- Copyright — CP (photo 4) reads "First published in 1994 by Viking Penguin" with trade ISBN 0-670-85503-0 and matching rear barcode.
- Binding — Correct trade-first gray boards, white spine strip, red "SK" square, "WE NEVER SLEEP" rear panel, intact metallic-red spine titling.
- Jacket price (decisive) — Priced front flap NOT shown — the $27.95/unclipped state is unconfirmed, leaving residual BCE risk. Ask for the priced flap photo.
- Endpapers / edges — Rear gray board shows soiling and light foxing/staining (photos 6,8); request close-ups so the VG+/NF condition hit can be assessed.
Full identification detail & sourcescopyright · jacket · binding · book-club traps · print run · value · references
The Viking trade hardcover (October 1994, ISBN 0-670-85503-0) is the standard "first edition" most collectors seek and the first widely-available hardcover of the text. HOWEVER, the Mark V. Ziesing illustrated limited edition was published in JUNE 1994 — a few months AHEAD of the Viking trade. Collectors treat the Ziesing limited as the true first ILLUSTRATED/limited edition and the chronologically earliest hardcover state; the Viking trade is the standard reading/collecting first. Not a paperback original; not a Doubleday gutter-code title. If chronological priority matters to the buyer, the Ziesing (June 1994) precedes Viking (Oct 1994). [Confirmed: StephenKing.com official limited page dates the Ziesing June 1994; StephenKing.com "Identifying first editions" PDF lists the Viking 1994 trade as the standard first with "(Mark V. Ziesing)" noted as the limited.]
First-printing points at a glance
Dust jacket
First-state Viking trade jacket: predominantly WHITE ground with bold RED lettering for title/author, boldly embossed. A SIMULTANEOUS reverse-color variant exists (red ground / white lettering) with NO established priority — both are correct first-edition jackets. Author photo on rear. Spine carries the metallic red titling matching the binding. Small "1094" date/printer code on flap.
Art / design: David Johnson (illustration) and Neil Stuart (jacket design) — credited on the copyright page of the Viking trade first edition. (RESOLVED from prior UNVERIFIED: confirmed consistently across multiple dealer listings/catalog descriptions for the trade jacket.) For the Ziesing limited the illustrator is Phil Hale and designer is Ann Fenner — those credits apply to the LIMITED, not the trade jacket.
Also watch for: (1) MARRIED JACKETS — a BCE (unpriced) or later-printing jacket mated to a first-printing book, or vice versa; verify the number line in the book AND the unclipped $27.95/"1094" flap together. (2) PRICE-CLIPPED jackets hide the price — and because the BCE number line is identical, a clipped jacket makes a BCE essentially indistinguishable from a trade first; avoid paying a trade-first premium for any clipped copy. (3) BCE sold as "first edition" — the unpriced flap (and rear-board blind-stamp) is the tell, NOT the number line. (4) Ex-library copies (stamps, spine labels, pockets) — common for this popular novel. (5) Spine-lettering rub: the metallic red spine titling rubs/flakes easily; "restored"/re-inked spines exist — inspect. (6) Reverse-color (red-ground) jacket variant is a SIMULTANEOUS legitimate first — do NOT pay a premium claiming it is "the true first state," and do not reject it as "wrong." (7) Remainder marks on the bottom edge devalue.
Print run & scarcity
Publisher-announced first printing, reported in the trade press at publication. Publishers Weekly's review record for Insomnia (ISBN 9780670855032, Viking) lists the publisher's announced marketing figures: "1,500,000 first printing" and "$1 million ad/promo," along with a Signet paperback deal, simultaneous Penguin HighBridge audio, and.
First-state points & errata
No documented TEXTUAL errata or point-driven bibliographic state change separates first-state from later-state first printings; sources establish NO priority distinction. The "two simultaneous dust jacket states with red and white reversed" (officially noted on StephenKing.com's PDF) are SIMULTANEOUS — neither is "first state"; do not pay a premium claiming one is the true first state. "First state" in dealer listings (e.g., MysteryPier's "FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE") refers to a complete number line + unclipped $27.95 jacket + intact unrubbed spine titling — these are condition/issue points, not a true bibliographic state. The metallic red spine titling rubs/flakes easily; an unrubbed spine is prized but is a CONDITION point, not a state. Treat any claimed errata-based "state" with caution.
Limited & signed editions
Mark V. Ziesing Books (Shingletown, CA), June 1994 — illustrated by Phil Hale, designed by Ann Fenner. TWO trade-limited states: (1) NUMBERED limited of 1,250 copies, signed by King, Hale, and Fenner, in publisher's gilt-stamped maroon leather binding with matching leather folding TRAYCASE (with dust jacket); (2) GIFT edition of 3,750 copies with dust jacket and SLIPCASE. Plus 5 artist copies, 3 "mechanical copies" (for King, publisher, proofreader), and an indeterminate number of presentation copies. No lettered edition documented. Numbered limited value ~$1,200-$2,000 (cited ~$1,650, e.g. copy No. 419). (Counts/states confirmed verbatim on the official StephenKing.com limited-edition page.)
Market value confirmed sales
$40–125 (true Viking first, fine/fine, unclipped, full number line ending in 1)
Assumes a genuine first edition / first printing in near-fine to fine condition (clean copy, unclipped jacket). Lesser condition is worth less.
Confirmed sales: No clean, individually-documented Heritage/PBA hammer record surfaced for the UNSIGNED trade first (it is too common to consign at auction). Documented market evidence: (1) Fine/fine unsigned trade firsts trade through reputable dealers and eBay SOLD in the ~$40–90 range, c.2023–2025; (2) Signed-on-title-page trade firsts (fine/fine) sell ~$300–600 via dealers like Bauman, Books Tell You Why, First and Fine, c.2024; (3) Ziesing signed/numbered limited (1,250 copies, leather, slipcased) sells ~$600–1,200 in VF/VF, c.2023–2025 — a SEPARATE book, not the Viking trade first. These are best-documented dealer/sold ranges; no fabricated single-lot auction comp is asserted.
Book-club edition (the trap): $5–20. Book-of-the-Month / book-club editions are the dominant trap: no price on the jacket (or a clipped one), slightly smaller and lighter board, and a blind-stamp ("dot" or square) on the lower-right rear board. They are constantly mislisted as "first editions" because the copyright page can also read 1994. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.
Condition is decisive because the book is extremely common. The gray cloth and (in the white-background DJ state) the jacket both show wear/browning fast; an unclipped $27.95 / 1094 jacket is mandatory and a clipped one cuts value 30–50%. A King title-page signature is the largest single multiplier (roughly 4–8x, to ~$300–600 fine/fine). THE #1 DISCRIMINATOR for this title: it is NOT rare — the Viking first printing was a mega run (trade consensus ~1.3–1.5 million), so even a fine/fine unclipped first is modest. Confirm the full number line ends in "1", there is NO book-club blind-stamp/dot on the rear board, and the jacket carries the printed $27.95 price — that trio defeats the BCE, married-jacket, and later-printing copies that flood the "first edition" listings.
- https://hobbylark.com/fandoms/stephen-king-first-editions-how-to-recognize-one
- https://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/king-stephen/insomnia/129540.aspx
- https://www.firstandfine.com/product/king-stephen-1994-insomnia-us-signed-and-inscribed-first-edition/
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-insomnia-signed-leather-bound-limited-first-edition-1250/
- https://www.yjsboxesofbooks.com/pages/books/biblio161/stephen-king/insomnia
Sources
- https://stephenking.com/other/identifying_first_editions.pdf
- https://stephenking.com/works/limited/insomnia.html
- https://www.nocloo.com/stephen-king-first-edition-books-identification-points/
- https://hobbylark.com/fandoms/Stephen-King-First-Editions--How-to-Recognize-One
- https://bookshopapocalypse.com/products/insomnia-by-stephen-king-1994-hardcover
- https://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/pages/books/55042/stephen-king/insomnia-1st-edition-1st-printing
- https://www.mysterypierbooks.com/pages/books/10427/stephen-king/insomnia
- https://www.veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-insomnia-signed-leather-bound-limited-first-edition-1250/
- https://www.firstandfine.com/product/king-stephen-1994-insomnia-us-signed-and-inscribed-first-edition/
- https://www.biblio.com/book/insomnia-signed-first-edition-king-stephen/d/1399229164
- https://historical.ha.com/itm/books/signed-editions/stephen-king-two-copies-of-insomnia-published-by-mark-v-ziesing-books-including-/a/6058-37333.s
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/334580065589
- https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780670855032
- https://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/pages/books/55042/stephen-king/insomnia-1st-edition-1st-printing
Verification notes: CORRECTIONS LOGGED vs draft: (1) BCE TELLS — draft was WRONG that the BCE "lacks the complete number line" and is "smaller trim, lighter/thinner paper, glued." The Insomnia BCE is FULL-SIZED and "near identical to the true first printing WITH full number line on copyright page but NO price on dust jacket" (bookshopapocalypse BCE listing + HobbyLark). The number line is therefore NOT a BCE discriminator for this title; the unpriced jacket is the decisive tell. Record updated. (2) JACKET ARTIST — draft had this UNVERIFIED; now resolved to David Johnson (illustration) / Neil Stuart (jacket design), confirmed across multiple dealer catalog descriptions. (3) JACKET STATES — the two red/white-reversed jacket variants are officially "simultaneous" (StephenKing.com PDF) — confirms the draft's "no established priority" and strengthens it from speculation to documented fact. (4) "1094" jacket code — corroborated by the nocloo and HobbyLark guides (draft had it as "reported"). (5) PRICE — draft correctly corrected the prompt's $24.95 to $27.95; independently re-confirmed via the OFFICIAL StephenKing.com PDF. (6) Value range nudged down slightly to reflect the ~1.3-1.5M first printing (very common book). PRIMARY NEW INDEPENDENT SOURCES added (not in draft): StephenKing.com "Identifying first editions" PDF (official, authoritative — gives the exact CP statement, number line, $27.95 price, trim, and the simultaneous-states note verbatim); nocloo.com Stephen King identification guide; HobbyLark King first-editions guide; bookshopapocalypse BCE listing (dedicated BCE description). No source disputes the draft's binding, ISBN, or Ziesing counts.