Sleeping Beauties Common
What it’s about
In a near-future world, a mysterious sleeping sickness called Aurora falls over the women of Earth: any woman who drifts off becomes wrapped in a strange cocoon-like gauze, and those who try to wake her erupt into deadly violence before returning to slumber. As the women vanish into sleep and the men are left alone to run a rapidly unraveling civilization, a small Appalachian town and its women's prison become the epicenter of the crisis, drawn around an enigmatic woman named Evie who somehow sleeps and wakes untouched. The town must reckon with what happens to a society stripped of half its population, and with what Evie truly is.
Significance A father-son collaboration co-written by Stephen King and his son Owen King, this standalone epic was adapted into a comic-book series by IDW and remains one of King's most pointed allegories on gender and societal collapse.
How to spot a true first 30-second check
A true 1st/1st needs BOTH the book and the jacket verified. A first-state jacket on a later or book-club book — or the reverse — is a married copy, not a first.
What to look for
- Scribner rule: "First Edition" AND the complete number line must BOTH be present — one without the other is not a first.
- Number line must still contain the "1"; a "3" or higher as the lowest digit = a later printing.
- BCE tells: a blind-stamp dot on the lower-right rear board with NO price on the jacket, or "Book Club Edition" on the lower flap.
- Confirm the unclipped $32.50 flap matches the number line inside — beware married jackets (later/unpriced jacket on a first book).
- Don't confuse the later Cemetery Dance illustrated editions or the trade paperback with the Scribner hardcover first.
- Watch for ex-library stamps and remainder marks on the bottom edge — both cut collectibility.
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.
Genuine unclipped 1st/1st, NF book/VG+ jacket with a spine-head nick and soiled page edges — at $16 a clear bargain.
- Number line — Full "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" pictured with the "1" present — the decisive first-printing line.
- Copyright — Copyright page shown: "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017," © 2017 King & Owen King, ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1.
- Jacket price — Unclipped first-state $32.50 US/$39.99 Can on front flap; rear barcode carries the 0917 (Sept 2017) date code.
- Dust jacket — Correct Bebber/Tierney blue moth-face art, black cloth boards, red-stained edges — proper trade first dress.
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
Confirmed 1st/1st in clean NF/NF; minor jacket scuffing. At $19.99 it sits at or below the fine-range floor — a clear value.
- Number line — Full "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" with the "1" present, shown in two copyright-page photos — decisive first-printing line.
- Copyright — Copyright page reads "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017," © 2017 King & Owen King, ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1.
- Jacket price — Unclipped first-state $32.50 US/$39.99 Can on the front flap.
- Binding — Sewn signatures visible at the fore-edge, full trim — a trade first, not a thin BCE; red board+page edges, correct jacket art.
- Binding — Seller cites "small marks on inside cover and book edge" but the close-up is blurry — ask for a sharp shot of those marks.
Genuine 1st/1st, unclipped, 24 photos — NF/NF with edge foxing/soiling. At $22.95 it's below even the foxing-adjusted value.
- Number line — Full "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" with the "1" present (photos 7 & 8) — the decisive first-printing line.
- Copyright — Copyright page reads "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017," © 2017 King & Owen King, ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1 (page + barcode).
- Jacket price — Unclipped first-state $32.50 US/$39.99 Can on rear flap; barcode shows the 0917 (Sept 2017) date code.
- Binding — Sewn text block, correct trade dress (flame logo, red foil spine, Bebber/Tierney jacket); no BCE tells — priced flap, no blind-stamp.
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
A Scribner first/first with both decisive tells photographed on the one copy — the complete first-printing number line and the unclipped $32.50 first-state flap — the only oddity being bare boards that photograph charcoal-grey where the rubric calls for black.
- Number line — Photo 8 shows the copyright page square-on and fully legible, the line reading "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" with the low digit "1" plainly present — the decisive first-printing tell.
- Copyright — That same frame (photo 8) carries "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017", Copyright © 2017 by Stephen King and Owen King, and ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1 under the Scribner flame at 1230 Avenue of the Americas, with the SCRIBNER title page in photo 7.
- Jacket price — The front flap is unclipped with the first-state "U.S. $32.50 / Can. $39.99" intact at the head (photos 6 and 13), and photo 1 shows the rear-panel barcode block reading $32.50 U.S./$39.99 Can. with the 0917 (September 2017) jacket code printed just above it.
- Binding — Photos 10, 11 and 12 show the book stripped of its jacket — red-foil spine lettering "SLEEPING BEAUTIES / STEPHEN KING and OWEN KING" with the Scribner flame at the foot — though the covering reads charcoal-grey in all three frames against a true-black backdrop rather than the black the rubric describes, a non-decisive point worth an in-hand look.
- Dust jacket — Photos 0, 2 and 14 show the correct first-edition dress — dark ground, "SLEEPING BEAUTIES" in white hand-lettering with STEPHEN KING and OWEN KING in red, the blue butterfly-moth over the pale face and carried down the spine — with the Federico Bebber illustration and Jim Tierney design credited on the rear flap (photo 9).
- Endpapers / edges — Photos 6 and 9 open the front and rear boards to plain cream endpapers, undecorated and unembossed (ruling out the later Cemetery Dance edition), and photos 4 and 5 show the text-block edges plain, without a coloured stain.
✓ Decisive marker pictured — nothing outstanding to request.
A true first/first with both decisive tells legibly photographed — the complete first-printing number line on the copyright page and the unclipped $32.50 first-state flap — with only the endpapers left unphotographed.
- Number line — Photo 3 is a clean, square-on copyright page reading "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" complete, the "1" present and no low digits dropped — the decisive first-printing tell.
- Copyright — That same frame (photo 3) states "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017", Copyright © 2017 by Stephen King and Owen King, and ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1 beneath the Scribner flame at 1230 Avenue of the Americas.
- Jacket price — Photo 2 is a close-up of the front flap head showing "U.S. $32.50 / Can. $39.99" unclipped with the corner intact, and photo 1 shows the rear barcode panel reading $32.50 U.S./$39.99 Can. with the 0917 date code and the matching ISBN.
- Binding — Photo 4 draws the jacket back to show a black cloth spine with red lettering and the Scribner flame at the foot, the adjoining board the same black cloth with the weave visible along the hinge.
- Dust jacket — Photos 0, 1 and 5 show the correct jacket — dark ground, the title in white hand-lettering with the author names in red, and the blue butterfly-moth on the front panel and again on the spine above the Scribner flame.
- Edges — Photos 6, 7 and 8 show the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block plain, with no coloured edge-stain — the red visible beyond the block is the jacket's red flap turning in, not a stained edge.
- Endpapers — No frame in the nine opens the boards, so the endpapers themselves are never shown — ask for one photograph of the open front cover; the Scribner first has plain endpapers, while embossed or decorated ones would point to the later Cemetery Dance edition (a completeness item only, since the photographed number line already settles the printing).
The book shows the "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017" statement and an unclipped first-state $32.50 trade jacket, but the single copyright-page frame is cropped above the digit row, so the printing itself is unproven and the copy can rise no higher than likely.
- Copyright — Photo 12 shows the upper copyright page clearly — "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017", Copyright © 2017 by Stephen King and Owen King, Scribner at 1230 Avenue of the Americas beneath the flame colophon — which establishes the edition but not the printing.
- Jacket price — Photo 11 is a close-up of the front flap head with "U.S. $32.50 / Can. $39.99" unclipped and intact, and photo 16 shows the rear barcode reading $32.50 U.S./$39.99 Can. with the 0917 date code and ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1 — a trade jacket, not a club jacket.
- Binding — Photos 9, 10 and 15 show the book bare — black cloth over both boards, red spine lettering "SLEEPING BEAUTIES / STEPHEN KING and OWEN KING" and the Scribner flame at the foot, the rear board plain and unstamped.
- Dust jacket — Photos 0, 1 and 17 show the correct jacket — dark ground, the title in white hand-lettering with the author names in red, and the blue butterfly-moth over the pale face carried onto the spine.
- Endpapers / edges — Photos 6, 7 and 8 open the front board and photos 13 and 14 the rear, all showing plain cream endpapers, undecorated and unembossed (ruling out the later Cemetery Dance edition), with the text-block edges shown plain and unstained in photos 2 through 5.
- Number line — The decisive tell was never photographed — photo 12 is the only copyright-page frame in all eighteen, and it cuts off at the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau paragraph, several lines above "Manufactured in the United States of America" and the digit row beneath it; ask the seller for one square-on close-up of the lower half of that page, since a line still containing the "1" confirms the first printing while a lowest digit of 3 or higher means a later one.
Confirmed unclipped 1st/1st, self-graded "Good" but looks NF/NF. At $20 it's below typical NF/NF retail.
- Number line — Full "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" with the "1" present — the decisive first-printing line, legibly pictured.
- Copyright — Copyright page reads "First Scribner hardcover edition September 2017," © 2017 King & Owen King, ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1 (page + barcode).
- Jacket price — Unclipped first-state $32.50 US/$39.99 Can, confirmed via the rear barcode block (0917 date code).
- Dust jacket — Correct first-edition art — blue butterfly/face, red STEPHEN KING / OWEN KING lettering.
- Dust jacket — Only 3 low-res photos; sticker/label residue at the spine head and edge wear isn't conclusive — ask for sharp jacket-edge shots.
Full identification detail & sourcescopyright · jacket · binding · book-club traps · print run · value · references
The Scribner 2017 trade hardcover IS the true first edition. No small-press limited precedes it (the Cemetery Dance oversized gift/limited/lettered illustrated editions were published later as collectible reissues, not the first appearance). This is a modern Scribner-era King title, so the standard Scribner identification convention applies: a true first must show BOTH "First Edition" on the copyright page AND the complete number line ending in "...4 2" that still contains the "1".
First-printing points at a glance
Dust jacket
Dramatic black ground with bold red/white title typography. Central motif is a kaleidoscopic, feminine butterfly/moth composed of intertwined imagery in neon cobalt blue and red, evoking the "Aurora" sleep-cocoon theme; the wing/butterfly motif carries onto the spine. Authors' names ("Stephen King" / "Owen King") stacked. Rear panel and flaps continue the dark palette with review/synopsis text; back flap carries author photos/bios.
Art / design: Cover/butterfly artwork attributed to Federico Berbés (also rendered "Federico Berber" in some listings); Scribner in-house jacket design. UNVERIFIED exact designer-of-record name; author photographs by the Kings' usual photographers (UNVERIFIED specific credit).
Also watch for: (1) Married jackets — a later-printing or unpriced jacket placed on a first-printing book, or vice versa; always confirm the number line inside matches an unclipped $32.50 jacket. (2) Price-clipped jackets sold as firsts — clipping hides the price and lowers value. (3) Signed copies: verify signatures against known exemplars and demand a COA (slipcased signed firsts command a premium and attract forgery). (4) Ex-library copies (stamps/pockets/spine labels). (5) Confusing a later Cemetery Dance illustrated edition or the trade paperback with the Scribner hardcover first. (6) Remainder marks (sprayed/marked bottom edge) on a "first" indicate overstock, reducing collectibility.
Print run & scarcity
Big-five Scribner release (Sept 26, 2017), hardcover, ISBN 978-1-5011-6340-1, ~702 pp. Scribner is a mainstream trade publisher that typically does NOT print an announced first-printing number in the book (number-line method identifies first printings instead), and no third-party source publishes a verified copy count for the trade first edition. The collectible signed/limited editions were issued by Cemetery Dance (NOT Gauntlet Press, despite a Gauntlet dealer listing of a Scribner slipcased signed copy): 850 numbered + 52 lettered. Not a Bachman title, not a small-press original, not a paperback original — so the only documented hard counts are the Cemetery Dance limited states. Did not invent a trade-printing number.
First-state points & errata
No documented first-vs-later text state change. First = "First Edition" + complete number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2".
Limited & signed editions
Publisher signed/slipcased: Simon & Schuster/Scribner produced a SIGNED FIRST EDITION (signed by both Stephen King and Owen King on the title page) housed in a custom pictorial slipcase, with COA. LATER deluxe collectible editions by Cemetery Dance Publications (oversized 7"x10", two-color interior, hot-foil stamping, Smyth-sewn, illustrated by Jana Heidersdorf): (a) unsigned Slipcased Gift Edition limited to 1,750 copies; (b) Traycased Signed Limited Edition (signed by Stephen King, Owen King, and Jana Heidersdorf, very small run); (c) a Lettered Edition. Gauntlet Press also offered a Scribner slipcased signed-by-both copy (~$779). These Cemetery Dance editions are NOT the first edition.
Market value confirmed sales
$25–60 (genuine trade first, fine/fine, unclipped $32.50 jacket, unsigned). Signed-by-both copies $150–400; Cemetery Dance signed-limited a separate market ($300–1,200+).
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 formal auction-house (Heritage/PBA) sold records exist for a PLAIN trade first — it is too common to consign; the auction money is only in the signed limiteds. Documented retail SOLD/marketplace levels for the unsigned trade first/first: AbeBooks/Biblio dealer-sold fine/fine copies cluster ~$25–50 (exceptional/As-New to ~$80); eBay sold 1st/1st trade copies routinely close ~$15–35; stephenkingcollector.com pegs collector value at $15–20. Signed-by-both fine copies have sold ~$200–400 (First & Fine / VeryFineBooks dealer sales); Cemetery Dance signed Gift/Limited editions sell ~$300–850, lettered/traycased higher.
Book-club edition (the trap): $5–12. There was no separate BOMC/BCE "trap" for this title in the U.S. (Scribner trade + Cemetery Dance limited + Book of the Month / library/ex-lib copies). Watch instead for: ex-library copies (stamps/pockets), later printings (number line NOT ending in ...8 6 4 2), and the UK Hodder & Stoughton edition mislisted as the US "true first." All of those are essentially reading-copy value, ~$5–12. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.
This is a 2017 mega-print-run modern King — abundant, so condition and jacket are nearly everything. Fine/fine UNCLIPPED ($32.50) is the only configuration that holds value; any price-clip, ex-lib markings, bumped corners, or jacket wear drops it to reading-copy money. Signed premium is large because the trade is so common: a credible double signature (Stephen + Owen) is roughly 5–8x an unsigned copy. THE single biggest discriminator for THIS title: the full Scribner number line must read "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" (full line ending ...8 6 4 2) on the copyright page AND the jacket must be the $32.50 US Scribner jacket. The most common mislisting is (a) a LATER Scribner printing with a shorter/shifted number line, and (b) the UK Hodder & Stoughton first sold as the "US first" — neither is the true US first. The prompt's "Doubleday gutter code / Richard Bachman" cues do not apply: this is a Scribner Stephen King + Owen King collaboration, not a Bachman/Doubleday book, so any copy described with a "gutter code" is a misidentified different book.
- https://www.stephenkingcollector.com/1st/sleepingbeauties.html
- https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/sleeping-beauties/author/stephen-king/first-edition/
- https://stephenking.com/other/identifying_first_editions.pdf
- https://www.cemeterydance.com/sleeping-beauties-king-special-edition.html
- https://www.firstandfine.com/product/king-stephen-and-king-owen-2017-sleeping-beauties-us-double-signed-first-edition/
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-owen-king-sleeping-beauties-signed-limited-edition/
Sources
- https://www.stephenkingcollector.com/1st/sleepingbeauties.html
- https://www.biblio.com/book/sleeping-beauties-novel-king-stephen-king/d/1181489607
- https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/sleeping-beauties-stephen-king-owen-king-signed-illustrated-limited-edition-hardcover-announced-today/
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-owen-king-sleeping-beauties-signed-first-edition-printing-COA/
- https://johnatkinsonbooks.co.uk/book/stephen-king-owen-king-sleeping-beauties-first-us-edition-2017/
- https://www.gauntletpress.com/product/sleeping-beauties-stephen-king-and-owen-king-scribner/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauties_(novel)
- https://stephenking.com/p/sleeping-beauties/
- https://stephenking.com/p/sleeping-beauties/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauties_(novel)
- https://johnatkinsonbooks.co.uk/book/stephen-king-owen-king-sleeping-beauties-first-us-edition-2017/
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-owen-king-sleeping-beauties-signed-limited-edition/
- https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-owen-sleeping-beauties-signed-lettered-edition-52-cemetery-dance-leather-bound/
Verification notes: Cross-checked price ($32.50) and number line ("1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2") across stephenkingcollector.com and multiple AbeBooks/Biblio/eBay dealer listings — agreement on both. Binding (black cloth/black boards) confirmed verbatim by stephenkingcollector.com. Cemetery Dance limited tiers (1,750 gift; traycased signed; lettered; Heidersdorf-illustrated) confirmed on cemeterydance.com announcement page. Could not pull a verbatim copyright-page image to literally read "First Edition"; relied on Scribner convention + dealer first-printing descriptions.