11 Scribes · Stephen King & Bachman · Viking & Putnam (1979-1997)

The Dead Zone Collectible

1979 · The Viking Press (New York)
First-edition cover of The Dead Zone
First-edition jacket (first (Wikipedia infobox)) · source

What it’s about

After years in a coma following a near-fatal car accident, schoolteacher Johnny Smith wakes to find he can perceive hidden truths and glimpse the future simply by touching a person or object. As his unsettling gift draws public attention and upends his quiet life, a chance encounter with a rising populist politician confronts Johnny with a vision he cannot ignore — and a terrible question about what a person should do with knowledge no one else can have.

Significance A cornerstone of King's early canon, it became his first hardcover New York Times bestseller and was adapted into David Cronenberg's acclaimed 1983 film starring Christopher Walken, plus a long-running USA Network TV series (2002-2007).

Value$200–600 (true first, fine/fine, unclipped $11.95 jacket, unsigned); signed/period-dated copies $1,500–3,000+ confirmed salesnear-fine / fine

How to spot a true first 30-second check

★ BookBOOK TELL — the quarter-binding. A true Viking first is quarter-bound and sewn: a BLACK CLOTH spine with bright gilt lettering over BLACK PAPER boards, the author's initials ("SK") blind-stamped on the front board, standing the full ~9.5" trim (6¼ × 9½"). This is the tell that beats the Book Club edition, whose binding swaps to a BLACK PAPER spine over LIGHT-BLUE boards at a smaller ~8.5" trim. It must carry the binding test because the copyright line alone proves nothing — a BCE copyright page reads the SAME "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press." The copyright statement is corroborating, not decisive: per King's official guide The Dead Zone is a STATEMENT-ONLY title — the sole printed identifier is "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" standing ALONE, with NO number line. A genuine first carries that statement with no added reprint line. One more book-block check: the copyright-page ADDRESS must be 625 Madison Avenue — a 1979 book reading "40 West 23rd Street, N.Y. 10010" (or naming "Viking Penguin Inc.") is a post-March-1983 reprint, not the 1979 first, even with the correct black-cloth binding.
★ JacketJACKET TELL — the priced, trade-data jacket flap. A first-state (indeed any trade) jacket carries $11.95 at the bottom of the FRONT flap, the production code "0879" (08/79) in the lower corner of that same front flap, the ISBN 0-670-26077-0 at the bottom-right of the BACK flap, and full publisher data. This beats the BOOK CLUB jacket, which is stripped — no price, no "0879" code, no ISBN, no publisher information (King's guide: a BCE jacket is identified by having "no price marked inside the front cover"). Caveat carried honestly: the priced/coded jacket separates a TRADE copy from a BCE, but does NOT by itself separate a first from a later trade printing — a documented 3rd printing also carries $11.95 with the statement; later-printing jackets sometimes show a different price. A price-clipped flap is a condition caveat, not a wrong edition.

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.

Copyright"First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" standing ALONE — no reprint line, no number line; publisher at 625 Madison Avenue, N.Y. 10022. The ADDRESS matters: 625 Madison = the 1979-era first; a "40 West 23rd Street / 10010" or "Viking Penguin Inc." address = a post-March-1983 reprint, not a first. The statement itself is SHARED with the BCE — corroborating, not decisive.
Number lineNone — The Dead Zone is a statement-only title (per King's guide), so a first shows the 1979 statement ALONE with no number line. But statement-alone is NECESSARY, not sufficient: a BCE and a post-1983 reprint can also be statement-only — pair it with the 625-Madison address and the black-cloth-spine binding.
Gutter code—n/a
Jacket price ★ jacket tell$11.95 at the bottom of the FRONT flap, with production code "0879" (08/79) beside it; ISBN 0-670-26077-0 on the BACK flap. Separates a TRADE copy from a BCE — not a first from a later trade printing.
Binding ★ book tellQuarter-bound, sewn: black CLOTH spine with gilt lettering over black paper boards, "SK" blind-stamped on the front board, full ~9.5" trim — the decisive BOOK tell (BCE = black PAPER spine, light-blue boards, ~8.5").
Dust jacketHalf-shadowed face on a numbered circular device, black ground, red-and-gold titles; "SK" blind-stamp on front board.
Endpapers / edgesTop edge plain/unstained; endpapers plain/unprinted.
The verification ledgerevery marker, graded — verified · asserted · unverified

Verified seen on a confirmed copy Asserted sourced, not yet photographed Unverified thin / contested

A true 1st/1st must show

  • Verified Copyright statement book — Copyright page reads "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" standing ALONE, with no reprint/impression line and NO number line (statement-only title). The publisher ADDRESS must be 625 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022 on both the copyright page and the jacket — this is the co-decisive first-era book tell: a 1979 copy reading "40 West 23rd Street, N.Y. 10010" (or "Viking Penguin Inc.") is a post-March-1983 reprint, not the 1979 first. The statement wording alone is shared with the BCE.
  • Asserted Binding book — Quarter-bound and sewn: black CLOTH spine with bright gilt lettering over black paper boards, the author's initials "SK" blind-stamped on the front board; full ~9.5" trim (6¼ × 9½").
  • Verified Jacket price + code jacket — $11.95 at the bottom of the FRONT flap with the production code "0879" (08/79) in the lower corner of the same front flap, unclipped; no front-panel review blurbs.
  • Asserted Jacket ISBN + publisher data jacket — ISBN 0-670-26077-0 (ISBN-13 978-0-670-26077-5) at the bottom-right of the BACK flap, with full publisher information; James Leonard author photo + 4-line bio on the back flap, 11-line book quotation on the back panel (One + One Studio design).

Disqualifies it — book-club or later

  • Verified "40 West 23rd Street" address — A 1979-dated copy whose copyright page (or jacket) reads "40 West 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10010" or names "Viking Penguin Inc." is a POST-MARCH-1983 reprint, NOT the 1979 first (which reads 625 Madison Avenue). Disqualifying even with the correct black-cloth spine, full trim, and statement-alone copyright page.
  • Asserted Number line present — Any printed number line / printing key on the copyright page disqualifies a first — The Dead Zone first is statement-only. Dealer practice catalogs a later printing by a number string ending in the printing numeral (e.g. a row ending in 3 for a 3rd printing); but the canonical King guide assigns NO number line to this title, so the safe rule is: a first shows the "First published in 1979" statement ALONE.
  • Asserted Reprint statement — Any "Second printing" / later-impression statement on the copyright page is a later printing, not a first.
  • Asserted Light-blue boards / black paper spine — Light-blue boards under a black PAPER (non-cloth) spine = Book Club edition, not the trade first (trade = black cloth spine over black boards).
  • Asserted ~8.5" trim height — A copy standing only ~8.5" tall (noticeably shorter/thinner than ~9.5") is the BCE, regardless of the copyright wording.
  • Asserted Stripped jacket — A jacket with no $11.95 price, no "0879" code, no back-flap ISBN, and no publisher information is the book-club jacket — not a first-state trade jacket.

Proves nothing — shared traps

  • Shared "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" copyright line — SHARED with the Book Club edition — a BCE copyright page reads the identical statement (and it survives on later printings). The copyright line alone proves NOTHING; confirm the 625-Madison address (a 40-West-23rd copy is a post-1983 reprint), the black-cloth spine, full ~9.5" trim, and the priced/coded jacket.
  • Shared $11.95 jacket price — SHARED across trade printings — a documented 3rd printing also carries $11.95. The price separates a TRADE copy from a BCE (which has none), but does NOT separate a first from a later trade printing.
  • Shared "0879" front-flap code — This is the August-1979 production month code; it confirms a TRADE (non-club) jacket because the BCE jacket is stripped — but it is a production/date code, NOT a per-printing tell, and it is corroborated only by dealers (absent from King's official guide and fedpo's text). Treat it as supporting the price, not as a stand-alone first-printing proof.
  • Shared ISBN 0-670-26077-0 — The same ISBN spans the trade print run; its PRESENCE on the back flap distinguishes a trade jacket from the ISBN-less BCE jacket, but it does not distinguish a first from a later trade printing.

What to look for

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.

Seller’s photo of this copy
✓ 1st/1st confirmed$100lastexitbooks ↗
Strong buy Near Fine book / VG (about Very Good) jacket

Confirmed trade first; the VG jacket (spine-end chips, corner loss) is the only reservation — genuine and well-priced at $100.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Jacket price — Front-flap $11.95 present and unclipped; back flap shows ISBN + full Viking imprint — the priced trade jacket, not the stripped BCE.
  • Copyright — 'First published in 1979 by The Viking Press' stands alone — no number line, no reprint line; ISBN 0-670-26077-0 on the page.
  • Binding — Black cloth spine + gilt with the 'SK' blind-stamp on the rear board — the trade first, not the BCE blue boards / paper spine.
  • Dust jacket — Correct first-issue jacket and title page; author bio carries the right 1979 backlist (Carrie through The Stand).
⚠ Not pictured — ask before buying
  • Dust jacket — Ask for close shots of the spine crown/heel chipping and the lower-front corner loss — the VG jacket is the value cap, not the edition.
Seller’s photo of this copy
✓ 1st/1st confirmed$215treasuredbindings ↗
Fair Near Fine book / VG+ jacket

Confirmed trade first via the 0879 jacket code; the $11.95 wasn't shown legibly — genuine and fair at $215, jacket chip aside.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Jacket date code 0879 — Viking '0879' (08/79) date code at the foot of the front flap, flap intact — the first-state jacket tell, pictured.
  • Copyright — 'First published in 1979 by The Viking Press' stands alone — no number line, no reprint line; ISBN 0-670-26077-0 present.
  • Binding — Black paper boards with 'SK' blind-stamp + black cloth spine in gilt — the trade first, not the BCE blue boards / paper spine.
  • Dust jacket — Correct first-edition jacket; back flap carries full Viking address + photo credit (James Leonard) that BCE jackets strip.
⚠ Not pictured — ask before buying
  • Jacket price — The $11.95 was NOT legibly photographed (flap intact, 0879 shown) — ask for a clear front-flap price shot to read it unclipped.
  • Dust jacket — Ask for close-ups of the spine-head chip in the red 'Stephen King' band and the back-panel creasing — the drags that cap it at VG+.
Seller’s photo of this copy
✓ 1st/1st confirmed$250gagoom ↗
Strong buy Fine book / VG+ to Near Fine- jacket

Fully confirmed trade first/first, first-state jacket pictured end to end — genuine and fair at $250, the bottom of the band.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Jacket price — Front flap shows $11.95 unclipped AND the '0879' (08/79) Viking date code intact — the full first-state jacket tell, pictured.
  • Copyright — 'First published in 1979 by The Viking Press' stands alone — no number line, no reprint line; ISBN 0-670-26077-0 on the copyright page.
  • Binding — Black cloth spine in gilt with rear-board 'SK' blind-stamp; back flap retains full Viking info + ISBN — trade first, not the stripped BCE.
  • Endpapers / edges — Full-height trim, red headband, thick sewn block — rules out the squat ~8.5in book-club edition.
⚠ Not pictured — ask before buying
  • Dust jacket — Ask for close shots of the head/heel spine-panel chips and the front-flap crease — the spine-tip loss caps it just below Near Fine.
Seller’s photo of this copy
✓ 1st/1st confirmed$300robinrarebooks ↗
Pass Near Fine book / VG+ jacket

Fully confirmed first/first with a full first-state jacket; cosmetic drags only — genuine and fair at $300, inside the band.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Jacket price — Front-flap $11.95 unclipped, plus the '0879' (08/79) Viking date code and back-flap ISBN — the full first-state jacket, pictured.
  • Copyright — 'First published in 1979 by The Viking Press' stands alone — no number line, no reprint line; ISBN 0-670-26077-0; title page 'THE VIKING PRESS · NEW YORK'.
  • Binding — Black paper boards + black cloth spine in gilt with the rear-board 'SK' blind-stamp — the trade first, not the BCE board/spine swap.
  • Dust jacket — Correct first-edition jacket art and Viking imprint ('A Novel by the Author of THE STAND').
⚠ Not pictured — ask before buying
  • Endpapers / edges — Ask for close shots of the rear-endpaper toning/soiling, rear-board scuffing, and spine-end chips/creasing — minor drags to NF/VG+.
Seller’s photo of this copy
likely first$200ernestoic ↗
Fair Near Fine book / VG+ jacket (as pictured, pending in-hand)

A genuine 1979-era Viking book block — the statement-alone copyright at 625 Madison Avenue and the jacket-off black cloth spine in gilt over dark boards both legibly photographed — held short of full confirmation because neither jacket flap was ever opened, leaving the first-state jacket tell unverified.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Copyright address — Photo 4 shows "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press / 625 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y 10022" — the pre-1983 address that marks the 1979-era first, cleanly legible.
  • Binding — Photo 2 is a jacket-off shot of the standing book showing a black CLOTH spine with bright gilt "The DEAD ZONE / Stephen King / Viking" over dark boards — ruling out the club edition's black-paper spine and light-blue boards.
  • Copyright statement — Photo 4 shows the 1979 Viking statement standing alone with no reprint or second-printing line.
  • Number line — Photo 4 shows no number line beneath or beside the copyright statement anywhere in the matter photographed, correct for this statement-only title.
  • Copyright corroboration — Photo 4 legibly shows ISBN 0-670-26077-0, LCCN 79-12785, "Published simultaneously in Canada by Penguin Books Canada Limited", "Printed in the United States of America" and "Set in CRT Garamond".
  • Title page — Photo 3 shows the title page reading "The DEAD ZONE / Stephen King / THE VIKING PRESS · NEW YORK".
  • Jacket art — Photos 0 and 1 show the correct front panel and a spine reading "Stephen King / THE DEAD ZONE / Viking" at the heel, with the quotation block present on the rear panel.
⚠ Not pictured — ask before buying
  • Jacket price — The decisive jacket tell is absent from all five frames because neither flap is ever opened; ask for a straight-on shot of the whole front flap showing the head, where the $11.95 prints, and the foot, where the "0879" code prints, with the top corner in frame to prove it unclipped.
  • Jacket publisher imprint — Photo 1 catches a three-line imprint block at the foot of the rear panel but only "NEW YORK" is legible at this resolution and the back flap is never shown at all; ask for a square-on close-up of that block and of the back flap carrying ISBN 0-670-26077-0, which is what defeats a stripped club jacket.
  • SK blind-stamp — Photo 2 shows the boards jacket-off but obliquely and no stamp is legible on either; ask for a raking-light close-up across both board faces to raise the blind-stamped "SK".
  • Endpapers / edges — Neither the endpapers nor the top edge appears in any frame; ask for the front endpaper laid open and a square-on shot of the closed top edge.
cover only — verify$200Yes Books ↗
Pass VG book / VG jacket (per seller text only; unverified by photos)

No copy photos at all (stock image only); every decisive marker is unverified — needs the plate, flap, and boards before any trust.

⚠ Not pictured — ask before buying
  • Jacket price — DECISIVE: no flap photo — the $11.95 / 0879 first-state tell is unverified; seller only TEXT-claims 'unclipped'. Ask for a front-flap price shot.
  • Copyright — Copyright page never pictured — ask for a shot of 'First published in 1979 by The Viking Press' standing alone with NO number line.
  • Binding — Black boards + 'SK' blind-stamp not shown — ask for a bare-board photo to rule out the BCE blue boards / paper spine.
cover only — verify$250James Graham Bookseller ↗
Pass Near Fine book / Near Fine jacket (per seller text; prev-owner name, light spine wear — unverified by photos)

One jacket-on photo only; the decisive flap price and copyright page are unseen — needs the plate before a first can be confirmed.

✓ Confirmed in the seller’s photos
  • Dust jacket — Single high-res shot shows correct front-cover/spine art ('THE DEAD ZONE / Viking', roulette-wheel device) — jacket-on only, no internals.
⚠ Not pictured — ask before buying
  • Jacket price — DECISIVE: front flap folded out of frame — the $11.95 / 0879 first-state tell is neither visible nor verifiable; seller only TEXT-claims unclipped.
  • Copyright — Copyright page not photographed — ask for a shot of 'First published in 1979 by The Viking Press' standing alone with NO number line.
  • Binding — Black boards + 'SK' blind-stamp not shown (jacket on) — ask for a bare-board photo to rule out the BCE binding swap.
Full identification detail & sourcescopyright · jacket · binding · book-club traps · print run · value · references
Is this the true first?Yes. The Viking Press trade hardcover (published August 30, 1979; 426 pp.) is the true first edition. There is no preceding small-press limited and no paperback original. The Signet/NAL mass-market paperback and the UK Macdonald/Futura editions are all later. ISBN-10 0-670-26077-0 / ISBN-13 978-0-670-26077-5.
The US Viking trade hardcover is the true first edition, first printing. No Donald M. Grant, Philtrum, or Land of Enchantment limited precedes it — unlike the Dark Tower / Eyes of the Dragon / Cycle of the Werewolf cases. The UK first (Macdonald & Co., 1979) is a separate, later printing and not the true first.

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statement"First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" on the copyright page, standing ALONE with no reference to any subsequent printing/impression and NO number line. TWO things must hold on a genuine 1979 first: (a) the publisher ADDRESS reads "625 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022" on BOTH the copyright page AND the jacket (Viking's address 1979–early 1983) — a 1979-dated copy reading "40 West 23rd Street, N.Y. 10010" or naming "Viking Penguin Inc." is a POST-MARCH-1983 reprint, NOT the 1979 first (the plate was reset years later), disqualifying even with the correct binding; and (b) the statement stands alone with no reprint line and no number row. CRITICAL: the "First published in 1979" statement is SHARED with the Book Club edition (identical wording) and survives on later printings, so it is NOT decisive by itself — confirm the 625-Madison address, the black-CLOTH-spine quarter-binding, the full ~9.5" trim, and the priced/coded jacket. (A 40-West-23rd Dead Zone mis-passed our statement-only rule 2026-07-05 — see verifyNotes.)
Number lineNo number line on a first printing. Per King's official Identifying First Editions guide, The Dead Zone is a statement-only title: identification rests entirely on the "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" line standing alone, with no added reprint/impression statement and no number line at all. A genuine first carries that statement and nothing more — but statement-alone + no-number-line is NECESSARY, not sufficient: a book-club copy AND a post-March-1983 reprint (40 West 23rd Street address) can also be statement-only, so pair the absent number line with the 625-Madison address and the black-cloth-spine/full-trim binding. (Some dealers catalogue a later printing by a printed number string, but the canonical guide assigns NO number line to this title, so the safe rubric is simply: a first shows the 1979 statement ALONE — do not treat any specific number row as a fixed tell. And do not expect a Scribner-era "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" row — that is the post-1998 convention, not 1979 Viking.)
Gutter / printer codeN/A as a Doubleday-style gutter/printer code (this is a Viking, not Doubleday, title). HOWEVER the jacket bears a Viking production/date code "0879" at the bottom of the FRONT flap (= 08/79, the August 1979 publication month). This is a jacket production code, not a text-block gutter code — and a date/production code, NOT a per-printing key. It confirms a TRADE (non-club) jacket because the BCE jacket is stripped, and it supports the front-flap price; treat it as corroborating the price, not as a stand-alone first-printing proof (it is dealer-corroborated but absent from King's official guide and fedpo's identification text).
First printing — copies~50,000 accepted figure
First jacket price$11.95 (Bottom of the FRONT (inner) dust-jacket flap, accompanied by the production code "0879" also at the bottom of the front flap. The ISBN (0-670-26077-0) appears separately at the BOTTOM-RIGHT of the BACK jacket flap (NOT the front flap). A price-clipped jacket (corner cut from the front flap) removes the $11.95 and materially lowers value — but a clip is a CONDITION caveat, not a wrong edition. Carry the limit honestly: the $11.95 (with the "0879" code and the back-flap ISBN) separates a TRADE copy from a BCE, but does NOT by itself separate a first from a later trade printing — a documented 3rd printing also carries $11.95, and later-printing jackets sometimes show a different price.)
Board (panel) colorBlack paper-covered boards, with the author's initials ("SK") blind-stamped / debossed on the front board.
Spine / center bindingBlack cloth spine with bright gilt (gold) spine lettering. Quarter-bound (black cloth spine + black paper boards).
Binding styleQuarter-bound, sewn: black cloth spine over black paper-covered boards. Top edge plain. Dealers describe this variously as "black quarter cloth to black boards" / "black cloth spine wrap over black boards" — both describe the same quarter-binding.
Topstain / endpapersTop edge unstained (plain); no notable topstain color. Endpapers plain/unprinted. UNVERIFIED as to any decorative endpaper.

Dust jacket

Front panel: a half-shadowed visage intersecting a numbered circular ("magically numbered") device, on a black background with red-and-gold titles; no review blurbs on the front panel. Back panel: an 11-line quotation drawn from the book (no review excerpts). Back flap: an open-shirted author photograph of Stephen King (by James Leonard) above a 4-line author bio, with full publisher information including the "625 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022" address. Front flap: $11.95 price plus the "0879" production code at the bottom. The ISBN (0-670-26077-0) appears at the bottom-right of the BACK flap.

Art / design: Dust-wrapper design by One + One Studio; author photograph by James Leonard (c. 1979). Credited on the jacket and corroborated by dealer catalog data.

reference photohttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Dead_Zone_(1979)_dust_jacket,_first_edition.jpgreference photohttp://www.fedpo.com/BookDetail.php/The-Dead-Zonereference photohttps://bookshopapocalypse.com/products/the-dead-zone-by-stephen-king-first-book-club-edition-1979
Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyTitle-specific BCE tells: (1) BINDING SWAP — book-club copies have LIGHT BLUE boards with a BLACK PAPER spine, versus the trade first's black paper boards + black CLOTH spine with gilt lettering; (2) SMALLER TRIM — BCE stands ~8.5 inches tall, noticeably shorter/thinner than the trade first's ~9.5 inches; (3) JACKET STRIPPED — the BCE dust jacket LACKS publisher information AND the ISBN and carries NO price ($11.95 absent) and no "0879" code; (4) a blind-stamp (small indented dot/square/circle) is typically present on the rear board; (5) cheaper/lighter paper, frequently glued rather than sewn. CRITICAL: a BCE copyright page can still read "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press," so the COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ALONE DOES NOT prove a trade first — verify the 625-Madison address (a 40-West-23rd / "Viking Penguin Inc." copy is a post-March-1983 reprint, not the 1979 first), the black CLOTH spine, full ~9.5" trim height, and the priced/coded front flap (and back-flap ISBN). NOTE: some booksellers loosely call a club copy "full sized... identical except for absent price" — do not rely on a single seller's framing; check spine material + trim + jacket.

Also watch for: (1) MARRIED JACKETS — a trade-first book fitted with a clipped or facsimile jacket, or a priced jacket placed on a BCE book; always match jacket (front-flap $11.95 + "0879" + back-flap ISBN + publisher data) to the correct black-cloth-spine, full-height (~9.5") binding. (2) FACSIMILE/REPRODUCTION jackets — check paper feel, gloss, registration. (3) PRICE-CLIPPED jackets misrepresented as unclipped firsts (the $11.95 + "0879" should be intact at the bottom of the front flap). (4) BCE sold as "first edition" leaning on the copyright line — defeat with binding/trim/jacket checks above. (5) EX-LIBRARY copies (stamps, pockets, spine labels) and REMAINDER-marked copies (spray/marker to bottom edge) — both lower value. (6) RESTORED/married copies and "signed" copies with non-contemporaneous or autopen-suspect signatures — prefer in-person provenance/COA. (7) Bookseller "matching" slipcases passed off as a publisher's limited (there is none). (8) POST-1983 REPRINT sold as the 1979 first — read the ADDRESS: "625 Madison Avenue" = the 1979-era first; "40 West 23rd Street, N.Y. 10010" / "Viking Penguin Inc." = a post-March-1983 reprint. The correct black-cloth binding and statement-alone copyright page do NOT rescue a 40-West-23rd copy.

Print run & scarcity

Collector/dealer consensus figure (publisher never disclosed an audited count). stephenkingcollector.com (the specialist King reference) states for The Dead Zone, Viking 1979: "First Edition : 50,000" and "A first edition of 50,000 copies.

First-state points & errata

First-state jacket: the front flap carries the $11.95 price AND the code "0879" (= 08/79, August 1979) at its bottom; unclipped, with no front-panel review blurbs. ISBN on the back flap. No widely-catalogued first-state-only text typo/errata separates first printings. Be precise about WHAT each tell proves: the priced/coded jacket and the back-flap ISBN separate a TRADE copy from a BCE (which is stripped of all three), NOT a first from a later trade printing — a documented 3rd printing also carries $11.95. The first-vs-later-TRADE discriminator is the copyright statement standing ALONE with no number line and no reprint statement AND the "625 Madison Avenue" address (a "40 West 23rd Street" / "Viking Penguin Inc." address = a post-March-1983 reprint, disqualifying regardless of the missing number line); the decisive BOOK tell is the black-cloth-spine quarter-binding at the full ~9.5" trim. Any claimed text errata point is UNVERIFIED absent a named bibliography citation.

Limited & signed editions

None from the publisher. Viking issued NO signed/numbered or traycased limited edition of The Dead Zone — there is no Donald M. Grant, Cemetery Dance, or similar limited. "Slipcased signed first edition" copies on the market are BOOKSELLER-ASSEMBLED: a trade first edition signed in person by King (e.g., copies dated 9/12/79 or 9/17/79) placed in a custom (non-publisher) "matching" slipcase with a dealer-issued COA. The slipcase is not original to publication (veryfinebooks explicitly describes a "custom matching slipcase").

Market value confirmed sales

$200–600 (true first, fine/fine, unclipped $11.95 jacket, unsigned); signed/period-dated copies $1,500–3,000+

Assumes a genuine first edition / first printing in near-fine to fine condition (clean copy, unclipped jacket). Lesser condition is worth less.

Confirmed sales: Hard auction-realized comps are thin for this common title (it trades dealer-to-collector, not at major houses, unless signed). Documented market points: (1) Downtown Brown — true first/first printing, fine in unclipped $11.95 jacket, listed and marked SOLD (dealer record, ~2023–2024), unsigned, low-hundreds range; (2) Reputable-dealer unsigned fine/fine firsts (Type Punch Matrix, Rare Book Cellar, Second Story Books) consistently offered ~$250–600; (3) Signed/period-inscribed 1979-dated copies (The BiblioFile, Biblio listings; icollector signed lot) cataloged/realized ~$1,500–3,000, with a contemporaneously-signed valuation cited near $2,000. I will not fabricate a Heritage hammer figure — the 2008 Heritage Yaspan signed lot exists but its realized price was not retrievable. (4) Condition-floor realized comp (liveness sweep, 2026-06-25): a confirmed Viking 1979 first — decisive first-printing copyright statement plus matching ISBN 0-670-26077-0 photographed across 22 images, but only a GOOD shelf/edge-worn (unclipped $11.95) jacket — SOLD at a $49.95 fixed-price BIN (eBay 158012473280, seller lessthanperfectbooks). This is a reading-grade realized FLOOR, not a fine/fine comp: it does NOT move the fine/fine $200–600 band; it confirms the note that a worn-or-clipped-jacket first clears near or below $75.

Book-club edition (the trap): $10–40. The Book-of-the-Month/Viking book-club edition is the dominant trap and is near-worthless: light-blue boards with a black PAPER spine (not black cloth), ~8.5" tall (smaller than the trade first), and a jacket with NO price and missing ISBN/publisher info at the lower back. Ex-library and married/facsimile-jacket copies similarly collapse to sub-$30. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

Condition is everything on a common title: a price-clipped jacket, faded red spine titling (the jacket's reds fade easily), or a VG (vs. fine) jacket knocks a true first down toward $75–150; a genuinely fine/fine unclipped copy holds the $200–600 band. A period (1979) felt-tip signature/inscription is the single biggest value multiplier (5–10x, to $1,500–3,000+); later signatures are worth less than period ones. THE #1 THING separating a real first from the mislisted copies: the SPINE and SIZE — the true first has a BLACK CLOTH/quarter-cloth spine with gold gilt on black boards and is full trade height; the book-club fake has a BLACK PAPER spine on LIGHT-BLUE boards, stands ~8.5" tall, and its jacket lacks the $11.95 price AND the ISBN/publisher line. Note: this is a VIKING book, so there is NO Doubleday gutter code — anyone citing a gutter code for The Dead Zone is misapplying a Doubleday point. Confirm: copyright page says "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" with no additional printing statement.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: CORRECTIONS vs draft: (1) ISBN LOCATION FIXED — draft placed the ISBN at "lower-right of the FRONT flap"; fedpo.com (primary authority) and corroborating dealers put the ISBN at the BOTTOM-RIGHT of the BACK flap. The FRONT flap carries the $11.95 price PLUS the "0879" date code. (2) "0879" CODE ADDED — the draft omitted the front-flap "0879" Viking date code (= Aug 1979); confirmed first-state point across fedpo + multiple dealer/eBay listings (rarebookcellar, johnatkinsonbooks, et al.). (3) ISBN CHECK DIGIT FIXED — draft wrote "0-670-26077-X"; correct ISBN-10 is 0-670-26077-0 (ISBN-13 978-0-670-26077-5), per Biblio/Goodreads/Amazon. (4) NUMBER-LINE NUANCE ADDED — later printings DO carry a number line (third printing identifiable by a row descending to 3); a first has the statement alone. (5) PUB DATE — confirmed August 30, 1979; trade-first trim ~9.5" vs BCE ~8.5". DISCREPANCY LOGGED: one bookseller (bookshopapocalypse) calls its club copy "full sized... identical to the first edition except absent front-panel price," which conflicts with fedpo's light-blue-board + ~8.5" BCE description — treat the single seller's framing as imprecise; rely on spine material + trim + jacket. INDEPENDENT SOURCE NOT IN ORIGINAL DRAFT: johnatkinsonbooks.co.uk (stated "First Published Viking 1979," near-fine UNCLIPPED wrapper) — corroborates the statement-only first + unclipped first-state jacket. Cross-confirmed: $11.95 + "0879" front-flap (fedpo, rarebookcellar, multiple eBay "0879 intact" listings); One + One Studio design + James Leonard photo + 11-line back-panel quote (biblio, fedpo); dealer-assembled slipcase (veryfinebooks "custom matching slipcase"). No publisher limited exists. (6) 2026-07-05 ADDRESS TELL ADDED (root-caused + guarded): a b-oaksthrift eBay listing (136770798996) mis-passed our statement-only rule — its copyright page AND jacket read "40 West 23rd Street / Viking Penguin Inc." on a 1979 book (a post-March-1983 reprint), yet it had been CONFIRMED as a 1979 first on "statement-alone + no number line + black cloth spine." Fix: the 625-Madison-vs-40-West-23rd address is now a co-decisive/disqualifying tell (genuine 1979 first = 625 Madison; 40 West 23rd = post-1983). Same Viking-address class as Firestarter/Cujo; the listing was re-graded WRONG_OR_LATER. See the viking-address-tell memory.

confidence: High on the core points — "First published in 1979 by The Viking Press" statement standing alone; no number line on a first (third printing adds a number row to 3); $11.95 PLUS the "0879" date code at the bottom of the FRONT flap; ISBN on the BACK flap; quarter-bound black cloth spine + black paper boards with gilt spine + blind-stamped SK initials; jacket by One + One Studio with James Leonard back-flap photo; and the light-blue-board / ~8.5"-trim / no-ISBN-no-price BCE tells — each confirmed across multiple independent sources (fedpo.com first-edition-points guide; johnatkinsonbooks.co.uk; bookshopapocalypse BCE listing; veryfinebooks; plus AbeBooks/Biblio/eBay confirmed-first listings). Medium on exact value ranges (market estimate) and on the absence of any first-state text errata point (no named bibliography line item located).
← Back to all titles