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Insomnia Common

1994 · Viking (Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc.), New York

First-edition cover of Insomnia — First-edition jacket (first (Wikipedia infobox)) · source

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.

Is this the true first?yes — the Viking 1994 hardcover is a true hardcover first edition. There is no preceding mass-market paperback original. A small-press illustrated limited (Mark V. Ziesing) was issued the same year and slightly earlier (June 1994), but the trade hardcover stands as a legitimate hardcover first edition.
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.]

I own a copy of this title

My notes — condition, state, price intact, is it a book-club copy?

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statementCopyright page reads "First published in 1994 by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc." Viking did NOT print a separate "First Edition" statement; the COMPLETE NUMBER LINE ending in/containing the low "1" is the sole determinant of a first printing. (Verified verbatim against the official StephenKing.com "Identifying first editions" PDF, which lists Insomnia as: "First published in 1994 by Viking Penguin" + number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" on CP.)

Number line"1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" — a first printing shows the full line including the low "1". Later printings drop the lowest numbers (a second printing reads with lowest number 2, etc.). Presence of the "1" = first printing. CAUTION specific to this title: the BOOK CLUB EDITION also carries this SAME full number line, so the number line ALONE does NOT distinguish trade-first from BCE for Insomnia — you must also confirm the $27.95 priced (unclipped) jacket. (Number line verified via the official StephenKing.com PDF and the nocloo.com identification guide.)

Gutter / printer codeN/A — Viking title, not a Doubleday gutter-code book. Identification is by number line, not an alphanumeric gutter code.

First printing — copiesNot publicly disclosed

First jacket price$27.95 (Upper front (top) corner of the front jacket flap. A price-clipped flap (corner cut) hides this and lowers value AND removes the single most reliable trade-first-vs-BCE discriminator. The first jacket also carries a small date/printer code "1094" (= Oct 1994) consistent with first-printing release. (Price $27.95 and the "1094" jacket code corroborated by the StephenKing.com PDF, the nocloo.com guide, HobbyLark, and multiple dealer/eBay listings; prompt-supplied $24.95 is WRONG.))

Board (panel) colorGray (grey) paper-covered boards — quarter-bound, paper-over-boards over the larger panel area. (Confirmed "quarter-bound in light gray cloth with gray boards.")

Spine / center bindingWhite coated spine wrap with metallic RED spine titling/device (quarter-bound, two-tone: white spine over gray boards). The metallic red spine lettering is prone to rubbing/flaking — unrubbed is prized.

Binding styleQuarter-bound, two-tone: white coated cloth/paper spine over gray paper-covered boards. Sewn binding, 8vo, 787 pages. Trim ~6¼ x 9½ x 2.1". ISBN 0-670-85503-0 (9780670855032). (Trim and binding per the official StephenKing.com PDF.)

Topstain / endpapersEndpapers/pastedowns reported gray (front and rear). No distinctive topstain noted (plain). Endpaper color cross-confirmed by dealer descriptions ("paste-downs and front and rear end papers in gray"); topstain UNVERIFIED/plain.

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.

https://stephenking.com/works/limited/insomnia.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334580065589

https://www.firstandfine.com/product/king-stephen-1994-insomnia-us-signed-and-inscribed-first-edition/

Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyBook Club Edition tells for THIS title (important — Insomnia's BCE is unusually close to the trade first): (1) NO PRICE on the front jacket flap — this is the PRIMARY and most reliable discriminator (a true trade first shows $27.95 + the "1094" code). (2) The BCE is FULL-SIZED and "near identical to the true first printing" — it does NOT have the smaller trim / thinner paper of typical King BCEs, and it RETAINS the SAME full number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" on the copyright page. THEREFORE THE NUMBER LINE DOES NOT DISTINGUISH BCE FROM TRADE FIRST FOR THIS TITLE. (3) BCE board typically carries a blind-stamp (small indented dot/square) on the lower-right rear board; (4) BCE jackets are often "Book Club Edition"-stated on a flap on some King titles, but for Insomnia the absence of the $27.95 price is the decisive tell. Heavy BOMC distribution (first printing ~1.3-1.5 million) makes BCE copies common; always verify the PRICED, unclipped 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

Insomnia followed King's run of guaranteed-bestseller mega print runs of the mid-1990s; Viking printed it in the low-millions, which is why true firsts are abundant and inexpensive relative to King's scarce early titles. The only genuinely SCARCE 1994 Insomnia is the Mark V. Ziesing signed/numbered deluxe limited of 1,250 copies (signed by King, artist Phil Hale, designer Arnie Fenner) — a distinct publication, not the Viking trade first. Treat any "1.3M"/"1.5M" figure as trade-consensus, not a documented publisher statement.

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.

Value sources:

Sources

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.

confidence: high — Price ($27.95), copyright statement, number line ("1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2"), trim, two simultaneous reversed jacket states, "1094" jacket code, gray boards / white spine binding, jacket credits (David Johnson illustration / Neil Stuart design), and the Ziesing limited (1,250 numbered + 3,750 gift) are now cross-confirmed by the OFFICIAL StephenKing.com identification PDF and limited-edition page PLUS independent guides (nocloo.com, HobbyLark) and dealer/BCE listings. The prompt's "$24.95" hypothesis is corrected to $27.95. Raised to high (from draft's medium-high) because the previously UNVERIFIED jacket artist is now resolved and the BCE/number-line relationship is directly documented.← Back to all titles