11 Scribes · All titles · The Dark Tower (Donald M. Grant)

Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower VI) Common

2004 · Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. (Hampton Falls, NH); trade edition distributed by Scribner / Simon & Schuster

First-edition cover of Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower VI) — First-edition jacket (first (Wikipedia infobox)) · source

What it’s about

The penultimate volume of Stephen King's Dark Tower saga splits Roland's ka-tet across worlds and time as Susannah Dean, possessed by the demon-mother Mia, slips through a magic door to 1999 New York to give birth to a child both sides of the war for the Tower desperately want. While Roland and Eddie chase her trail back to a 1977 Maine threatened by the agents of the Crimson King, Jake, Father Callahan, and the bumbler Oy race to find her before the labor begins. The hunt to protect Susannah and her "chap" pulls the quest deeper into the machinery of reality itself, where authors, beams, and breakers all bend toward the Dark Tower.

Significance Book six of King's seven-volume magnum opus, famous for its metafictional turn in which Stephen King writes himself into the story as a character — a divisive, much-discussed gambit that bridges directly into the final volume, The Dark Tower.

Is this the true first?Yes. The trade hardcover IS a first edition. UNLIKE the early Dark Tower volumes (The Gunslinger / The Drawing of the Three, where a Grant small-press limited preceded everything), for the late-series volumes Grant published the limited AND the trade simultaneously and the trade is collected as the 'First Trade Edition.' There is no preceding general-market hardcover. The two signed/slipcased Grant editions (1,400-copy numbered; 3,500-copy Artist) are the true 'firsts' in collector terms but are limited issues — the trade hardcover is the standard collectible first.
Three near-simultaneous 2004 Grant issues exist. (1) Signed Limited Edition — 1,400 numbered copies signed by BOTH Stephen King and artist Darrel Anderson, in slipcase (the premier 'true first'). (2) Artist Edition — 3,500 copies signed by Darrel Anderson only. (3) First Trade Edition — large unsigned trade hardcover, distributed via Scribner/Simon & Schuster (reported first printing of ~650,000). For this TIER ('standard') the collectible target is the unsigned First Trade Edition. No mass-market hardcover precedes it; the limiteds are the only earlier-in-prestige states, not earlier in date.

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 statement"First Trade Edition" stated on the copyright page, accompanied by a full descending-from-1 number line. Both the statement AND the complete number line ending in "2" must be present on a true first printing.

Number lineFull 1-10 line: "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2". A first printing shows the complete line with the "1" present; a later printing has the low numbers removed (lowest remaining digit indicates the printing).

Gutter / printer codeN/A (Grant/Scribner title — no Doubleday gutter code)

First printing — copies~650,000 (trade hardcover, first printing). The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah was published June 8, 2004 by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, with the mass-market trade hardcover distributed by Simon & Schuster / Scribner at a first printing of 650,000 copies. This is the "major first release" the average collector means — the large-run trade edition, NOT the tiny signed/limited. · signed limited: Signed & numbered Limited Edition = 1,400 copies (slipcased, signed by Stephen King and Darrel Anderson). Separate Artist Edition = 3,500 copies (signed by Darrel Anderson only). These are the small signed/limited issues; the ~1,400 figure is likely the tiny count currently shown in the guide. accepted figure

First jacket price$30.00 (Upper right corner of the front dust-jacket flap. A price-clipped (corner-cut) flap hides this and reduces value.)

Board (panel) colorMatte black cloth over boards (full cloth binding)

Spine / center bindingBlack cloth spine stamped with bright gilt (gold) lettering; full-cloth (not quarter-bound), so spine matches the boards

Binding styleQuarto, full black cloth over boards, gilt-stamped spine. The signed Limited and Artist editions are higher-grade Smyth-sewn and slipcased; the trade is the standard Grant trade binding with illustrated dust jacket and decorative endpapers.

Topstain / endpapersDecorative/illustrated endpapers as part of the Darrel Anderson design package. Topstain color UNVERIFIED.

Where to buy marker-checked

Live AbeBooks listings, checked against the seller's own photos. ✓ confirmed = a photo shows the decisive first-printing marker; cover only = ask the seller for the copyright-page shot before buying.

cover only — verify$30Marie Bottini Bookseller$30.00 is the LISTING price (AbeBooks metadata), not a photographed jacket-flap price; jacket flap with printed $30.00 price is NOT shown in the photo cover only — verify$31The Cat's Tale Used Booksjacket price NOT shown in photo and NOT stated in description (markers expect $30.00 trade-first flap; unverifiable here). VERIFIED via two independen photos unclear$35Paul Johnson Fine Booksjacket price NOT verifiable — no jacket photo (listing has zero images). Listing sale price US$35.00.. DECISIVE: This listing has ZERO seller photos.

Dust jacket

Pictorial dust jacket featuring Darrel Anderson's digital/illustrative Dark Tower artwork; title and author lettering on front and spine. Interior carries ten full-color Anderson plates. Back panel and rear-flap carry series/publisher matter. Exact back-panel layout UNVERIFIED beyond Anderson authorship.

Art / design: Darrel Anderson (cover art + 10 full-color interior illustrations and jacket/endpaper design)

https://www.rarebookcellar.com/pages/books/154005/stephen-king/song-of-susannah

https://secure.grantbooks.com/books/dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah/

https://veryfinebooks.com/stephen-king-the-dark-tower-vi-song-of-susannah-donald-m-grant-signed-limited-edition-1344-of-1400-sealed/

Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyA 2004 Grant/Scribner-distributed modern title — Book-of-the-Month-style club issues are far less of a concern than for the 1970s-80s Doubleday Kings. If a club/remaindered copy exists, the tells are: NO price on the front flap (or "Book Club Edition" printed there), an absent or incomplete number line / missing "First Trade Edition" statement, thinner/cheaper paper and a smaller trim, and possibly a blind-stamp on the rear board. The authentic first trade carries BOTH "First Trade Edition" AND the full "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" line plus the $30.00 flap price.

Also watch for: Most common deceptions: (a) price-clipped jackets passed as fine — verify the $30.00 is intact; (b) later-printing trade copies (low number removed from the line) sold as firsts; (c) 'married' jackets — a fine jacket swapped onto a worn book or vice versa; (d) the signed Limited (1,400) vs Artist Edition (3,500) being conflated — confirm WHO signed (King+Anderson = the 1,400 numbered; Anderson only = the 3,500); (e) ex-library copies with stamps/pockets; (f) remainder marks on the bottom text-block edge on overstock trade copies. Confirm both the copyright statement and the full number line, not just the 2004 date.

Print run & scarcity

Edition structure for this title differs from a standard publisher split. Donald M. Grant was the FIRST-edition publisher for the later Dark Tower volumes and issued THREE editions of Song of Susannah simultaneously in 2004: (1) Limited signed/numbered = 1,400 copies; (2) Artist Edition = 3,500 copies; (3) Trade Hardcover = 650,000-copy first printing, distributed through Simon & Schuster / Scribner. So the "Grant vs Scribner" question is really one Grant publication with Scribner/S&S handling mass trade distribution — the trade hardcover copyright page reads "FIRST TRADE EDITION." The 650,000 figure is stated directly on Donald M. Grant's own product page and is corroborated by antiquarian-dealer descriptions. The book was a #1 bestseller (high-demand King title), consistent with a six-figure first printing. RECOMMENDATION: set the guide's first-printing field to ~650,000 (trade hardcover, Grant/Scribner-S&S, 2004), and keep the 1,400 signed/numbered (and 3,500 artist) figures only as a separate collector/limited-edition note. The current ~3,500 or ~1,400 value in the guide reflects a limited issue, not the major release.

First-state points & errata

No notorious errata/state change is recorded separating first-state from later-state first-trade copies of this title. Identification rests on the "First Trade Edition" statement + complete "1...2" number line. UNVERIFIED whether any minor text-state variants exist.

Limited & signed editions

Two Grant limiteds, both 2004, both slipcased and higher-grade than the trade: (1) Signed Limited Edition of 1,400 numbered copies, signed by Stephen King AND Darrel Anderson, in slipcase (the premier issue). (2) Artist Edition of 3,500 copies, signed by Darrel Anderson only. Both published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc.

Market value confirmed sales

$10–$40 (unsigned trade first, fine/fine)

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

Confirmed sales: eBay sold ~$950 — "Special Limited First Edition Signed" (King-signed #/1400), ~2023–24. Dealer (Donald M. Grant, signed limited #1344/1400, sealed in slipcase) firm-priced $750, VeryFineBooks, current/2024. eBay Best-Offer accepted (Artist Edition #/3500, Anderson-signed, shrink-wrapped) — final undisclosed, ~Jul 2024 (Anderson-only, the cheaper tier). AbeBooks dealer sale — unsigned First Trade Edition, fine/fine, unclipped $30 jacket, $100, Discovery Bay Old Books, current/2024.

Book-club edition (the trap): No true BOMC/book-club edition exists for the Grant first; the de-facto "trap copy" is the unsigned First Trade Edition (commonly mislisted as "the first edition") at ~$15–50 in worn/ex-library/clipped condition, plus the later Scribner mass-distribution copies and Artist Edition (#/3500, illustrator-only signature) ~$150–300 — a fraction of the King-signed #/1400. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

[Audit-corrected from $75-950: value is for a genuine UNSIGNED trade first in fine/fine; signed/limited copies excluded.] Condition/signature sensitivity is everything here. The unsigned First Trade Edition is genuinely common — fine/fine with an unclipped $30.00 jacket tops out around $100–150; clipped, ex-library, or jacket-faded copies collapse to $15–50. The real money is the King-SIGNED Limited #/1400 (slipcased): sealed/as-new ~$750–950, opened fine ~$650–800. THE SINGLE BIGGEST TRAP FOR THIS TITLE: the Artist Edition (#/3500) is routinely mislisted as "signed first edition" — but it carries ONLY illustrator Darrel Anderson's signature, NOT Stephen King's, and is worth roughly a third of the King-signed #/1400. To verify a true King-signed first, confirm (a) Donald M. Grant imprint, (b) numbered limitation page "X of 1400" with BOTH King and Anderson autographs (ink, not facsimile/auto-pen), and (c) original slipcase present. For the unsigned trade, confirm the copyright page states "FIRST TRADE EDITION" with the full number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 and an unclipped $30.00 jacket. Note: the generic "Doubleday gutter code / correct jacket price" King points do NOT apply — this is a Grant-published volume, not a Scribner/Viking first.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: Price $30.00 cross-confirmed by two sources (Discovery Bay/Abebooks first-edition listing stating "Not price clipped with a price of $30.00" and the earlier Abebooks search synthesis). Copyright statement "First Trade Edition" + full "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2" number line confirmed across Abebooks dealer listings and rarebookcellar. Binding (matte black cloth, gilt spine) and Darrel Anderson authorship + 10 color plates confirmed via Abebooks dealer descriptions. Limited sizes (1,400 King+Anderson numbered; 3,500 Anderson-only Artist) confirmed by publisher grantbooks.com and veryfinebooks listing #1,344 of 1,400. Note one early search returned a stray "$35" framing — that was the SEARCH QUERY echo, NOT a found price; all actual listings show $30.00.

confidence: High on the load-bearing points (publisher/year, "First Trade Edition" statement, full 1-10 number line, $30.00 front-flap price, black cloth/gilt binding, Darrel Anderson artist, 1,400 + 3,500 limited sizes) — each cross-confirmed across two or more dealer/reference listings. Medium/low only on cosmetic details (topstain color, exact back-panel layout), marked UNVERIFIED.← Back to all titles