11 Scribes · All titles · Scribner Era (1998-present)

Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay Common pb original

Stephen King ("An Original Screenplay," with an introduction by the author)
1999 · Pocket Books (a division of Simon & Schuster), New York — TRADE PAPERBACK ORIGINAL. A concurrent/near-concurrent hardcover was issued only by the Book-of-the-Month Club (BOMC), NOT by a trade publisher.
First-edition cover of Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay
First-edition jacket

What it’s about

As a monstrous blizzard seals off the tiny island community of Little Tall Island, Maine, from the mainland, a stranger named Andre Linoge walks calmly into town and commits a brutal murder — then surrenders without resistance. Locked in a makeshift cell while the storm rages, the smiling outsider seems to know every secret, sin, and shameful truth the townsfolk have spent their lives hiding, and he makes it chillingly clear he wants something from them. As the snow piles up and the island's constable tries to hold his neighbors together, Linoge's simple, repeated demand forces the community toward an impossible choice.

Significance An original teleplay King wrote directly for television (not adapted from a novel), published as the screenplay with his introduction; it became the acclaimed 1999 ABC three-part miniseries and is set on Little Tall Island, the same Maine community as his novel "Dolores Claiborne."

Is this the true first?No. The true first edition / first printing is a Pocket Books TRADE PAPERBACK ORIGINAL (softcover). There is NO trade-publisher hardcover first edition. The only hardcover ever issued is a Book-of-the-Month Club (BOMC) edition — a book-club printing, not a collectible "first" — which the official Stephen King first-editions guide footnotes as "(BOMC released a hardcover edition)." A collector seeking the "first hardcover" will not find a genuine trade hardcover first; the BOMC hardcover is the only hardcover format and is club-grade.
Pocket Books trade paperback original, February 1999, ISBN-10 067103264X / ISBN-13 9780671032647, bearing "First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing Feb 1999" on the copyright page and the number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1." Subtitle "An Original Screenplay," with an introduction by the author. This softcover — NOT any hardcover — is the collectible true first.

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statementOn the copyright page: "First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing Feb 1999" (quoted verbatim from the official stephenking.com identifying-first-editions guide). This statement plus a complete descending number line ending in 1 identifies the true first printing.
Number line"10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page (per the official stephenking.com first-editions guide). Full descending line ending in "1" = first printing. Later printings drop low digits (a "Tenth Printing" copy is documented by Rare Book Cellar). Lowest number present = printing number; verify against the physical CP.
Gutter / printer codeFor the BOMC hardcover: Book-of-the-Month Club editions are normally identified by a small blind-stamp (embossed dot/square/maple-leaf) on the lower rear board/jacket and frequently a gutter code (small printed code on a lower page), but the SPECIFIC gutter code for this title is UNVERIFIED in sources consulted. The trade-paperback first has no BOMC gutter code.
First printing — copiesNot publicly disclosed
First jacket price$15.00 US (a wrap/cover price — trade-paperback original, no dust jacket). Printed on the rear wrapper. Cross-checked across two independent sources: the official stephenking.com identifying-first-editions guide ($15.00) and a second WebSearch summary of King-collector pricing data (also $15.00). The earlier-floated $16.00/$16.95 figures are NOT correct for this title. (Printed on the lower rear wrapper (back cover) of the trade paperback, near/above the barcode (Canadian price alongside, marked "US/CAN"). There is no dust jacket — the price is on the softcover itself.)
Board (panel) colorN/A — the true first is a trade paperback (pictorial wrappers, no boards). For the BOMC hardcover only: board/cloth color not reliably documented in dealer listings consulted — UNVERIFIED.
Spine / center bindingN/A for the trade-paperback first (pictorial wrapper spine). BOMC hardcover spine color UNVERIFIED in sources consulted.
Binding stylePerfect-bound trade paperback (large-format softcover) with pictorial/photographic wrappers. The only hardcover (BOMC) is case-bound with a dust jacket; specific BOMC binding cloth UNVERIFIED.
Topstain / endpapersNone — the trade paperback has no top-stain and no endpapers. BOMC hardcover endpapers/top-stain UNVERIFIED.

Dust jacket

Trade-paperback pictorial wrappers tied to the 1999 ABC miniseries (stormy Little Tall Island / coastal-Maine imagery); contains photographs from the TV production inside. Title "Storm of the Century" with subtitle "An Original Screenplay" and "Stephen King." No dust jacket (softcover). The BOMC hardcover carries a similar pictorial dust jacket, typically with NO printed price — though one UK dealer copy was described as in "like unclipped wrapper," so BOMC jacket-price state can vary; UNVERIFIED.

Art / design: UNVERIFIED. The cover/wrapper uses TV-miniseries promotional/production imagery (Little Tall Island storm theme); no specific jacket designer or photographer credit confirmed in sources consulted. Treat any attribution as unconfirmed.

reference photohttps://www.amazon.com/Storm-Century-Screenplay-Stephen-King/dp/067103264X (Pocket Books TPB original cover)reference photohttps://www.ebay.com/itm/277589131030 (First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing copy)reference photohttps://www.biblio.com/book/storm-century-stephen-king/d/1544071475 (BOMC 1999 hardcover with dust jacket)
Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyUnusual title: there is NO trade-publisher hardcover, so the hardcover IS the book-club edition. Tells for the BOMC hardcover: (1) blind-stamp (embossed indentation) on the rear board near the lower spine; (2) typically NO price printed on the dust jacket (price-clipped look from the start), though some surface "unclipped" — verify; (3) ISBN 0965796930 / 9780965796934 (a BOMC-assigned ISBN, distinct from the Pocket ISBN); (4) no Pocket Books copyright-page printing statement and no descending number line ending in 1; (5) generally lighter board/jacket stock than trade hardcovers. The genuine collectible first is instead the SOFTCOVER bearing "First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing Feb 1999."

Also watch for: (1) Sellers mislabeling the BOMC hardcover as a "first edition hardcover" — it is a book-club edition, NOT a trade first. (2) Later TPB printings (number line missing the "1," or "Tenth Printing" etc.) sold as firsts — check the copyright page for "First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing Feb 1999" AND a number line ending in 1. (3) Price-clipped or facsimile jackets on BOMC copies passed off as trade hardcover jackets. (4) Autograph/signature fakes — King signatures are heavily forged; require reputable provenance/COA. (5) Confusing this with later mass-market or reissue printings. Authenticate via the exact CP statement and the $15.00 wrapper price.

Print run & scarcity

Issued to coincide with the three-part ABC miniseries (Feb 1999); large commercial TPB run. A "First Edition; Tenth Printing" copy is documented (Rare Book Cellar), confirming the first edition went through many printings — abundance keeps collectibility/value modest. The BOMC hardcover was printed continuously, so hardcover scarcity is low.

First-state points & errata

(1) Copyright-page statement "First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing Feb 1999." (2) Number line present and ending in "1." (3) Pictorial wrappers (trade-paperback original — no hardcover boards/jacket on the true first). (4) ISBN 067103264X / 9780671032647 printed. (5) Cover price $15.00 (US) present on the rear wrapper. (6) Subtitle "An Original Screenplay" and author's introduction present. Trim ~6.1 x 9¼ x 1". Any later printing (number line missing the 1) or the BOMC hardcover is NOT first state.

Limited & signed editions

No signed/numbered limited edition of this title is documented (unlike many King novels, there was no Donald M. Grant/Subterranean lettered or limited issue). The only format variants are: (a) the Pocket Books trade-paperback original (the true first) and (b) the BOMC hardcover. Any "limited" claim: UNVERIFIED — treat with suspicion.

Market value estimate

~$25–$60

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

No confirmed sale found, so this is rated at no less than its original jacket price — a true first/first should hold at least retail in near-fine/fine condition. Soft estimate from dealer listings (treat as approximate): $25–60 (true first, trade paperback original, number line to "1", unread/As-New) — this is a modern mass-market title, not a four-figure collectible

Book-club edition (the trap): $15–35. The Book-of-the-Month Club HARDCOVER (ISBN 0965796930) is the trap — it is the ONLY hardcover and is a club edition, NOT a true first; despite "looking" more collectible than a paperback it carries no number line, has a blind-stamp/BOMC dot on the rear board, and a clipped (no-price) jacket. Even Fine/Fine it tops out ~$35–68 asking and sells for less. Do not pay a hardcover premium. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

Condition sensitivity is moderate: as a trade paperback, spine creasing, cover curl, and reading wear crater value — only truly As-New/unread copies reach the high end. Signed/inscribed is the only real premium (King signatures on this title plausibly $150–400+ if authenticated, but unsigned is a sub-$60 book). THE single biggest discriminator for THIS title: the true first is the POCKET BOOKS TRADE PAPERBACK (ISBN 067103264X) with a full number line ending in "1" — NOT the BOMC hardcover (ISBN 0965796930). The prompt's "Doubleday gutter code" point does NOT apply here (King never released a Doubleday or trade hardcover of this title; the only hardcover is the book club edition). Reject ex-library, clipped, married-jacket, and any hardcover-as-"first" listings.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: PRIMARY SOURCE: official stephenking.com "Identifying First Editions" guide (PDF) — entry reads: "The Storm of the Century | 1999 | Pocket Books (BOMC) | 6.1 x 9¼ x 1\" | $15.00 | 'First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing Feb 1999' on CP / '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on CP / (BOMC released a hardcover edition)." Format-as-TPB-first confirmed by stephenkingcollector.com forum ("Storm of the Century was first published as a trade (large-sized) paperback"; hardcover = BOMC, continuously printed). ISBNs: Pocket 067103264X / 9780671032647; BOMC 0965796930 / 9780965796934. Page count 376 (Open Library + eBay TPB listing); one secondary summary said 400 — treat 376 as authoritative. Cover price $15.00 cross-checked across TWO sources. Jacket artist, BOMC board/spine color, exact gutter code, and first-print copy count remain UNVERIFIED.

confidence: High on the core points (format = Pocket Books trade-paperback original; NOT a hardcover first; copyright-page statement 'First Pocket Books Trade Paperback Printing Feb 1999'; number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'; $15.00 cover price cross-checked x2; only hardcover is BOMC). Medium/Low on secondary details (jacket artist, BOMC board/spine color, exact gutter code, first-print copy count) — marked UNVERIFIED.← Back to all titles