13 Jack Ketchum first editions are documented on this shelf, from Off Season (1981) to Old Flames (2008) across 8 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Jack Ketchum title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Jack Ketchum copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- Off Season — 1981 · BallantineBallantine mass-market paperback original, 1981 (Ballantine 29427); copyright page carries Ballantine's dated First Edition statement rather than a modern number line. Ketchum's first novel; Ballantine required cuts to the text and quickly withdrew support after release, so first-printing copies are scarce. A special advance edition was distributed to booksellers in early 1981. The 1981 Ballantine paperback original is the true first; the unexpurgated text with Ketchum's restored ending first appeared from Overlook Connection Press in 1999 and is a first thus. Not applicable; issued only as a mass-market paperback original.
- Hide and Seek — 1984 · BallantineBallantine mass-market paperback original, 1984, ISBN 0345312376 (978-0345312372), 194 pp. Copyright page states 'First Edition' dated 1984 with no later printings listed; the price is printed on the cover as issued. The Ballantine PBO is the true first; later limited hardcovers (Overlook Connection, Gauntlet, Cemetery Dance) are first-thus only. N/A (paperback original).
- Cover — 1987 · Warner BooksWarner Books paperback original (ISBN 0446302457 / 9780446302456), 1987; first printing stated on the copyright page. As a mass-market paperback original, the first printing shows no later-printing statement. The 1987 Warner Books paperback original is the true first edition; it was the first published form of the novel, Ketchum's third. The later signed limited hardcovers (Gauntlet Press, Dark Regions) are the first hardcover appearances and are first-thus only, postdating the Warner PBO. N/A (paperback original). The Gauntlet Press hardcover is explicitly presented as the first hardcover edition, not the first edition of the text.
- She Wakes — 1989 · BerkleyBerkley paperback original, 1989 (ISBN 0425114538 / 0-425-11453-7). A mass-market softcover with no hardcover priced above it; the copyright-page printing history should show the Berkley edition as the sole printing, with the printed cover price present on the front cover. This is Ketchum's only supernatural novel (businessman Jordan Chase and the tomb in Greece), which makes the true PBO the sought first…. The 1989 Berkley PBO is the true first. Later reissues (including the limited hardcover / Cemetery Dance line) print a revised text and are first-thus only, not the first appearance. N/A (paperback original; no book-club edition).
- The Girl Next Door — 1989 · Warner BooksWarner Books mass-market paperback original, 1989 (ISBN 0446349097 / 9780446349093). First printing stated on the copyright page with the full descending number line. The first-issue wrapper carries the original photographic 'cheerleader' cover art; as a paperback original there is no dust jacket, and the printed cover price should be present at the top corner. The 1989 Warner PBO is the true first. The later collectible hardcover is the Overlook Connection Press edition, which adds a long Stephen King introduction and jacket/interior art by Neal McPheeters and was issued in signed limited and lettered states; it is first-thus only. N/A (paperback original).
- Joyride (Road Kill) — 1994 · HeadlineTrue first is the UK Headline hardcover, London, June 1994, under the title Road Kill (ISBN 0747210667). The US edition is the Berkley paperback Joyride, February 1995 (ISBN 0425145662), a paperback original in the US. UK Headline hardcover Road Kill (1994) precedes the US Berkley paperback Joyride (1995). Joyride is the US title and Road Kill the UK title, the reverse of what is often assumed. Later limited hardcover reissues are first-thus only. No book club edition reported; distinguish the 1994 UK trade hardcover from later US limited hardcover reissues.
- Red — 1995 · HeadlineHeadline (UK) first edition hardcover, 1995 (ISBN 0-7472-1467-0), with a full number line on the copyright page and the printed price on the jacket front flap. The first US hardcover was the Overlook Connection Press edition of 2002 (ISBN 1-892950-47-5), a signed limited issue of about 500 copies illustrated by Neal McPheeters, which followed the UK edition by seven years. The UK Headline hardcover of 1995 is the true first. The US Overlook Connection Press hardcover of 2002, its accompanying trade paperback, and other limited issues are all first-thus, not the true first. No significant book club issue is recorded; distinguish the 1995 Headline hardcover first from the later Overlook Connection editions and from UK and US paperback reprints.
- Stranglehold (Only Child) — 1995 · HeadlineTrue first is the UK Headline hardcover, London 1995, under Ketchum's original title Only Child (ISBN 0747211671). The US first is the Berkley paperback original Stranglehold, September 1995 (ISBN 0425149463). No Dutton hardcover exists. UK Headline hardcover Only Child (1995) precedes the US Berkley paperback Stranglehold (September 1995); Berkley retitled the book for the US market. Later US reissues restored the title Only Child. No book club edition reported; the US first is a paperback original, so any US hardcover is a later limited reissue.
- Ladies' Night — 1997 · Silver Salamander PressSilver Salamander Press first edition, 1997, edited by John Pelan; issued in a signed limited hardcover and a signed trade paperback state. An early-written novel first published here after years unpublished. The Silver Salamander Press edition of 1997 is the first publication; the signed limited hardcover is the collectible state. Later reissues from other presses are first-thus. N/A; small-press edition with no book club issue.
- Right to Life — 1998 · Cemetery Dance PublicationsCemetery Dance Publications first edition, 1998, in the Cemetery Dance Novella Series; signed limited edition of 450 numbered copies. Gauntlet Press issued a later trade paperback (2002) adding two previously unpublished stories. The Cemetery Dance signed limited of 450 copies is the true first; the Gauntlet trade paperback is a later, expanded first-thus. N/A; limited-press edition with no book club issue.
- The Lost — 2001 · LeisureLeisure (Dorchester) mass-market paperback original, dated 2001, first printing carrying a full number line on the copyright page (ISBN 0-8439-4876-0 / 9780843948769). Cemetery Dance also issued the title in hardcover in 2001 in two states: a signed limited edition of 1,500 copies (ISBN 1-58767-021-6 / 9781587670213, jacket art by Mothertongue) and a deluxe traycased lettered edition of 52 leather-bound copies…. Both the Leisure paperback and the Cemetery Dance hardcover appeared in 2001; several source listings suggest the Cemetery Dance hardcover may have preceded the Leisure paperback, but firm precedence between the two 2001 issues is not established. The Leisure paperback original is commonly cited as the first edition, while the Cemetery Dance signed limited (and the 52-copy lettered state) is the collector's issue. N/A (paperback original).
- Peaceable Kingdom — 2003 · Subterranean Press / LeisureSubterranean Press signed limited hardcover, January 2003, limited to 600 numbered copies, preceded the Leisure mass-market paperback of August 2003. Story collection containing the Bram Stoker Award-winning stories The Box and Gone. The Subterranean Press signed limited of 600 numbered copies is the true first; the Leisure paperback is the first trade edition. N/A; limited-press first with no book club issue.
- Old Flames — 2008 · LeisureLeisure mass-market paperback original, 2008; first printing with full number line and includes the bonus novella Right to Life. Cemetery Dance issued a signed limited hardcover of 1,000 copies the same year. The Leisure paperback original is generally treated as the first edition; the Cemetery Dance signed limited hardcover of 1,000 copies is the same-year collectible issue. N/A (paperback original).
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