Richard Laymon First Editions

• The Cellar — 1980 · Warner BooksWarner Books mass-market paperback original (254 pp, ISBN 0-446-92246-3); the copyright page states First Printing: January, 1980. This was Laymon's first novel and the first Beast House book. As a paperback original there is no printed number line in the modern sense; identification rests on the stated January 1980 first printing wording and the correct Warner catalog/ISBN, with the price printed on the front…. The US Warner paperback original (January 1980) is the true first. New English Library issued the UK edition later in 1980, also as a paperback (224 pp, ISBN 0-450-04927-2), not a hardcover; the first hardcover editions came much later from specialty presses. N/A (paperback original); no book-club edition. Beware later Warner printings whose copyright page no longer reads First Printing: January, 1980.
• The Woods Are Dark — 1981 · Warner BooksWarner Books paperback original (ISBN 0-446-90518-6) with Warner first-printing statement on the copyright page. The Warner text was heavily cut, with roughly fifty pages removed; the restored full text appeared in 2008 from Cemetery Dance (hardcover) and Leisure (paperback). The 1981 Warner paperback original is the true first; the 2008 restored and uncut edition is a first-thus, not the first edition. N/A (paperback original).
• Out Are the Lights — 1982 · New English LibraryNew English Library (Sevenoaks, Kent) paperback original, 1982, ISBN 0-450-05496-9 (9780450054969), a slim volume of roughly 208 pages in an 18 cm mass-market format. As a paperback original there is no number line or hardcover state to reconcile; the first-issue points are the NEL imprint, the 1982 date, and the original ISBN and cover art on an unclipped wrapper. The first US edition is the Warner Books (New…. The 1982 UK New English Library paperback is the true first; the US Warner Books paperback followed in 1983 with its own ISBN. The first hardcover appeared only later from Headline (UK), 1993, an expanded issue that added short stories, so any hardcover is a much later state and not the first edition of the text. N/A (paperback original); there is no book-club edition, and the only hardcover is the later expanded Headline printing rather than a first-edition club issue.
• Night Show — 1984 · New English LibraryNew English Library (UK) paperback original, 1984. The first US edition is the Tor paperback of January 1986. The novel did not appear in hardcover until the much later Dark Regions Press definitive edition. The 1984 UK New English Library paperback is the true first; the US Tor paperback original followed in 1986. N/A (paperback original).
• Beware! — 1985 · New English LibraryNew English Library (UK) paperback original, 1985. There is no 1985 hardcover; the first hardcover edition came from Kinnell (UK) in 1992. First printing carries the NEL 1985 first-publication statement with no later reprint dates listed. The NEL UK paperback original is the true first. The North American Paper Jacks paperback and the 1992 Kinnell UK hardcover both came later. A paperback original, so book club hardcovers are not a concern. Do not mistake the 1992 Kinnell hardcover for the first edition.
• Allhallow's Eve — 1986 · New English LibraryNew English Library (UK) paperback original. Bibliographic records and dealer catalogues date the NEL first edition to 1986, though a 1985 date (from the copyright) is often cited. There is no 1985 or 1986 hardcover; the first hardcover was Kinnell (UK) in 1992. The NEL UK paperback original is the true first; later editions include the 1992 Kinnell UK hardcover and subsequent Headline and US reprints. A paperback original, so book club hardcovers are not a concern. Do not mistake the 1992 Kinnell hardcover for the first edition.
• The Beast House — 1986 · New English LibraryNew English Library (UK) mass-market paperback original (ISBN 0450393534), published February 1986. Second book in the Beast House Chronicles, following The Cellar. No hardcover was issued at first publication. The NEL UK paperback original of February 1986 is the true first. A US PaperJacks paperback followed in 1987 and a US Onyx paperback later; any hardcover is a much later reissue. A paperback original, so book-club hardcovers are not a concern; a first is the NEL February 1986 issue bearing ISBN 0450393534. The 1987 PaperJacks and later Onyx US paperbacks, and any hardcover, are later editions.
• Resurrection Dreams — 1988 · W.H. AllenW.H. Allen (London) hardcover first edition, 1988; copyright page states first publication in Great Britain in 1988 by W.H. Allen with no later printings listed. The W.H. Allen UK hardcover is the true first; the US Onyx paperback followed in 1989. No book club edition is commonly reported; confirm the W.H. Allen imprint and the 1988 first-publication statement with a priced jacket.
• Funland — 1989 · W.H. AllenW.H. Allen (London) hardcover first edition, 1989; ISBN 0491034490 / 9780491034494. The copyright page states first publication in Great Britain in 1989 by W.H. Allen and Co. The first-state dust jacket should retain its printed cover price and be unclipped. This UK hardcover was a Bram Stoker Award nominee. The W.H. Allen UK hardcover is the true first; the US Onyx paperback followed in 1990, and Headline only reprinted the title later. No book club edition is commonly reported; confirm the W.H. Allen imprint and the 1989 first-publication statement, and do not mistake later Headline reissues for the first.
• The Stake — 1990 · HeadlineHeadline (London) hardcover first edition, 1990; the copyright page carries a complete descending number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, with the 1 present marking the first printing. Bound in red boards with black lettering to the spine, issued in a pictorial dust jacket. A first-issue jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap; the amount is not stated here, but its presence and lack of any…. The Headline UK hardcover is the true first (1990); the US St. Martin's Press hardcover, in its own illustrated jacket, followed in 1991. No UK book-club issue is commonly reported; confirm the Headline imprint and the complete descending number line ending in 1, and that the printed jacket price is present and unaltered.
• Darkness, Tell Us — 1991 · HeadlineLondon: Headline, 1991. Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1991 by Headline Book Publishing PLC, with a complete number line running down to 1. ISBN 0747204179. The UK Headline hardcover is the true first; the US edition appeared only years later as a Leisure paperback. UK book club (BCA) reprints of Laymon's Headline titles exist: they carry a BCA imprint rather than the Headline ISBN and number line, and the jacket lacks a printed price.
• One Rainy Night — 1991 · HeadlineLondon: Headline, 1991. Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1991 by Headline Book Publishing PLC, with a complete number line running down to 1. ISBN 0747204071. The UK Headline hardcover is the true first; Laymon had no US hardcover market at this time and the US edition appeared only years later as a Leisure paperback. UK book club (BCA) reprints of Laymon's Headline titles exist: they carry a BCA imprint rather than the Headline ISBN and number line, and the jacket lacks a printed price.
• Blood Games — 1992 · HeadlineLondon: Headline, 1992. Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1992 by Headline Book Publishing PLC, with a complete number line running down to 1. ISBN 0747204543. The UK Headline hardcover is the true first; the US edition appeared only years later as a Leisure paperback. UK book club (BCA) reprints of Laymon's Headline titles exist: they carry a BCA imprint rather than the Headline ISBN and number line, and the jacket lacks a printed price.
• Endless Night — 1993 · HeadlineLondon: Headline, 1993. Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1993 by Headline Book Publishing PLC, with a complete number line running down to 1. ISBN 0747209332. Jacket art by Steve Crisp. The UK Headline hardcover is the true first; the US edition appeared only years later as a Leisure paperback. A BCA book club edition of this title exists: it carries a BCA imprint rather than the Headline ISBN and number line, and its jacket lacks a printed price.
• In the Dark — 1994 · HeadlineLondon: Headline, 1994. Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1994 by Headline Book Publishing PLC, with a complete number line running down to 1. ISBN 0747209944. Jacket art by Steve Crisp. The UK Headline hardcover is the true first; the US edition appeared only years later as a Leisure paperback. UK book club (BCA) reprints of Laymon's Headline titles exist: they carry a BCA imprint rather than the Headline ISBN and number line, and the jacket lacks a printed price.
• Island — 1995 · HeadlineHeadline hardcover first edition, London, published 13 July 1995, running to 346 pages; the first-issue dust jacket carries art by Steve Crisp and should retain its printed price. A first printing shows a complete descending number line. The UK Headline hardcover is the true first; Laymon's mid-1990s novels appeared in Britain first, well ahead of any US publication. Book-club and later printings lack the complete number line; a first printing shows the full line ending in 1 with the jacket price intact.
• Quake — 1995 · HeadlineLondon: Headline, 1995. Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Headline Book Publishing PLC, with a complete 10-to-1 number line; first printings show the full run ending in 1. Black boards with silver spine lettering. ISBN 0747211361. Jacket art by Steve Crisp. The UK Headline hardcover is the true first; the US edition appeared only years later as a Leisure paperback. A BCA book club edition of this title exists: it carries a BCA imprint rather than the Headline ISBN and number line, and its jacket lacks a printed price.
• Bite — 1996 · HeadlineHeadline, London, 1996 hardcover first British edition; first printing carries a full number line; jacket art by Steve Crisp. UK Headline hardcover is the true first; US editions followed later. Book club and reprint copies lack the full number line; require the complete line and priced jacket.
• Body Rides — 1996 · HeadlineLondon: Headline, 1996. First edition, first printing, showing the full number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 on the copyright page. Bound in black cloth (boards) with silver gilt stamping to the spine, 384 pp; cover art by Steve Crisp. The first-issue jacket should retain the printed price to the front flap. The UK Headline hardcover of 1996 is the true first edition; there is no earlier printing (the author's earlier work sometimes appeared under the pseudonym Richard Kelley, but Body Rides was issued under his own name). Reprint and later-printing copies show a number line that no longer begins with 1; require the complete 1-to-10 line and a jacket retaining the printed price.
• The Midnight Tour — 1998 · HeadlineHeadline (Headline Feature), London, 1998 hardcover first edition (ISBN 0-7472-2050-6), the first printing carrying a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. Bound in black boards with the spine lettered in gilt, issued in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed jacket price. Third book in the Beast House Chronicles. The UK Headline hardcover is generally treated as the true first. In the US the same year Cemetery Dance issued signed limited editions with new art by Alan M. Clark: a limitation of 1,000 signed and numbered copies and a traycased edition of 52 signed and lettered copies, each signed by both Richard Laymon and Alan M. Clark. Book-club and reprint copies lack the complete number line descending to 1. The Cemetery Dance limiteds are identified by their signed limitation page (numbered to 1,000 or lettered to 52) and the Alan M. Clark illustrations, which the Headline trade edition does not carry.
• Come Out Tonight — 1999 · Cemetery DanceCemetery Dance Publications signed limited hardcover first edition, 1999, limited to 1,250 copies with every copy signed by Laymon on the limitation page. Full-color dust jacket art by Vince Natale and illustrated endpapers by Earl Geier, with the signed and numbered limitation leaf serving as the identifying first-state point. The 1999 Cemetery Dance limited is the true first, and the publisher describes it as such. The UK Headline edition followed in 2000, and the Leisure US mass-market paperback came later still. N/A; small-press limited identified by the signed and numbered limitation page (one of 1,250), the Natale jacket, and the Geier endpapers. No book-club edition.
• The Travelling Vampire Show — 2000 · Cemetery DanceCemetery Dance Publications signed limited hardcover first edition, 2000; 1,000 signed and numbered copies bound in navy cloth with silver lettering to the spine, with blue endpapers and pastedowns, signed by Laymon on the limitation page, issued in a priced dust jacket. A separate deluxe issue comprises 26 signed and lettered copies bound in leather and housed in a traycase. Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for…. The Cemetery Dance limited (published under the Cemetery Dance title 'The Traveling Vampire Show') is the true first; the Leisure US mass-market paperback followed in 2001 as the first widely distributed trade edition. N/A; small-press limited identified by its signed and numbered (or lettered) limitation page, with no book club edition.
• Night in the Lonesome October — 2001 · HeadlineUK Headline hardcover in dust jacket is the true first edition, published October 2001, posthumously. Points: Headline imprint on title page, 2001 date, no later-printing statement. The US Leisure mass-market paperback did not appear until September 2002 and is a later edition, not the first. The original record's premise is wrong: the Leisure US paperback is not the first. The true first is the UK Headline hardcover of 2001; the Leisure US PBO followed in September 2002. N/A for the Headline hardcover true first. The 2002 Leisure paperback is a later reprint edition.

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