What's the first Stephen King blurb for another author?
Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:52 pm
SK's name and blurbs have been used to sell a lot of books by other authors over the years. His blurb for volume one of Clive Barker's Books of Blood in the mid-80s--"I have seen the future of horror . . . and it is named Clive Barker"--must be one of the most well-known blurbs in all of modern publishing.
What was the first book to feature a blurb by Stephen King? I'd like to know the first SK blurb on a front cover, specifically, but if that instance was preceded by an SK blurb on the rear cover or on one of the inside pages, I'd like to know that, too.
I'll start the speculation by offering an early example: the first paperback edition of John Farris's horror novel All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By from Popular Library, 1977. SK's blurb is at the top of the front cover: "'America's premier novelist of terror'--Stephen King, author of Carrie and The Shining." I'm not sure when exactly this paperback was published. The copyright date of 1977 is the only date provided on the copyright page, with no reference to a month, and 1977 is the same copyright and publication date for the hardcover. The paperback may have been published in 1978. Note that the hardcover does NOT feature SK's blurb (despite including blurbs from other authors and publications on the rear cover).
Does anyone know of a book prior to 1978 with an SK blurb?
What was the first book to feature a blurb by Stephen King? I'd like to know the first SK blurb on a front cover, specifically, but if that instance was preceded by an SK blurb on the rear cover or on one of the inside pages, I'd like to know that, too.
I'll start the speculation by offering an early example: the first paperback edition of John Farris's horror novel All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By from Popular Library, 1977. SK's blurb is at the top of the front cover: "'America's premier novelist of terror'--Stephen King, author of Carrie and The Shining." I'm not sure when exactly this paperback was published. The copyright date of 1977 is the only date provided on the copyright page, with no reference to a month, and 1977 is the same copyright and publication date for the hardcover. The paperback may have been published in 1978. Note that the hardcover does NOT feature SK's blurb (despite including blurbs from other authors and publications on the rear cover).
Does anyone know of a book prior to 1978 with an SK blurb?