Daninsky's Collection

[Theli]

I feel like we are hi-jacking Daninsky thread a bit, but it is a good subject for bibliophiles. I don't own the Folio edition yet, I do love the art though. I think Edward Kinsella's style is quite striking and suits the mood well (there's something elegant yet dark about it, like the Overlook). I also like the end papers, they were a minor stroke of genius in my mind. Simple but effective. I also like that each edition has it's own style of art, each artist stands on their own. I will say that the problem with Folio each of their regular print books are made the same, yet still in some ways lacking uniformity for shelf appeal. Their slipcases, though better than none, are also a bit disappointing.

[St. Troy]

It's all taste and this is only my opinion, but Folio Society's Shining left me completely flat (and I love the Folio Society; I own a few of their editions and have my eye on dozens more).

[St. Troy]

More of that SK interview, for anyone interested: http://www.liljas-library.com/showin...hp?id=36&gt%3B

[Theli]

Maybe it is King giving the fans what they want despite his misgivings?

I think that is more it than anything else. He's also quit signing books for PS, I imagine the exorbitant prices may have had something to do with it.

Sheesh...how do you prevent something like this from happening?

Especially with Potter's name tied to it, this could well have been the best s/l ever...

That said, Sub. Press's edition and CD's upcoming edition, and hell even Folio's edition are all tremendous renditions of the book.

[St. Troy]

For those interested in the CP The Shining prelims, check here:

http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/...ver-Seen/page5

and here:

http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/...ver-Seen/page7

Scroll down a bit.

Sheesh...how do you prevent something like this from happening?

[Tommy]

Maybe it is King giving the fans what they want despite his misgivings?

[St. Troy]

...I get where King was coming from, and I have read other opinions of his on limited editions (and hell he's pretty much stopped signed s/l editions altogether now) and I think he maybe targeted Jerad's work unfairly, as his was arguably the most over the top King limited edition. Perhaps his view on limited editions had slackened a bit afterwards.

The thing is, this antipathy of King's toward limited editions has not manifested elsewhere - he has gone right on approving these things, including the 2014 $4k PS Publishing edition of Carrie that (dollarwise at least) was much more "ohmigodelitist" or whatever than CP's SL, which (I believe) initially sold for under $1k. This obvious disconnect between King's statements and actions hints at an undisclosed rationale for avoiding CP, which stokes my curiosity, especially given that CP's first and only SK work, widely hailed as one of the best SK limiteds ever, may also be its last.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm calling King a liar or hypocrite, because I'm not; I believe he (and Jerad as well, for that matter) is entitled to keep the factors behind his decisions confidential if he likes.

[Theli]

I had never read that interview before. Thanks for posting it; completely unknown to me. I was also not aware that a CP edition of THE SHINING had ever been in the pipeline. Quite possibly before my time dealing with Centipede. But the stuff you posted here could certainly have had an impact. As I said, I'd never asked. It is probably important to bear in mind that Salem's Lot was put out in 2004, which was extremely early on in Centipede's lifetime as a press. I think it was only the second or third hardcover Jerad had ever done. His process was probably a bit rougher than it is nowadays.

That all said, I think the interview more or less clears up any mystery you may have had in your initial question. Straight from King's mouth, as it were...he refused to do any future work because he perceived Jerad to be too demanding as a publisher and he found the end product to be wasteful and ostentatious. I'm personally inclined to disagree, but I'm not King.

He actually started work on The Shining prelims, no actual book made but had some promotion materials. Very few copies of these in print. I'll do some digging and see if I can find some photos of it. Looked promising...

I get where King was coming from, and I have read other opinions of his on limited editions (and hell he's pretty much stopped signed s/l editions altogether now) and I think he maybe targeted Jerad's work unfairly, as his was arguably the most over the top King limited edition. Perhaps his view on limited editions had slackened a bit afterwards. Jerad on the other hand probably received the rejection rather sourly, as it was harsh, though I doubt he would say much about it publicly, and is just as happy to not work with King now.

Edit: For those interested in the CP The Shining prelims, check here:

http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/...ver-Seen/page5

and here:

http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/...ver-Seen/page7

Scroll down a bit.

[mhatchett]

Well, he is doing the film studies which are interesting in their own right.

[St. Troy]

...It just seems intellectually dishonest; King had been allowing limited editions for decades when he said that, and he hasn't stopped in the past ten years. If anything, number of King limited released per year has gone up significantly because so many of his books are hitting the 10/20/30 year anniversary.

...Complaining about limited editions in general rings hollow when there are literally tens of thousands of the things floating around out there.

THIS.

[Daninsky]

I had never read that interview before. Thanks for posting it; completely unknown to me. I was also not aware that a CP edition of THE SHINING had ever been in the pipeline. Quite possibly before my time dealing with Centipede. But the stuff you posted here could certainly have had an impact. As I said, I'd never asked. It is probably important to bear in mind that Salem's Lot was put out in 2004, which was extremely early on in Centipede's lifetime as a press. I think it was only the second or third hardcover Jerad had ever done. His process was probably a bit rougher than it is nowadays.

That all said, I think the interview more or less clears up any mystery you may have had in your initial question. Straight from King's mouth, as it were...he refused to do any future work because he perceived Jerad to be too demanding as a publisher and he found the end product to be wasteful and ostentatious. I'm personally inclined to disagree, but I'm not King.

[slayn666]

Being perfectly honest, I lost some respect for King after reading that quote some years ago. It just seems intellectually dishonest; King had been allowing limited editions for decades when he said that, and he hasn't stopped in the past ten years. If anything, number of King limited released per year has gone up significantly because so many of his books are hitting the 10/20/30 year anniversary.

If he didn't want to work with Jerad, he should have either said why, or said nothing at all. Complaining about limited editions in general rings hollow when there are literally tens of thousands of the things floating around out there.

[St. Troy]

Eh, I have not asked Jerad specifically about this, but what has led you to believe that the issue is that King is refusing to work with the publisher? Based on the the company's output and what I know of Jerad, I would be far more inclined to assume that Jerad just isn't trying to work on another King book. The horror market, small press especially, is pretty heavily saturated with King. Like...VERY saturated. Jerad specializes in very small, niche titles, usually ones that have been out of print for decades. The vast majority of the stuff he publishes is not currently being covered by any other publishers and hasn't been for years. He chose Salem's Lot very early on in the history of his press because SL is his absolute favorite King work, if not his favorite genre novel of all time.

Like I said, I haven't asked Jerad about it directly and I certainly haven't discussed it with King (to whom I have absolutely no avenue of communication), but I earnestly believe that the answer to your question is "Because Centipede Press simply isn't interested in publishing King novels." Unless you have information to the contrary?

After SL, Jerad attempted to do The Shining (as confirmed by SK in the interview quoted below). It certainly is possible that Jerad dropped the idea of publishing King after this rejection, and perhaps what you say about his focus on other title is correct (you know infinitely more about Jerad/CP than I), but my impression of small presses that work with horror is that they would never voluntarily stop publishing works of King altogether as King editions help finance the rest of what they do (given his popularity). None of which should be read as a criticism of CP or any small press, and I do not downplay how good Jerad is at what he does (this seems above question); the economics are what they are and survival in the business world is a difficult thing.

On to King's quote. Although King had written a glowing note to Jerad about SL, he later (January 2007) gave an interview in which he described that edition as being overkill:

I mean…the worst one in a way and I don’t…this guy is gonna read this and be so bummed. This guy Jared Walters did Salem’s Lot in a limited. He basically fucking wore me down because he would come back every six months or so and say, “Please, please, please, please” and I’m very vulnerable to that if people, I mean, if he’d come to me and said that he wanted to do a Dollar Baby I would say, “Yes” immediately but this guy wants to do this big huge book with this, I don’t know, incredible binding done in some endangered species or something and finally the books come out and people like Frank Darabont and other collectors just loved that book and he wants to do The Shining next and so far I’ve just told him, “No”. Because it’d be another book like Salem’s Lot. It’ll weigh twenty pounds, and people will put it on their shelf and look at it and they won’t actually read it.

King's comments here notwithstanding, we know he isn't truly opposed on principal to large heavy editions of his works (hello Cemetery Dance!); accordingly, the general murmurings I've heard have been that SK won't work with Jerad for some unknown reason.

However, and perhaps most importantly, since you (Daninsky) are actually in touch with Jerad, I need to make clear that my "wondering" post was not intended to stir anyone to actually ask him; at the least, we're poking into his business, at the most, we're stoking a painful fire. My comment was very much just that of an outsider wondering about an issue within a very specific niche of the entertainment world, much as two fans might discuss how loud the drums are on a U2 album or something, without ever thinking the comment might get back to the band. I occasionally throw this out there in case someone already has the answer, but I don't want to offend or bother Jerad for something that might be painful or embarrassing etc.

[Daninsky]

...which adds to the mystery for which we have no reasonable answer: just exactly why won't SK work with them (him) again???

Eh, I have not asked Jerad specifically about this, but what has led you to believe that the issue is that King is refusing to work with the publisher? Based on the the company's output and what I know of Jerad, I would be far more inclined to assume that Jerad just isn't trying to work on another King book. The horror market, small press especially, is pretty heavily saturated with King. Like...VERY saturated. Jerad specializes in very small, niche titles, usually ones that have been out of print for decades. The vast majority of the stuff he publishes is not currently being covered by any other publishers and hasn't been for years. He chose Salem's Lot very early on in the history of his press because SL is his absolute favorite King work, if not his favorite genre novel of all time.

Like I said, I haven't asked Jerad about it directly and I certainly haven't discussed it with King (to whom I have absolutely no avenue of communication), but I earnestly believe that the answer to your question is "Because Centipede Press simply isn't interested in publishing King novels." Unless you have information to the contrary?

[St. Troy]

...I'm half convinced Jerad is a wizard.

Although I don't own anything from CP, all evidence suggests that you are correct: every photo and description I've seen online (especially CP's Salem's Lot, with which I am obsessed), as well as just about every customer review (buyers don't merely like CP) - all seem to agree that CP is one of the very best out there, in the conversation as being as good as, or better than, any other.

...which adds to the mystery for which we have no reasonable answer: just exactly why won't SK work with them (him) again???