Cemetery Dance Publications Announcement Scheduled For April 7, 2014

[subie09lega]

.....and another website that will also be announcing the news.....
Brian

Hmmmm, I remember a site that simultaneously announced another event last year......interesting, very interesting.

[TerryE]

My official guess is a limited edition of the original release of The Stand.

If this is the case I think we would have Mr. Boone to thank, since he has been so vocal about the merits of the original edit. I don't think it would be though, since SK like his uncut version better.

No matter what is being released, CD now has tons of great ideas for future projects! I wonder if that is part of the intent of conversations like this. A few months ago, Rich asked all of his Facebook friends what their favorite King short story was. I think/hope that was fishing for ideas for SoD 3.

[Joe315]

If this is the case I think we would have Mr. Boone to thank, since he has been so vocal about the merits of the original edit. I don't think it would be though, since SK like his uncut version better.

I had heard that. I just really want The Stand to happen.

[skyofcrack]

I had heard that. I just really want The Stand to happen.

I prefer the original The Stand mainly because I don't like all the modern references or the changed dates in the unexpergated edition. I like the added material, of course.

I don't have the limited edition from Doubleday but I don't want to start seeing anniversary editions of all of King's books. It's hard enough to keep up with all the new stuff.

[bookworm 1]

Me to. That is why I picked it for my official guess and specified cut version. I just read it this year and while I do like the uncut version better. The original cut version of The Stand was not a bad read. Really enjoyed it.

[T-Dogz_AK47]

A vision of the future...

Just before the Brian announced the start of this contest, I posted the following statement together with some very reasoned arguments...

I personally think it's a toss up between Firestarter and The Dead Zone at this point.

Having spent the best part of the week undertaking intense research and reading both Firestarter and The Dead Zone in their entirety, I am now ready to wade into the breach and announce my own "official guess"....

For the following reasons, I predict that the book to be announced by CD on Monday 7th April 2014 will be a super deluxe Graphic Novel adaptation 35th Anniversary Edition of The Dead Zone:

"There is a Big Cemetery Dance announcement coming"....

When it comes to CD announcements, you cannot get bigger than Stephen King. However, I am certain that the "Big" CD announcement mentioned in the teaser advert is not just about who the author is, it is also a hint at the size of the book itself. Producing a full length super deluxe graphic novel adaptation of The Dead Zone in the same 9 x 12 fashion as the absolutely spectacular The Secretary of Dreams, will make the scale of the book "shock and awe" in size.


The importance of the project

The teaser advert mentions that "This will probably be one of our most important projects in a very long time." Careful research into The Dead Zone reveals just how important it is - both literary and financially - to Stephen King, his "constant readers" and the publishing world in general...

1. The Dead Zone was Stephen King’s first number one bestseller on both the hardcover and paperback charts - Outshining (pun intended) The Shining, The Stand, Salem's Lot and Carrie. Its success spoke to both the strength of the book’s narrative and King’s growing reputation as a writer. Even today, The Dead Zone remains as one of the best books with which to introduce a new reader to Stephen King. Its depth of character, tight plotting, and masterful balance of pace and tone make it as approachable as it is absorbing.

2 . The release of The Dead Zone heralded Stephen King's departure away from Doubleday, as it was his his first book produced by his new publisher; New American Library. They were responsible for turning Stephen King into the superstar that he is today. In turn, Stephen King considered The Dead Zone a new beginning to his career, saying that the books that came out after The Stand were “different books than what went before.”

3. Stephen King considered The Dead Zone to be his best and most important book to-date. In an interview, Stephen King said “The best I’ve done so far is The Dead Zone because it’s a real novel. It’s very complex. There’s an actual story. Most of my fictions are simply situations that are allowed to develop themselves. That one has a nice layered texture, a thematic structure that underlies it, and it works on most levels.”

4. On a critical level, The Dead Zone is highly acclaimed and remains one of Stephen King's true "heavyweight" novels. The 11 Essential Stephen King books list created by Richard Thomas, ranks The Dead Zone as #4, just below IT, The Shining and The Stand (all of which have already had a deluxe S/L edition produced). Whilst the list created by Stephen King critic Bryant Burnette on his website blog, ranks The Dead Zone as #3, just below IT and Different Seasons.

Richard Thomas's 11 Essential Stephen King books:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/richardthoma...l-stephen-king

Bryant Burnette's Worst to Best: Stephen King books (revised 2013 edition):
http://thetruthinsidethelie.blogspot...ing-books.html

Brian stated that the upcoming announcement "will probably be one of our most important projects in a very long time." A graphic novel adaptation of The Dead Zone produced in the same fashion as The Secretary of Dreams in style (the last edition being published in 2010), would fit with Brian's statement about being one of the most important projects in a very long time. A regular Stephen king novel announcement - although BIG news in itself, would not match with Brian's "in a very long time" statement considering Doctor Sleep was published only last fall.


The fire in the teaser advert

The fire in the teaser advert is placed there deliberately and for a reason. It is no "red herring." After reading The Dead Zone in its entirety, I can confirm that "fire" is very much at the heart of many of the central plot devices throughout the novel...

Spoiler!

1. During Johnny's car crash "A huge gout of flame stroked its way up into the night."

2. Greg Stillson is introduced thusly: "The travelling salesman crisscrossed Nebraska and Iowa under the burning sun"...

3. When Johnny holds the photograph of Dr Weizak's mother, he has a vision of the Polish city on fire during World War 2.

4. During physiotherapy, Johnny has a vision and warns the nurse that her house is burning down.

5. Greg Stillson attacks a teenager with a broken bottle and sets his T-shirt on fire.

6. Whilst working as a private tutor, Johnny gets Chuck to read passage from the book, Fire Brain by Max Brand.

7. Johnny remembers a case study of a boy who overcame his stutter during a huge fire in a cinema.

8. Johnny has a vision of Chuck's graduation party at Cathy's being struck by lightning and burning down.

9. Whilst attending the political rally and meeting Greg Stillson, Johnny has a vision of Stillson starting a huge nuclear conflict.

10. When purchasing the rifle with which to shoot Stillson, Johnny is described by an onlooker as having a "fire-spot" in one of his eyes.

It's not a coincidence that fire should surround Johnny Smith in The Dead Zone, as his character is based upon that of Cassandra - the greek heroine (cursed by the sun god Apollo) who foresaw the fall and burning of Troy. Just like Cassandra in greek mythology, Johnny smith is “morally compelled to warn, and inevitably despised for his efforts.”


The actual posting of the teaser advert on the forum

It should be noted that the last teaser advert to be posted directly onto the forum was for IT 25th Anniversary Edition. The teasers for The Dark Man and Doctor Sleep were sent by email to CDCC members and subscribers. This strongly suggests that the book announcement on Monday will not be a standard Stephen King release but an Anniversary Edition like IT. The Dead Zone was initially published in 1979 so it will enjoy its 35th Anniversary this year.


The timing of the publication

Brian has stated that book announced on Monday will be shipped late summer. Of all the books that could possibly enjoy an Anniversary Edition this year, only The Dead Zone matches a shipping date of late summer having been initially published during the month of August in 1979.


Easton Press

Easton Press released their own limited trade hardcover edition of The Dead Zone back in 1993 and re-published it again in 2004 as a limited publication. Although neither of these editions were signed by Stephen King, they would still cause potential problems for CD if they were to release The Dead Zone as a normal deluxe edition. Although both the Lettered and S/L editions would be unaffected by Easton Press, CD's unsigned gift editions would be directly in competition with Easton Press's earlier publications of this book. However, if CD are to release The Dead Zone as a super deluxe graphic novel, then the threat posed by Easton Press will be instantly nullified.

....... CONTINUED

[T-Dogz_AK47]

A vision of the future...

CONTINUED....

The red herring

There is a red herring, but it is not the fire in the teaser advert. It is actually the perception that the current deals being made with Random House and Simon & Schuster are related to Monday's announcement. With Brian stating that the book announced on Monday will be shipped during late summer, it would be impossible for CD to produce a book within the 4 months left of securing a deal with these major publishing companies. The production design, cover art, interior art, printing etc takes a huge amount of time to organise. It is my theory that the graphic novel adaptation of The Dead Zone has been in production at CD for several years (probably since the announcement of IT 25th Anniversary Edition,) which followed after the immense success of The Secretary of Dreams being published - and that is why it will be ready for publication during late summer of this year, it is also the reason why Brian has stated that there are no plans to release SOD Vol 3 as they are concentrating on releasing the graphic novel of The Dead Zone first. However, even if I am wrong about Random House being involved somehow, The Dead Zone was published by Viking Press, whose parent company is the Penguin Random House Group - so I am covered anyway!


A process of elimination

In order to pinpoint The Dead Zone as the eventual book to be announced on Monday, I have also conducted a process of elimination of the other contending books in this contest...

Carrie. This book is being published by PS Publishing. There is about as much chance of CD announcing a S/L of Carrie on Monday as there is of CD announcing a S/L of The Shining on the shirt tails of Sub Press.

The Stand. Notwithstanding the fact that Doubleday released a spectacular S/L uncut edition of this book back in 1990 and that Stephen King considers this edition to be the definitive version, if CD were to release a S/L of the original it would certainly polarise fans, as many would not want to buy a copy of a book with nearly 400 pages missing from the uncut version. I just cannot see the business sense of CD doing this.

Firestarter. This book was initially published in 1980, so having it published in the late summer would make this a 34th Anniversary Edition which just doesn't gel. Additionally, this book is not viewed as being as important or critically acclaimed in comparison to The Dead Zone.

The Eyes of the Dragon. This book was initially published in 1984 by Philtrum Press, but only as a deluxe S/L edition. The official publication of this book was not until 1987, which would make this a 27th Anniversary Edition. Additionally, many critics believed this book to be more of a children's book than a horror story.

Blaze. Only the book's title is related to fire, as it's the name of the central character - the actual story itself has no connection to fire. Written in 1973 but published under the name Richard Bachman in 2007, this book does match with either being a possible Anniversary edition or being important enough to warrant the amount of hype that surrounds the announcement on Monday.

The Dark Half. Although initially in the running for a 25th Anniversary Edition, it was originally published in October of 1989 - so having a shipping date set for late summer doesn't quite fit right with this. The fire in the teaser advert doesn't match with this book either. It is also not as critically acclaimed or has popular amongst readers as The Dead Zone.

Needful Things. My favourite Stephen King book, but it was originally published in 1991. Waiting until 2016 for this book would allow CD to release an awesome 25th Anniversary Edition. I believe that announcing a 23rd Anniversary Edition of this book on Monday would be premature.

The Secretary of Dreams Vol 3. Brian has already stated on another thread, that CD have no plans to produce this book yet.

Mr Mercedes. The fire in the teaser advert doesn't fit with the plot summary of this book and Brian's statement "This will probably be one of our most important projects in a very long time" doesn't match with it being a new novel just like Doctor Sleep that was published only last fall.

Revival. This book is pretty much out of the running, as the book is not set to be published until November, unless Scribner (Simon & Schuster) gave permission to CD to publish the deluxe S/L edition before their own trade edition, which seems highly unlikely.

Any new novel or sequel. News of a completely new book or sequel would already be mentioned on Stephen King's official website. No news has been mentioned unless you count the April Fool's joke announcement of Christine Lives!

"We will be announcing one of the most exciting limited editions we have ever published"

A couple of months ago, Richard Chizmar stated the following on Facebook:

Facebook: Originally Posted by Richard Chizmar
I've hinted at a big deal with Random House and a huge multi-book announcement with Bentley Little. In addition to those two items, we will be announcing one of the most exciting limited editions we have ever published.

Releasing a S/L edition of The Dead Zone would be awesome in itself, but to release a super deluxe 9 x 12 Secretary of Dreams style graphic novel adaptation of the book makes this prospect very, very exciting indeed! A complete game changer, no other book announcement could match the same level of excitement as this and it would almost certainly be on a par if not eclipse CD's stellar IT 25th Anniversary Edition in sheer scope and scale.


Brian's contest itself

I think it is quite ironic that Brian is holding a contest for members to predict Monday's announcement when the central theme of The Dead Zone revolves around the power of precognition. This contest certainly matches Brian's sadistic sense of humour...

To borrow Squire's phrase, Brian has been exposed as a very naughty boy; very naughty indeed!

So there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen, that is my "official guess." I am taking a spin on Brian's "Wheel of Fortune" and placing all of my chips on a graphic novel adaptation 35th Anniversary Edition of The Dead Zone.

[bookworm 1]

Bravo Mr. Dogz. Bravo..

[Ben Mears]

The Cannibals

[Ben Staad]

I can't argue with someone who did research like that.

[TJCams]

Nice T-Dogz.....! I agree, and hope that we are right. I think between you and me, we were first on the Dead Zone train.....fingers crossed!!!!

[RonClinton]

T-Dogz_AK47, I of course don't know if you're right or wrong (I hope right, as it will save me some $$ as I've no interest in a graphic novel), but you should get a prize regardless for exhaustive and clearly enthusiastic research like that. Well done.

[bookworm 1]

He already is getting a prize for keeping track of the official guesses. Your not here a lot Ron. Mr. Dogz does that for all big announcements. . Well if you are right looks like Brian will go broke shipping you your prizes........poor Brian....No forget poor Brian he deserves this for putting us through hell.. Is it Monday yet.

[srboone]

HAH!!!! So you acknowledge that the teaser pic IS a red herring!!! I'm tellin' ya, it's Phil & Sundance!

[bookworm 1]

HAH!!!! So you acknowledge that the teaser pic IS a red herring!!! I'm tellin' ya, it's Phil & Sundance!

Didn't Robert Redford already make that.......