Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King: Plot, TV Series & Graphic Novel

Anyone who’s ever wondered what would happen if half the population suddenly vanished into cocoons will find a compelling answer in Sleeping Beauties. Co-authored by Stephen King and his son Owen King, this 2017 novel imagines a world where women fall asleep and never wake up without turning violent, set in the small Appalachian town of Dooling, West Virginia, and tapping into themes of gender, power, and survival.

Publication date: September 26, 2017 ·
Authors: Stephen King and Owen King ·
Pages: 720 (first edition hardcover) ·
Setting: Dooling, West Virginia ·
Genre: Horror / fantasy / social thriller

For a quick reference, here are the vital statistics of the novel.

What is Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King about?

The novel opens with a chilling premise: a mysterious condition called “Aurora” causes women to fall asleep and become wrapped in a cocoon‑like gauze. Anyone who tries to wake them faces a violent, feral response. The story unfolds in Dooling, West Virginia, where the local women’s prison becomes a microcosm of the collapsing society.

The plot of Sleeping Beauties

• When women fall asleep they become cocooned in a gauze-like substance and turn violent if awakened (Syfy Wire)
• The story is set in Dooling, West Virginia, a small town with a women’s prison (Syfy Wire)
• One mysterious woman, Evie, can sleep without becoming cocooned and may hold the key to the crisis (Syfy Wire)

Main characters in Sleeping Beauties

• Evie – the enigmatic woman who is immune to the cocoon phenomenon
• Lila Norcross – the prison’s psychiatrist who becomes a central figure
• Clint Norcross – Lila’s husband, the local sheriff
• Frank Geary – a male inmate who takes advantage of the chaos

The implication: Sleeping Beauties uses its high‑concept fantasy to hold up a mirror to real‑world gender dynamics, making it one of the most overtly political novels King has written.

Is Stephen King’s Sleeping Beauties going to be a movie?

Several attempts have been made to bring Sleeping Beauties to the screen. Here’s the current status of adaptations.

Sleeping Beauties adaptation plans

• In April 2019, AMC ordered a pilot script for a television adaptation, with Owen King writing the pilot (Entertainment Weekly)
• Anonymous Content, Michael Sugar, and Ashley Zalta were attached as producers (Los Angeles Times)
• In October 2024, a new television series adaptation was announced for AMC, though no release date has been confirmed as of early 2025

Sleeping Beauties TV series on AMC

• The 2019 plan was a pilot commitment that could expand into an open‑ended series (Syfy Wire)
• The 2024 announcement suggests the project is still alive, but details remain scarce
• A graphic novel adaptation (10‑part series) was launched by IDW Publishing in 2020, with collected editions in 2023 (Wikipedia)

The pattern: King’s story languished in development for five years before getting a second wind. If the 2024 announcement leads to a full series order, it will be the first time a King‑King collaboration reaches the screen.

What other books by Stephen King are often discussed alongside Sleeping Beauties?

Sleeping Beauties has an unusual place in the King canon. Critics often compare it to his heavier social novels.

Stephen King’s best book

• Commonly cited best books include The Shining, It, and The Stand (per reader polls and critical consensus)
• Sleeping Beauties is rarely in top‑10 lists but is praised for its ambition

Stephen King’s most underrated book

• Sleeping Beauties is often listed among underrated Stephen King novels by fans on Reddit and Goodreads
• Some argue its collaborative nature and slow pacing hurt its reception

Stephen King’s hardest book to read

• Sleeping Beauties clocks in at 720 pages and includes graphic violence
• The novel’s pacing is deliberate, and the prison setting can feel claustrophobic

The trade‑off: Sleeping Beauties may not be King’s masterpiece, but its thematic depth and father‑son collaboration make it a unique entry worth exploring for dedicated fans.

What does the title Sleeping Beauties mean?

The title is a direct allusion to the classic fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty,” but with a dark twist. In the original tale, the princess pricks her finger and sleeps until awakened by a prince’s kiss. In King’s version, every woman who falls asleep becomes a “sleeping beauty” – but awakening leads to violence, not romance.

• The cocoon motif echoes the fairy tale’s spindle and castle
• The plural “Beauties” emphasizes that all women are affected, not just one
• The title also hints at the novel’s exploration of female agency and objectification

Why this matters: The title works on multiple levels – a familiar story turned nightmare, a feminist critique of the “sleeping princess” trope, and a literal description of the epidemic.

Who wrote Sleeping Beauties with Stephen King?

Sleeping Beauties is the first full‑length collaboration between Stephen King and his son Owen King. Owen is also an accomplished author, having written the novel Double Feature and the short story collection We’re All in This Together.

• Owen King wrote the pilot script for the AMC adaptation (Entertainment Weekly)
• The father‑son dynamic brought a generational perspective to the story’s gender themes
• In interviews, both Kings have described the collaborative process as rewarding but challenging

The implication: The Kings’ partnership brought together Stephen’s horror mastery with Owen’s more literary sensibility, creating a novel that feels both familiar and fresh.

Timeline: from novel to screen

Tracking the development of Sleeping Beauties reveals a story of long waits and sudden bursts of activity.

• 2017‑09‑26 – Novel published by Scribner (Los Angeles Times)
• 2017‑04 – Anonymous Content acquires television rights (Wikipedia)
• 2019‑04‑17 – AMC orders pilot script with Owen King writing (Entertainment Weekly)
• 2020‑06 – First issue of IDW comic adaptation released (Wikipedia)
• 2023 – Collected graphic novel edition published
• 2024‑10 – AMC announces new series adaptation in development

The pattern: Each step has been a pilot or option rather than a series greenlight. The novel’s female‑centric premise may have made networks cautious, but the sustained interest suggests it remains a hot property.

What we know and what remains uncertain

Confirmed facts

• Sleeping Beauties was published on September 26, 2017 (Los Angeles Times)
• The novel is a collaboration between Stephen King and Owen King (Entertainment Weekly)
• AMC announced a television series adaptation in October 2024

What’s unclear

• The exact release date of the AMC TV series
• Which actors or showrunners will be involved
• Whether the series will follow the novel’s plot closely or diverge
• Graphic novel adaptation released in 2023 (Wikipedia)

The implication: While the book’s publication and collaboration are well-established, the fate of its TV adaptation remains the most significant unknown.

What the authors say

On the official Stephen King website, the novel is described as a “horrifying glimpse at what happens when the natural order is upended” and a story that “asks what happens when the men are left in charge.”

Owen King, in an interview about the collaboration, noted that working with his father meant “having to earn every page” and that the father‑son dynamic shaped the novel’s exploration of gender roles.

For readers of Stephen King, the implication is clear: Sleeping Beauties remains a compelling work that may finally find its screen life, but the wait continues. The novel’s themes feel more urgent than ever, and the father‑son collaboration gives it a distinct voice in the King library. If AMC follows through, it could be one of the most talked‑about King adaptations in years.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Cast of The Beast in Me (2025) – Full List of Actors & Characters
• Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025): Release, Cast, Reviews