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First-Edition Identification · Peter Straub

Is My A Dark Matter a First Edition?

Doubleday, 2010

The points of issue

Doubleday hardcover, February 2010; the first printing carries First Edition with a complete number line on the copyright page, jacket priced as issued. Won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for 2010.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder · Doubleday first-edition guide.

Is this the true first?

The US Doubleday 2010 trade hardcover is the true first edition of A Dark Matter. Subterranean Press separately published The Skylark in 2010, which is not a renamed limited of this book but an earlier, substantially longer draft of the same work that Straub chose to preserve as a distinct text. The UK Orion/Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2010 edition is a separate edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings drop the lower digits from the number line. Confirm the First Edition statement and complete number line on the copyright page.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of A Dark Matter a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: Doubleday hardcover, February 2010; the first printing carries First Edition with a complete number line on the copyright page, jacket priced as issued. Won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for 2010.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The US Doubleday 2010 trade hardcover is the true first edition of A Dark Matter. Subterranean Press separately published The Skylark in 2010, which is not a renamed limited of this book but an earlier, substantially longer draft of the same work that Straub chose to preserve as a distinct text. The

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Later printings drop the lower digits from the number line. Confirm the First Edition statement and complete number line on the copyright page.

I have a first edition of A Dark Matter — what should I do?

If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.

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