# Is "A Dark Matter" by Peter Straub a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Dark Matter by Peter Straub (Doubleday, 2010) is identified by: Doubleday hardcover, February 2010; the first printing carries First Edition with a complete number line on the copyright page, jacket priced as issued. The US Doubleday 2010 trade hardcover is the true first edition of A Dark Matter.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- 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
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Peter Straub |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 2010 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Doubleday hardcover, February 2010; the first printing carries First Edition with a complete number line on the copyright page, jacket… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## 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.

## 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.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Dark Matter* by Peter Straub a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-dark-matter
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.