# Is "A Time to Kill" by John Grisham a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Time to Kill by John Grisham (Wynwood Press, 1989) is identified by: True first: Wynwood Press, 1989, a small printing of about 5,000 copies — Grisham's debut. The US Wynwood Press edition (1989) is the true first, Grisham's debut, issued before he became famous — hence the roughly 5,000-copy printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first: Wynwood Press, 1989, a small printing of about 5,000 copies — Grisham's debut
- Jacket points: the front cover/jacket carries the subtitle 'A Novel of Retribution'; the printed price is present at the front flap (unclipped); no later Grisham titles and no 'The Firm' are mentioned (there were none yet); barcode to the rear panel
- Binding: ocher (tan) paper-covered boards over a maroon spine cloth lettered in gilt
- Clearly distinct from the far more common later Doubleday edition
- Publisher imprint reads Wynwood Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John Grisham |
| Publisher | Wynwood Press |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first: Wynwood Press, 1989, a small printing of about 5,000 copies — Grisham's debut |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first: Wynwood Press, 1989, a small printing of about 5,000 copies — Grisham's debut. Jacket points: the front cover/jacket carries the subtitle 'A Novel of Retribution'; the printed price is present at the front flap (unclipped); no later Grisham titles and no 'The Firm' are mentioned (there were none yet); barcode to the rear panel. Binding: ocher (tan) paper-covered boards over a maroon spine cloth lettered in gilt. Clearly distinct from the far more common later Doubleday edition.

## Is this the true first?
The US Wynwood Press edition (1989) is the true first, Grisham's debut, issued before he became famous — hence the roughly 5,000-copy printing. The common Doubleday hardcover is a 1993 reissue ('first edition thus'), released after The Firm's success, and is NOT the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 1993 Doubleday reissue (ISBN 0-385-47081-9) is bound in black cloth over blue paper-covered boards, carries a full number line and its own jacket price, and lacks the Wynwood imprint; a 350-copy Doubleday signed limited also exists (1993). Book-club copies typically show a blind-stamped dot on the rear board and no jacket price. Beware facsimile jackets married to non-Wynwood books — verify the Wynwood Press imprint and the ocher-boards/maroon-spine binding.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Time to Kill* by John Grisham a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-time-to-kill
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.