Is My Convenience Store Woman a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Japanese true first: 『コンビニ人間』(Konbini ningen), Bungeishunjū, Tokyo, 27 July 2016; 四六判 hardcover in printed jacket, 160 pp, ISBN 978-4-16-390618-8
• Jacket art is Teppei Kaneuji's (金氏徹平) work "Tower"; book design by Seiji Sekiguchi (関口聖司)
• Identify the first printing from the 奥付 (colophon leaf at the rear), which must read 「2016年7月27日 第1刷発行」 — later printings read 第2刷発行 and upward on the same leaf
• The original 帯 (obi wrapper) should be present; note that the 155th Akutagawa Prize was decided on 19 July 2016, eight days BEFORE publication, so first-printing obi already announce the prize — a prize obi does not mark a later printing
• First English edition: Grove Press (Grove hardcover), New York, 12 June 2018, ISBN 978-0-8021-2825-6, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori; the first printing carries a complete number line ending in "1" (reported as "18 19 20 21 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — single-source, verify against the copy), jacket unclipped with the price at the front flap

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

The census claim is confirmed, and refined on two points. (1) The true first BOOK is the Bungeishunjū hardcover of 27 July 2016, but the first appearance in print is earlier still: the novella was published in the June 2016 issue of the magazine 文學界 (Bungakukai) before book publication — that magazine issue, not the book, is the first printing of the text. (2) In English the two 2018 issues are NOT simultaneous: Grove Press (New York) published 12 June 2018, ahead of Portobello Books (London, ISBN 978-1-84627-683-5) on 5 July 2018, and dealers catalogue the Portobello issue as a softcover. The Grove hardcover is therefore the first edition in English. Name the Bungeishunjū 2016 for a Murata collection and the Grove 2018 for a translation collection.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition of the Japanese first is documented. In Japan the mass-market reprint is the 文春文庫 bunko paperback (4 September 2018, ISBN 978-4-16-791130-0) — a distinct later issue, not the first; any bunko-format copy is a reprint. The Portobello/Granta softcover (UK) and later Grove Press paperbacks are separate or subsequent issues, not the first English printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Convenience Store Woman a first edition?

A first edition of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (文藝春秋 Bungeishunjū, Tokyo) is identified by: Japanese true first: 『コンビニ人間』(Konbini ningen), Bungeishunjū, Tokyo, 27 July 2016; 四六判 hardcover in printed jacket, 160 pp, ISBN 978-4-16-390618-8.

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

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). The census claim is confirmed, and refined on two points.

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

No book-club edition of the Japanese first is documented. In Japan the mass-market reprint is the 文春文庫 bunko paperback (4 September 2018, ISBN 978-4-16-791130-0) — a distinct later issue, not the first; any bunko-format copy is a reprint. The Portobello/Granta softcover (UK) and later Grove Press paperbacks are separate or subsequent issues, not the first English printing.

I have a first edition of Convenience Store Woman — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.