# Is "Divergent" by Veronica Roth a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Divergent by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins, 2011) is identified by: The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. US Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books), New York, 2011 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
- The statement alone proves nothing: HarperCollins left "First Edition" standing on later printings, and dealers routinely list copies "first edition stated" whose number lines begin 20 19 18 or 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 — the number line, not the statement, settles the printing
- Octavo (roughly 5 the printed price x 8 the printed price inches), navy boards, 487 pages, in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the back panel; an unclipped jacket is expected on a first
- The uncorrected proof / advance reader's edition is a softcover and is not the first edition
- Publisher imprint reads Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Veronica Roth |
| Publisher | Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins |
| Year | 2011 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing states "First Edition" on the copyright page AND carries the complete number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. The statement alone proves nothing: HarperCollins left "First Edition" standing on later printings, and dealers routinely list copies "first edition stated" whose number lines begin 20 19 18 or 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 — the number line, not the statement, settles the printing. Octavo (roughly 5 the printed price x 8 the printed price inches), navy boards, 487 pages, in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the back panel; an unclipped jacket is expected on a first. The uncorrected proof / advance reader's edition is a softcover and is not the first edition.

## Is this the true first?
US Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books), New York, 2011 is the true first. Sources give the on-sale date as either 26 April 2011 (Wikipedia infobox) or 3 May 2011 (retail listings); either way it precedes or is simultaneous with the UK. HarperCollins Children's Books issued Divergent in the UK in 2011 as a paperback (ISBN 9780007420414, listed on sale 3 May 2011) — that is a UK first, not the true first, and collectors chase the US hardcover. Later US reissues, boxed sets, and film tie-ins are "first thus" traps.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented in the sources consulted. The live reprint tells are (a) later printings that retain the "First Edition" statement while the number line's lowest digit rises, and (b) the softcover ARC/uncorrected proof, which is not a first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Divergent* by Veronica Roth a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/divergent
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.