Is My Exit West a First Edition?

The points of issue

• On the US Riverhead issue (ISBN 9780735212176), the copyright page reads First Edition with a full number line beginning with 1 (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
• The binding is quarter-bound: light blue paper-covered boards with a purple cloth spine stamped in silver
• The first-state dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap and does not yet bear the later Man Booker Prize shortlist blurbs added to reprint jackets

How Riverhead Books marked a first edition

• States 'First Edition' on the copyright page AND uses a descending number line ending in 1.
• A true first carries both the 'First Edition' statement and the 1; later printings strip the statement and/or shift the lowest number.

Full Riverhead Books first-edition guide →

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. Verify this is the UK true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. 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.
6. 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?

Both editions appeared in March 2017, with the UK Hamish Hamilton hardcover (early March) slightly preceding the US Riverhead first (a few days later), so the UK is arguably the true first; both are collected. The novel was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize.P-022022

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition. Later printings drop the terminal 1 from the number line and add award blurbs to the jacket.P-022023

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Exit West a first edition?

A first edition of Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (Riverhead Books) is identified by: On the US Riverhead issue (ISBN 9780735212176), the copyright page reads First Edition with a full number line beginning with 1 (1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10).

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). Both editions appeared in March 2017, with the UK Hamish Hamilton hardcover (early March) slightly preceding the US Riverhead first (a few days later), so the UK is arguably the true first; both are collected.

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

No book-club edition. Later printings drop the terminal 1 from the number line and add award blurbs to the jacket.

I have a first edition of Exit West — 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.