# Is "Hart's Hope" by Orson Scott Card a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card (Berkley Books, 1983) is identified by: New York: Berkley Books, February 1983. The US Berkley mass-market paperback original (1983) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New York: Berkley Books, February 1983
- Mass-market paperback original with cover art by Kinuko Y. Craft; the first printing is identified by the statement 'Berkley edition/February 1983' on the copyright page
- There was no 1983 US hardcover
- Publisher imprint reads Berkley Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Orson Scott Card |
| Publisher | Berkley Books |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New York: Berkley Books, February 1983 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
New York: Berkley Books, February 1983. Mass-market paperback original with cover art by Kinuko Y. Craft; the first printing is identified by the statement 'Berkley edition/February 1983' on the copyright page. There was no 1983 US hardcover.

## Is this the true first?
The US Berkley mass-market paperback original (1983) is the true first. The first hardcover edition is the Severn House edition (London, 1993; some copies dated 1994), which appeared a full decade later.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No contemporary book-club or hardcover issue; any early hardcover offered as such is the later Severn House edition, not a 1983 first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hart's Hope* by Orson Scott Card a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/harts-hope
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.