Is My Copy of Heart-Shaped Box a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The US first edition is William Morrow (HarperCollins), New York, published 13 February 2007 (ISBN 978-0-06-114793-7, 376 pp.)
• First printings are identified on the copyright page by a complete number line in which 1 is present
• Sources conflict on the sequence itself — several dealers report the Morrow line as '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2', while others describe simply a 'full number line to 1' or '1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' — so the operative and universally agreed test is that the 1 is present, not the direction of the line; do not reject a copy on the direction of the sequence alone
• Jacket must be present and priced at the flap, with the jacket ISBN matching the book block
• An uncorrected proof / advance reading copy in wrappers exists and is not the first edition
• Signed copies are common enough that a signature alone establishes nothing about the printing — check the number line

How William Morrow, New York marked a first edition

• 1990–present (HarperCollins): imprint reads 'HarperCollins' (News Corp merged Harper & Row with the UK's William Collins in 1990). Through the 1990s a first printing shows 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page together…

Full William Morrow, New York 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 US 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?

US precedes UK; the two were not simultaneous. William Morrow, New York, 13 February 2007 is the true first; the UK first is Gollancz (Orion), London, reported as 15 March 2007 (ISBN 9780752889184), roughly a month later. Both are collected: the Gollancz hardcover is the first UK edition and first impression, identified by its own full number line, and Gollancz additionally issued a signed slipcased limited state. Separately, Subterranean Press published a limited edition in 2011 — 300 cloth copies numbered 201-500 signed by Hill; a deluxe issue of 200 numbered 1-200, signed, adding the deleted first chapter as an appendix plus an exclusive author's afterword and two two-color illustrations; and 15 leatherbound copies lettered A-O in a custom traycase. A Lividian Publications signed slipcased limited of 1,750 followed in 2022. The Subterranean issue is a separate later collected state, not the first edition.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented; dealers routinely note first printings as 'not book club.' The practical traps are (a) later Morrow printings — a second printing was announced 14 April 2007 and released that May — which are physically indistinguishable from the first apart from the number line; (b) the UK Gollancz first, which is a legitimate first UK edition but is often offered as 'the' first edition; and (c) the 2011 Subterranean and 2022 Lividian limiteds, which are signed, numbered and handsome, and are the most frequently mistaken-for-first states in the trade. On any suspect copy the standard quick checks apply — a blind stamp on the rear board and an unpriced jacket flap point away from a trade first printing.P-037946

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Heart-Shaped Box a first edition?

A first edition of Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill (William Morrow, New York) is identified by: The US first edition is William Morrow (HarperCollins), New York, published 13 February 2007 (ISBN 978-0-06-114793-7, 376 pp.).

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). US precedes UK; the two were not simultaneous.

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

No book-club edition is documented; dealers routinely note first printings as 'not book club.' The practical traps are (a) later Morrow printings — a second printing was announced 14 April 2007 and released that May — which are physically indistinguishable from the first apart from the number line; (b) the UK Gollancz first, which is a legitimate first UK edition but is often offered as 'the' first edition; and (c) the 2011 Subterranean and 2022 Lividian limiteds, which are signed, numbered and handsome, and are the most frequently mistaken-for-first states in the trade.

I have a first edition of Heart-Shaped Box — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

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.