# Is "Interior Chinatown" by Charles Yu a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu (Pantheon Books, 2020) is identified by: US Pantheon (Knopf Doubleday) hardcover, published January 28, 2020. The US Pantheon hardcover (January 28, 2020) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Pantheon (Knopf Doubleday) hardcover, published January 28, 2020
- The copyright page states 'First Edition' with a number line descending to 1
- First-issue jacket carries the printed retail price on the front flap and the cover design by Tyler Comrie; the screenplay-format text (Courier typeface, script layout) runs throughout the text block
- Publisher imprint reads Pantheon Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Charles Yu |
| Publisher | Pantheon Books |
| Year | 2020 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Pantheon (Knopf Doubleday) hardcover, published January 28, 2020 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
US Pantheon (Knopf Doubleday) hardcover, published January 28, 2020. The copyright page states 'First Edition' with a number line descending to 1. First-issue jacket carries the printed retail price on the front flap and the cover design by Tyler Comrie; the screenplay-format text (Courier typeface, script layout) runs throughout the text block.

## Is this the true first?
The US Pantheon hardcover (January 28, 2020) is the true first. The novel won the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction, announced November 18, 2020, which post-dates the first printing; later printings and the NBA-banded jacket state are not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book-club issue. Confirm the stated 'First Edition' and a number line descending to 1; a jacket bearing a National Book Award winner sticker or printed award band indicates a later state, not the first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Interior Chinatown* by Charles Yu a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/interior-chinatown
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.