Is My Copy of Mexican Gothic a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The first printing is the Del Rey (Random House / Penguin Random House, New York) hardcover, published 30 June 2020, ISBN 0525620788 / 9780525620785, 301–320 pp. depending on how the pages are counted
• Identification is by the copyright page: a stated first edition together with a complete number line running to 1 — dealers catalogue firsts as "First Edition/First Printing with the complete number line" and "First American edition, first printing." The jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap and unclipped
• The specific digits of the Del Rey number line are not documented in the sources consulted and are not asserted here; check that the line runs to 1
• No first-state text error or binding variant is documented for the Del Rey issue

How Del Rey, New York marked a first edition

• Number line on copyright page; first printing has the '1' present. Modern PRH-era Ballantine uses the full descending line '9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' with no edition statement, OR with 'First Edition' stated.
• Mass-market paperback originals: copyright page reads 'First Edition: (Month Year)' or 'First Printing: (Month Year)' with NO later printings listed.

Full Del Rey, 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 Canadian 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?

The book was written in English by a Mexican-Canadian author, so there is no original-language precedence question. Penguin Random House's own imprint record dates the Del Rey (US/Canada) hardcover to 30 June 2020, and the UK issue from Jo Fletcher Books (London — an imprint of Quercus, Hachette UK), ISBN 1529402654 / 9781529402650, is dated to the same day, 30 June 2020, making the two effectively simultaneous. Both are collected; the Del Rey is the first American edition and the Jo Fletcher the first UK. The same-day UK date rests on a single source and is not independently corroborated, so treat strict simultaneity as probable rather than settled.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented. Reprint tell is a number line no longer running to 1. Several "first thus" traps exist and are commonly mis-offered as firsts: the Del Rey trade paperback (15 June 2021, 334 pp., cover art by Tim Green); the Subterranean Press signed/limited issue (2022, one of 500, wraparound cover art and illustrated endpapers); the Goldsboro Books signed and numbered issue of the Jo Fletcher UK edition (one of 250, with red sprayed edges — a genuine UK variant but a special issue, not the trade first); and the Jo Fletcher EXPORT issue (ISBN 9781529402674). The Del Rey Advance Reader's Edition / uncorrected proof in illustrated wraps precedes publication but is a proof, not the first edition.P-041212

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Mexican Gothic a first edition?

A first edition of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey, New York) is identified by: The first printing is the Del Rey (Random House / Penguin Random House, New York) hardcover, published 30 June 2020, ISBN 0525620788 / 9780525620785, 301–320 pp. depending on how the pages are counted.

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). The book was written in English by a Mexican-Canadian author, so there is no original-language precedence question.

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

No book-club issue is documented. Reprint tell is a number line no longer running to 1.

I have a first edition of Mexican Gothic — 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.