# Is "Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992–2002" by Salman Rushdie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992–2002 by Salman Rushdie (Jonathan Cape, 2002) is identified by: Collected essays and nonfiction, issued in cloth-backed boards with a gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket. The US Random House edition (10 September 2002) precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition (28 November 2002) by about eleven weeks, so the Random House printing is the true first appearance in book form; the Cape printing is the standard British first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Collected essays and nonfiction, issued in cloth-backed boards with a gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket
- The UK Jonathan Cape edition (28 November 2002, ISBN 0224061607) is a hardback in boards; the first impression carries the full number line and the copyright page names no later impression
- The US Random House edition (ISBN 0679463348) was published earlier, on 10 September 2002
- Publisher imprint reads Jonathan Cape
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Salman Rushdie |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
| Year | 2002 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Collected essays and nonfiction, issued in cloth-backed boards with a gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Collected essays and nonfiction, issued in cloth-backed boards with a gilt-lettered spine and dust jacket. The UK Jonathan Cape edition (28 November 2002, ISBN 0224061607) is a hardback in boards; the first impression carries the full number line and the copyright page names no later impression. The US Random House edition (ISBN 0679463348) was published earlier, on 10 September 2002.

## Is this the true first?
The US Random House edition (10 September 2002) precedes the UK Jonathan Cape edition (28 November 2002) by about eleven weeks, so the Random House printing is the true first appearance in book form; the Cape printing is the standard British first. Verify precedence copy-in-hand where possible, but the recorded publication dates favor US-first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions state the impression number on the copyright page; the true first shows the complete number line with the copyright page free of any additional-printing notice.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Step Across This Line: Collected Nonfiction 1992–2002* by Salman Rushdie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/step-across-this-line-collected-nonfiction-1992-2002
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.