Is My Stories of Your Life and Others a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First published in hardcover by Tor Books, New York, 5 July 2002 (ISBN 0-765-30418-6), the author's first book, collecting eight stories
• The first printing carries the full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page; a line whose lowest digit is 2 or higher is a later printing
• Per Tor's documented house practice in this period, first printings also carry a "First Edition" statement with month and year alongside the number line — the exact statement wording on this title was not confirmed from a first-hand copy description, so the number line ending in 1 is the point to rely on
• First-issue jacket is priced at the flap

How Tor Books marked a first edition

• Tor's reliable test: the explicit 'First Edition' line PLUS the number line — both must be present for a hardcover first.

Full Tor Books 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?

The US Tor hardcover (2002) is the true first, confirming the census's publisher and year. The census's UK note is WRONG on two counts. First, the UK edition was not "much later": Tor (London / Pan Macmillan) published the first British edition in 2004, ISBN 1-405-04102-1. Second, the UK edition was not retitled Arrival — Arrival is a separate 2016 retitled reissue timed to the film adaptation of "Story of Your Life", and is a "first thus", not the first UK appearance. The Tor trade paperback (ISBN 0-765-30419-4) appeared in July 2003, roughly twelve months after the hardcover, so it is a subsequent issue and not a simultaneous first.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition is documented. The traps are reissues rather than club copies: the Small Beer Press trade paperback (2010), the 2016 Arrival retitle (Picador in the UK, Vintage in the US), and the Tor trade paperback of July 2003 — each a distinct later edition. Any copy titled Arrival is by definition not the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Stories of Your Life and Others a first edition?

A first edition of Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (Tor Books) is identified by: First published in hardcover by Tor Books, New York, 5 July 2002 (ISBN 0-765-30418-6), the author's first book, collecting eight stories.

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 US Tor hardcover (2002) is the true first, confirming the census's publisher and year.

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

No book-club edition is documented. The traps are reissues rather than club copies: the Small Beer Press trade paperback (2010), the 2016 Arrival retitle (Picador in the UK, Vintage in the US), and the Tor trade paperback of July 2003 — each a distinct later edition. Any copy titled Arrival is by definition not the first.

I have a first edition of Stories of Your Life and Others — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

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.