# Is "The Colorado Kid" by Stephen King a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (Hard Case Crime, 2005) is identified by: The first edition is the Hard Case Crime paperback original, HCC-013, published by Dorchester Publishing in October 2005 in illustrated wraps (12mo), with cover art by Glen Orbik and the banner 'First Publication Anywhere' on the front cover. The US Dorchester / Hard Case Crime 2005 paperback is the true first edition anywhere — the cover statement is accurate and there is no competing UK or hardcover first at original publication.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first edition is the Hard Case Crime paperback original, HCC-013, published by Dorchester Publishing in October 2005 in illustrated wraps (12mo), with cover art by Glen Orbik and the banner 'First Publication Anywhere' on the front cover
- The single documented first-printing point is the code 50599 printed above the UPC block on the back cover — first printings show three sets of UPC numbers with 50599 present; later printings change that code to 05584 (and later Hard Case/Titan issues change cover art and ISBN as well)
- Dealers report this point as confirmed by Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai
- The 'HCC-013' designation on the copyright page is NOT a printing point: later printings retain it, so it must not be used to call a first
- Publisher imprint reads Hard Case Crime
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Publisher | Hard Case Crime |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first edition is the Hard Case Crime paperback original, HCC-013, published by Dorchester Publishing in October 2005 in illustrated… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first edition is the Hard Case Crime paperback original, HCC-013, published by Dorchester Publishing in October 2005 in illustrated wraps (12mo), with cover art by Glen Orbik and the banner 'First Publication Anywhere' on the front cover. The single documented first-printing point is the code 50599 printed above the UPC block on the back cover — first printings show three sets of UPC numbers with 50599 present; later printings change that code to 05584 (and later Hard Case/Titan issues change cover art and ISBN as well). Dealers report this point as confirmed by Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai. The 'HCC-013' designation on the copyright page is NOT a printing point: later printings retain it, so it must not be used to call a first.

## Is this the true first?
The US Dorchester / Hard Case Crime 2005 paperback is the true first edition anywhere — the cover statement is accurate and there is no competing UK or hardcover first at original publication. The first hardcover is PS Publishing (Hornsea, UK), July 2007, illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne, issued in four states: an unsigned hardback of 10,000 copies, an artist edition of 1,000 signed and numbered by the illustrator, 450 numbered slipcased copies signed by King and the illustrator, and 33 lettered copies in blue leather with a leather tray-case signed by King and all three artists (Chadbourne, Edward Miller, J.K. Potter, whose colour plates appear in the lettered state). Both the 2005 paperback and the 2007 PS hardcover are collected; the PS is the first hardcover and a 'first thus', not the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is documented. The earliest recorded state of the material is a set of pre-publication 3x5 promotional cards mailed before release, bearing the same front and rear cover graphics as the book — a promotional item, not an edition. Reprint traps: later Dorchester printings identical but for the UPC-area code, and the later Titan/Hard Case Crime reissue (013-I, ISBN 978-1-78909-155-7) with new artwork.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Colorado Kid* by Stephen King a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-colorado-kid
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.