# Is "The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands" by Stephen King a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands by Stephen King (Donald M. Grant, 1991) is identified by: Grant first edition, first printing; trade issue of about 40,000 copies plus a limited issue of 1,250 signed/numbered copies (signed by King and illustrator Ned Dameron on the limitation page) and 26 lettered copies, both slipcased. Grant true first; the signed/numbered issue is the collectible signed first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Grant first edition, first printing; trade issue of about 40,000 copies plus a limited issue of 1,250 signed/numbered copies (signed by King and illustrator Ned Dameron on the limitation page) and 26 lettered copies, both slipcased
- Illustrated with color plates by Ned Dameron
- Publisher imprint reads Donald M. Grant
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Publisher | Donald M. Grant |
| Year | 1991 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Grant first edition, first printing; trade issue of about 40,000 copies plus a limited issue of 1,250 signed/numbered copies (signed by… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Grant first edition, first printing; trade issue of about 40,000 copies plus a limited issue of 1,250 signed/numbered copies (signed by King and illustrator Ned Dameron on the limitation page) and 26 lettered copies, both slipcased. Illustrated with color plates by Ned Dameron.

## Is this the true first?
Grant true first; the signed/numbered issue is the collectible signed first. NAL/Plume trade paperback followed in 1992.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
N/A; later trade reprints exist but no standard book-club hardcover issue of the Grant edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands* by Stephen King a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-dark-tower-iii-the-waste-lands
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.