# Is "The Grifters" by Jim Thompson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Grifters by Jim Thompson (Regency Books, 1963) is identified by: True first is the paperback original, Regency Books RB 110 (1963). Paperback is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the paperback original, Regency Books RB 110
- Paperback wraps; no prior hardcover
- Regency Books imprint (the Chicago imprint associated with editor Harlan Ellison) and the RB 110 number identify the first
- Publisher imprint reads Regency Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jim Thompson |
| Publisher | Regency Books |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the paperback original, Regency Books RB 110 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first is the paperback original, Regency Books RB 110 (1963). Paperback wraps; no prior hardcover. Regency Books imprint (the Chicago imprint associated with editor Harlan Ellison) and the RB 110 number identify the first.

## Is this the true first?
Paperback is the true first. Reissued later (e.g., by Berkley and tie-in editions after the 1990 film); those are reprints/first-thus.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The 1963 Regency RB 110 wraps are the first; movie tie-in and modern paperbacks postdate the 1990 film and are clearly later.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Grifters* by Jim Thompson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-grifters
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.