# Is "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998) is identified by: FSG first states 'First edition, 1998' on the copyright page with the FSG number line, in the first-issue jacket carrying the printed flap price. The US FSG 1998 hardcover is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG first states 'First edition, 1998' on the copyright page with the FSG number line, in the first-issue jacket carrying the printed flap price
- The first-issue jacket predates the awards and carries no Pulitzer or PEN/Faulkner mention
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Michael Cunningham |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1998 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG first states 'First edition, 1998' on the copyright page with the FSG number line, in the first-issue jacket carrying the printed flap… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
FSG first states 'First edition, 1998' on the copyright page with the FSG number line, in the first-issue jacket carrying the printed flap price. The first-issue jacket predates the awards and carries no Pulitzer or PEN/Faulkner mention.

## Is this the true first?
The US FSG 1998 hardcover is the true first. Won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 1999 PEN/Faulkner Award; later printings add the awards to the jacket.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the FSG number line, are typically smaller and of cheaper construction, often blind-stamped, with an unpriced jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Hours* by Michael Cunningham a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-hours
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.