# Is "The Institute" by Stephen King a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Institute by Stephen King (Scribner, 2019) is identified by: The copyright page states First Scribner hardcover edition September 2019 and carries a complete number line ending in 1. The US Scribner and UK Hodder & Stoughton editions were published the same day, September 10, 2019; collectors treat the US Scribner hardcover as the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The copyright page states First Scribner hardcover edition September 2019 and carries a complete number line ending in 1
- The binding is quarter-bound: a black cloth backstrip over midnight-blue boards, with copper foil lettering on the spine; the volume runs 561 pages
- The Will Staehle dust jacket must retain its printed cover prices (US and Canada figures on the front flap), and a first-issue jacket is not price-clipped
- Publisher imprint reads Scribner
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen King |
| Publisher | Scribner |
| Year | 2019 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The copyright page states First Scribner hardcover edition September 2019 and carries a complete number line ending in 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The copyright page states First Scribner hardcover edition September 2019 and carries a complete number line ending in 1. The binding is quarter-bound: a black cloth backstrip over midnight-blue boards, with copper foil lettering on the spine; the volume runs 561 pages. The Will Staehle dust jacket must retain its printed cover prices (US and Canada figures on the front flap), and a first-issue jacket is not price-clipped.

## Is this the true first?
The US Scribner and UK Hodder & Stoughton editions were published the same day, September 10, 2019; collectors treat the US Scribner hardcover as the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Copies without the 1 in the number line are later Scribner printings. Book club editions typically lack the number line and carry a jacket with no printed price, and are lighter in bulk than the trade first.

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