# Is "The Magicians" by Lev Grossman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Magicians by Lev Grossman (Viking, 2009) is identified by: True first is Viking (Viking Penguin), New York, August 2009, ISBN 978-0-670-02055-3, 402 pp; the copyright page states 'First published in 2009 by Viking Penguin' with the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. US Viking (August 2009) is the true first; the UK William Heinemann edition followed and is the collected first in Britain.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is Viking (Viking Penguin), New York, August 2009, ISBN 978-0-670-02055-3, 402 pp; the copyright page states 'First published in 2009 by Viking Penguin' with the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
- Binding is light gray paper boards with the author's initials blind-embossed on the front board and metallic lettering to the spine, a deckled fore-edge, and map (Fillory) endpapers; the jacket bears six blurbs (Junot Diaz, George R. R. Martin, Kate Christensen, Gary Shteyngart, Kelly Link, Scott Smith) with the price present at the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Viking
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Lev Grossman |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is Viking (Viking Penguin), New York, August 2009, ISBN 978-0-670-02055-3, 402 pp; the copyright page states 'First published in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is Viking (Viking Penguin), New York, August 2009, ISBN 978-0-670-02055-3, 402 pp; the copyright page states 'First published in 2009 by Viking Penguin' with the number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. Binding is light gray paper boards with the author's initials blind-embossed on the front board and metallic lettering to the spine, a deckled fore-edge, and map (Fillory) endpapers; the jacket bears six blurbs (Junot Diaz, George R. R. Martin, Kate Christensen, Gary Shteyngart, Kelly Link, Scott Smith) with the price present at the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Viking (August 2009) is the true first; the UK William Heinemann edition followed and is the collected first in Britain. Both are 2009 English-language firsts, with US Viking holding precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings drop the 1 from the number line. No distinct book-club hardcover point is documented; confirm via the 'First published in 2009 by Viking Penguin' statement together with the number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Magicians* by Lev Grossman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-magicians
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.