# Is "The Strain" by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Strain by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan (William Morrow, New York, 2009) is identified by: The first printing is the William Morrow (New York) hardcover of 2009, ISBN 0061558230 / 9780061558238, 401 pp., published 2 June 2009. US and UK were genuinely simultaneous, and the census claim is CONFIRMED.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is the William Morrow (New York) hardcover of 2009, ISBN 0061558230 / 9780061558238, 401 pp., published 2 June 2009
- The copyright page carries a stated "First edition" together with the publisher's first-printing number code sequence running 1 through 10
- This title has a genuine jacket point of issue: the first-issue dust jacket has a "peek-a-boo" die-cut in the front panel and raised lettering on the front panel; later issues are NOT cut out
- The first-issue jacket also carries a printed date code "0609" at the front inner flap, and should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap
- Binding: glossy red and black illustrated boards with cream/white lettering to the spine, red endpapers, and plum headband and tailband
- Jacket design by Ervin Serrano
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow, New York

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan |
| Publisher | William Morrow, New York |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is the William Morrow (New York) hardcover of 2009, ISBN 0061558230 / 9780061558238, 401 pp., published 2 June 2009 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The first printing is the William Morrow (New York) hardcover of 2009, ISBN 0061558230 / 9780061558238, 401 pp., published 2 June 2009. The copyright page carries a stated "First edition" together with the publisher's first-printing number code sequence running 1 through 10. This title has a genuine jacket point of issue: the first-issue dust jacket has a "peek-a-boo" die-cut in the front panel and raised lettering on the front panel; later issues are NOT cut out. The first-issue jacket also carries a printed date code "0609" at the front inner flap, and should be a priced jacket with the price present at the flap. Binding: glossy red and black illustrated boards with cream/white lettering to the spine, red endpapers, and plum headband and tailband. Jacket design by Ervin Serrano.

## Is this the true first?
US and UK were genuinely simultaneous, and the census claim is CONFIRMED. The William Morrow hardcover (New York) is dated 2 June 2009 and the HarperCollins UK hardcover, ISBN 0007310250 / 9780007310258, is likewise dated 2 June 2009. Both are collected; the Morrow is the copy carrying the documented die-cut first-issue jacket point, and is the edition dealers describe in detail. Written in English, so no original-language question arises.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No US book-club issue is documented. The decisive reprint tell is the jacket: a later-issue jacket has a solid (uncut) front panel where the first issue is die-cut, so a copy in an uncut jacket is not in first-issue state regardless of the copyright page. Additional reprint tells are loss of the "First edition" statement and a number line no longer running to 1. Absence of the "0609" flap date code is a further caution.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Strain* by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-strain
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.