# Is "Whispers" by Dean Koontz a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Whispers by Dean Koontz (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1980) is identified by: True first is the Putnam hardcover with the printed jacket price present and no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; in this period Putnam typically indicated the first by the word First Edition or by date correspondence rather than a number line, which Putnam did not adopt until about 1985. US Putnam, 1980, is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Putnam hardcover with the printed jacket price present and no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; in this period Putnam typically indicated the first by the word First Edition or by date correspondence rather than a number line, which Putnam did not adopt until about 1985
- One of Koontz's scarcer early hardcovers under his own name
- Publisher imprint reads G. P. Putnam's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dean Koontz |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Putnam hardcover with the printed jacket price present and no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is the Putnam hardcover with the printed jacket price present and no statement of a later printing on the copyright page; in this period Putnam typically indicated the first by the word First Edition or by date correspondence rather than a number line, which Putnam did not adopt until about 1985. One of Koontz's scarcer early hardcovers under his own name.

## Is this the true first?
US Putnam, 1980, is the true first. UK Collins published in 1981.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club edition lacks the jacket price and carries the small blind-stamp on the rear board.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Whispers* by Dean Koontz a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/whispers-dean-koontz
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.