NMLP P-041164 · True-first precedence · minted 2026-07-19

The Cipher

Kathe Koja · Dell / Abyss, New York · 1991

US Dell/Abyss, New York, February 1991 paperback original is the true first; there is no UK-vs-US precedence question and no original-language issue. The collecting trap is format, not country: because the first edition is a disposable mass-market paperback, the handsome later hardcovers are frequently mistaken for firsts.

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New Mexico Literacy Project — True-first precedence NMLP P-041164 for "The Cipher" by Kathe Koja (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/id/point/p-041164, CC BY 4.0, dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21184548).