Keeper of the Lost Cities #2 Exile First Printing with a Surprise

I am on a mission to complete a set of Keeper of the Lost Cities hardcover books in true first printings.  Books 5 and up are easy to find in first printings.  Book 4 is slightly harder but still pretty easy to find.  Book 3 is more scarce than book 4.  Book 2 even more difficult, and book 1 is the most difficult one to find.

I remember a Shannon Messenger interview where she mentioned having a book signing when her first book was released.  She sat there with her stack of books, and nobody showed up.  The series was slow to gain a following.  My understanding is that people became fans through word of mouth.  They told their friends, and gradually more people began reading the books.

It's a given that the first Keeper book is the hardest one to find in a first printing.  One big obstacle is that more than 90% of online listings for Keeper books use stock photos.  There's no way to look at the appearance of a book to get an idea of which ones could be first printings.  

The early printings of the first five books are very easy to spot if the seller has photographed the book.  The series hit the New York Times bestseller list for the first time sometime after the release of book 5.  First and early printings of books 1 through 5 do not have the blurb "New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Series" along the top edge of the front cover.

So, I've been perusing the listings that don't use stock photos in order to locate possible first printings.  I quickly found #4 and #5.  #3 took a bit longer, but I acquired it in early April. 

I also managed to snag the second printing of the first book.  I'm pretty proud of it, since the second printing was run before publication of the first book and right after the first printing was run.  It's kind of weird that the first book had two print runs before it was even released.  I surmise that there were enough pre-orders from stores that Simon &Shuster needed to do another run.  This also indicates that the very first printing was probably rather small.

I looked even harder through listings in mid-April.  I found a listing for #2 Exile that didn't have the NYT blurb on the front cover.  Since I didn't yet have any copy of #2 without the blurb, I decided it was worth purchasing even if it wasn't the first printing.  It was also pretty cheap.

The book arrived on Monday.  I extracted it from the box and immediately opened the book to the copyright page.  I was beyond thrilled when I saw the full number line, 24681097531.  Woo-hoooooo!  It was late, and I set the book aside without examining it carefully.

On Tuesday evening I decided to look at the copyright page again.  I was laser-focused on the number line, the printing date, and the publication date as I looked at the page for the second time.  When I am laser-focused on certain details, I miss other things that should be obvious.  That means there's something to notice in this photo.  (Click on the image in order to see it at a higher resolution.)

I checked the number line again, 24681097531, and then I looked for the printing date, which is near the end of the line immediately above the number line.  I found 0813, which means August 2013.  I knew that the first printing would have been run before publication.  I looked higher on the page and found the copyright of 2013.  I then located the publication date of October 2013 on the line above the copyright.  Everything tallied.

I then glanced up at the dedication where Liesa Abrams Mignogna is in bold.  That's when I saw what is now obvious.  Just above the name, I could see that writing was present on the other side of the page, and it was a name.  

I very quickly reached a conclusion in just seconds.  "Someone wrote their name on the title page—SHANNON MESSENGER PROBABLY SIGNED THIS BOOK BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE SHE PUTS THE RECIPIENT'S NAME!!!!!!"

I turned the page over to the front.

How perfect!  I have a signed copy of the first printing of the second Keeper book.  There probably aren't many first printings of the first two books that are also signed by Messenger.

Shannon Messenger's signature has changed greatly in the last 12 years.  In around 2018 she changed to a fast signature with most letters unformed.  Her series is now rather popular, so she must sign a ton of books.

This is what her signature looks like now.

I am absolutely confident that both versions are authentic signatures.  I have seen the earlier version with all letters formed in multiple online listings.  I also have some promotional stuff from around 2018 with all letters formed.  I have a set of books that are all signed with the later style.  Those signatures are guaranteed authentic because they came from the bookstore mentioned on Messenger's Facebook as the place where she had just signed a bunch of books.

Here's a comparison of the 2013 Exile cover to the signed copy that I purchased last year.  The book purchased last year was printed in 2022.

The newer copy is brighter with more detail visible.  The older copy has a cleaner look, since it's missing the NYT blurb and Messenger's name is smaller.  I prefer the covers that don't have the NYT blurb, but I like the additional detail seen in the newer cover.