It
by Stephen King
It is a horror novel by Stephen King, first published by Viking in the United States on 15 September 1986. It follows seven outcast children in Derry, Maine, who confront an ancient shapeshifting evil that often appears as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and again as adults.
- Editions tracked
- 2
- First edition
- Viking, 1986
- First published
- Viking, United States, 1986
The first edition of It by Stephen King was published in New York, N.Y., U.S.A by Viking in 1986; the first UK edition followed from Hodder & Stoughton in 1986. We track 2 editions, with the points that separate the first printing from later ones.
Spot the first edition: Copyright page: first published 1986 statement with no number line or later printing noted (first printing) Full identification guide
Which edition do you have?
First edition
Later and other editions
Awards, adaptations and setting
Awards and honours
Adaptations
- It television series, 1990
- It film, 2017
- It: Chapter Two film, 2019
- The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet's Function television series, 2025
- It: Welcome to Derry television series
- Woh television series
Setting and characters
- Set in
- Derry
- Characters
- Pennywise, Dan McClintock, Beverly Marsh, Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, Georgie Denbrough, Ben Hanscom
- Genre
- horror fiction
In print
- Editions recorded
- 99 on Open Library, 31 in English
- Wikipedia
- Articles in 44 languages
From Wikidata and Open Library, both CC0. A prize or a new adaptation often lifts demand for the first printing.
First UK and first US editions compared
The US edition came first, so it is the true first. The other is the first edition in its own country, collected in its own right but usually worth less.
Pictures of the book
_front_cover,_first_edition.jpg){kind=link}
Freely licensed pictures of the work. They are not necessarily the edition you hold: check the points on each edition's page.
More by Stephen King
Questions about It
Reviews of It
Read it or own it? Share what It is like to read or collect.
Know what you are looking at
Stephen King First Editions: How to Identify and Value Them
The key Stephen King first editions are the Doubleday hardbacks from Carrie (1974) to The Stand (1978): each says First …
Read the guide →7 min readHow to Identify a First Edition
To identify a first edition, check that your copy is the first printing of the first edition. Read the copyright …
Read the guide →6 min readBook Condition Grading: Fine to Poor Explained
Book condition grading uses a six-step trade scale: Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor. Collectors grade the …
Read the guide →Frequently asked questions
Who published the first edition of It?
The first edition of It by Stephen King was published in New York, N.Y., U.S.A by Viking in 1986.
How many editions of It are there?
We track 2 editions of It, including 1 first edition. Each has its own page with how to identify it.
Did It win any awards?
Yes: It won the August Derleth Award (1987), according to Wikidata.
Has It been adapted?
Yes, including It: Welcome to Derry (television series), Woh (television series), The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet's Function (television series, 2025), according to Wikidata.
Where these facts come from
- It (novel), Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Wikidata Query Service, publication data for batch items, Wikidata (query.wikidata.org)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.