What is a "Paperback Original"

[ddmorton]

Hello mystery fans.

I have a question for the masses. I always enjoy perusing the list of Edger and Shamus award winners. Many of the categories are straight forward but I've never seen a definition of what is considered a Paperback Original.

Is it simply a book that was never published in a hardback edition or is there some other industry meaning?

Curiously yours,

ddmorton

[dhaupt]

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ddmorton wrote:

Hello mystery fans.

I have a question for the masses. I always enjoy perusing the list of Edger and Shamus award winners. Many of the categories are straight forward but I've never seen a definition of what is considered a Paperback Original.

Is it simply a book that was never published in a hardback edition or is there some other industry meaning?

Curiously yours,

ddmorton

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That's exactly what it is ddmorton.

[becke_davis]

What a good question! I had to look it up. These are the answers I found:

A paperback, either mass market or otherwise, that is the real genuine first edition of a particular title. Many notable first editions of 1950s genre fiction were paperback originals, such as Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me.

also

Paperback Original (PBO)A book which was first published as either a mass market or trade paperback. A favorite format for new and “mid-list” authors, the paperback original is an endangered species.

[basson_mommy12]

Probably soon-to-be-replaced by ebook originals.

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becke_davis wrote:

What a good question! I had to look it up. These are the answers I found:

A paperback, either mass market or otherwise, that is the real genuine first edition of a particular title. Many notable first editions of 1950s genre fiction were paperback originals, such as Jim Thompson's The Killer Inside Me.

also

Paperback Original (PBO)A book which was first published as either a mass market or trade paperback. A favorite format for new and “mid-list” authors, the paperback original is an endangered species.

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