# Is "Already Dead: A California Gothic" by Denis Johnson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Already Dead: A California Gothic by Denis Johnson (HarperCollins, 1997) is identified by: HarperCollins first edition, first printing, an octavo of 435 pages with a deckled fore-edge, carrying the complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page along with the HarperCollins imprint (ISBN 0-06-018737-9). The US HarperCollins hardcover, published in 1997, is the true first edition; a UK Picador/Pan edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- HarperCollins first edition, first printing, an octavo of 435 pages with a deckled fore-edge, carrying the complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page along with the HarperCollins imprint (ISBN 0-06-018737-9)
- The dust jacket has a white spine panel lettered in black; a first-printing jacket carries the original printed price at the top of the front flap and should be present and unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads HarperCollins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Denis Johnson |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | HarperCollins first edition, first printing, an octavo of 435 pages with a deckled fore-edge, carrying the complete number line ending in 1… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
HarperCollins first edition, first printing, an octavo of 435 pages with a deckled fore-edge, carrying the complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page along with the HarperCollins imprint (ISBN 0-06-018737-9). The dust jacket has a white spine panel lettered in black; a first-printing jacket carries the original printed price at the top of the front flap and should be present and unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
The US HarperCollins hardcover, published in 1997, is the true first edition; a UK Picador/Pan edition followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club copies are typically printed on thinner stock without the deckled fore-edge, omit the copyright-page number line, and carry a jacket with no printed price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Already Dead: A California Gothic* by Denis Johnson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/already-dead-a-california-gothic
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.