# Is "Annie Allen" by Gwendolyn Brooks a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Annie Allen by Gwendolyn Brooks (Harper & Brothers, 1949) is identified by: Won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the first Pulitzer awarded to an African American author. US Harper & Brothers (1949) is the true first; no prior UK edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the first Pulitzer awarded to an African American author
- First printing: Harper & Brothers, 1949, identified by the Harper letter code 'F-Y' on the copyright page (F = June month, Y = 1949 year) together with the 'FIRST EDITION' statement, in dust jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Brothers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gwendolyn Brooks |
| Publisher | Harper & Brothers |
| Year | 1949 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | Won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the first Pulitzer awarded to an African American author |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, the first Pulitzer awarded to an African American author. First printing: Harper & Brothers, 1949, identified by the Harper letter code 'F-Y' on the copyright page (F = June month, Y = 1949 year) together with the 'FIRST EDITION' statement, in dust jacket.

## Is this the true first?
US Harper & Brothers (1949) is the true first; no prior UK edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue. The first printing is identified by the Harper code 'F-Y' (June 1949) plus 'FIRST EDITION'; later printings change the letter code.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Annie Allen* by Gwendolyn Brooks a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/annie-allen
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.