George Pelecanos First Editions

• A Firing Offense — 1992 · St. Martin's PressFirst edition stated on the copyright page with the number line descending to 1. Bound in black cloth boards with gilt spine lettering; octavo, roughly 216 pages. First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap (an unclipped jacket retains it) and should not be price-clipped to identify the true first state. The US St. Martin's Press hardcover is the true first, published New York, 1992. It is Pelecanos's debut and the first Nick Stefanos novel, printed in a small run and consequently scarce in collectible condition. No book club edition was issued; the modest first print run is the only hardcover first state to seek.
• Nick's Trip — 1993 · St. Martin's PressCopyright page carries the St. Martin's Press statement 'First edition: March 1993' above a full descending number line ending in 1. The book is bound in blue paper-covered boards with the title stamped in gilt on the spine, and the first-issue dust jacket carries its printed price on the front flap (present and unclipped on an unmarried jacket). The US St. Martin's Press hardcover of March 1993 is the true first. It is the second Nick Stefanos novel and among the harder Pelecanos titles to find in the first printing. No book club edition was issued; the printed 'First edition: March 1993' line together with the number line ending in 1 confirms the first printing.
• Shoedog — 1994 · St. Martin's PressFirst Edition stated on the copyright page with a full number line descending to 1. Issued in publisher's blue paper-covered boards with the spine stamped in gilt, in a pictorial dust jacket carrying the printed price on the front flap. The US St. Martin's Press hardcover (1994) is the true first; a standalone novel and one of the more elusive titles in the Pelecanos bibliography. No book club edition; the first printing is genuinely scarce, particularly in fine condition.
• Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go — 1995 · St. Martin's PressFirst Edition stated on copyright page with full number line ending in 1. US St. Martin's Press hardcover (1995) is the true first; third Nick Stefanos novel. A UK Serpent's Tail edition also appeared in 1995 but the US issue preceded it. No book club edition; scarce.
• The Big Blowdown — 1996 · St. Martin's PressFirst Edition stated on the copyright page with a full number line descending to 1. Cloth-backed boards in a pictorial dust jacket bearing the printed price on the front flap. The US St. Martin's Press hardcover (June 1996) is the true first; it is the first novel of the DC Quartet. The UK Serpent's Tail edition did not appear until 2000, so the US issue is the genuine first. No book club edition; scarce.
• King Suckerman — 1997 · Little, BrownFirst edition stated on the copyright page with the number line descending to 1, in the Little, Brown style of the period. Issued in a priced dust jacket whose front flap should retain the printed price on the true first state. Second novel of the DC Quartet. The US Little, Brown hardcover (Boston, 1997) is the true first. The UK Serpent's Tail edition followed in 1998, so the American edition precedes all others. No significant book club edition; the Little, Brown first printing is the first state.
• The Sweet Forever — 1998 · Little, BrownUS Little, Brown hardcover, stated "First Edition" on the copyright page with a full number line ending in 1. Bound in quarter black paper over brown cloth boards with silver spine lettering; dust jacket designed by Tom Brown, with the printed cover price present on the front flap of a first-issue jacket. ISBN 0316691097. US Little, Brown true first; third novel of the D.C. Quartet. None significant; verify by the stated First Edition and number line ending in 1 rather than jacket alone.
• Shame the Devil — 2000 · Little, BrownUS Little, Brown hardcover, stated "First Edition" on the copyright page with a full number line ending in 1, in quarter cloth over paper-covered boards. First-issue dust jacket carries the printed cover price on the front flap. ISBN 0316695238. US Little, Brown true first; fourth and final novel of the D.C. Quartet. None significant; identify by the stated First Edition and intact number line ending in 1.
• Right as Rain — 2001 · Little, BrownUS Little, Brown hardcover, stated "First Edition" on the copyright page with a complete number line ending in 1. Dust jacket designed by Paul Sahre incorporating a photograph by Michael Northrup, with the printed cover price present on the front flap of a first-issue jacket. ISBN 0316695262. US Little, Brown true first; first Derek Strange / Terry Quinn novel. A UK hardcover was published by Orion the same year (2001); available sources do not establish clear precedence between the two, so the Little, Brown printing stands as the US true first. None significant; verify via the stated First Edition and full number line ending in 1.
• Hell to Pay — 2002 · Little, BrownUS Little, Brown trade hardcover, stated "First Edition" on the copyright page accompanied by a full descending number line ending in 1. Issued in quarter cloth over paper-covered boards with the pictorial dust jacket bearing the printed cover price on the front flap; a correct first will retain that printed price. ISBN 0316695068. US Little, Brown true first; second Derek Strange / Terry Quinn novel. A separate signed limited edition was later issued by Dennis McMillan Publications in quarter morocco with slipcase; that deluxe issue is distinct from and does not precede the Little, Brown trade first. No significant U.S. book-club issue tell noted; confirm identity by the stated First Edition with the intact number line ending in 1 rather than by jacket alone.
• Soul Circus — 2003 · Little, BrownUS Little, Brown hardcover, stated "First Edition" on the copyright page with a full number line ending in 1. Bound in quarter black paper over grey paper-covered boards with red spine lettering; dust jacket designed by Scott Levine, with the printed cover price present on the front flap of a first-issue jacket. ISBN 0316608432. US Little, Brown true first; third Derek Strange / Terry Quinn novel. None significant; confirm by the stated First Edition with the number line ending in 1.
• Hard Revolution — 2004 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown, New York, 2004; 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page with a full descending number line (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). Dust jacket artwork by Joe Servello; the priced jacket should retain its printed price on the true first (price-clipping does not by itself demote it). US Little, Brown is the true first — a Derek Strange origin/prequel novel set largely in 1960s Washington, D.C. (framed 1959 to 1968). A separate signed/limited edition (issued via Dennis McMillan) of 404 copies is distinct from the trade first: 104 copies in quarter-morocco calfskin and 300 in red Brillianta cloth in a custom slipcase, signed and numbered, some accompanied by a CD soundtrack. These are a…. No significant book-club issue affecting the trade first-printing point.
• Drama City — 2005 · Little, BrownFirst edition stated on the copyright page over a complete number line descending to 1. The first printing is bound in black quarter cloth over blue boards with iridescent blue lettering stamped on the spine, and issues in a photographic dust jacket showing fingers gripping a chain-link fence (jacket photograph credited to Robert Llewellyn). A correct first-issue jacket carries the printed cover price on the…. US Little, Brown (New York, 2005) is the true first; a standalone novel with no preceding UK or limited issue. No significant book-club issue affecting the trade first-printing point; identify the trade first by the stated 'First edition' and full number line rather than by jacket art alone, since later states reuse the same design.
• The Night Gardener — 2006 · Little, BrownFirst Edition stated on the copyright page together with the Little, Brown descending number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, the terminal 1 confirming the first printing. Standalone novel of 377 pages. Copies signed by Pelecanos are signed on the title page. First-issue dust jacket should retain the original printed price on the front flap (the presence of the printed price is the point, not any amount). US Little, Brown is the true first; standalone novel, published 2006. No significant book-club issue affecting the trade first-printing point.
• The Turnaround — 2008 · Little, BrownFirst Edition stated on the copyright page together with the Little, Brown descending number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, the terminal 1 confirming the first printing. Standalone novel, published 2008. Copies signed by Pelecanos are signed on the title page. First-issue dust jacket should retain the original printed price on the front flap (the presence of the printed price is the point, not any amount). US Little, Brown is the true first; standalone novel. No significant book-club issue affecting the trade first-printing point.
• The Way Home — 2009 · Little, BrownFirst Edition stated on the copyright page together with the Little, Brown descending number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, the terminal 1 confirming the first printing. Standalone novel, published May 2009. Copies signed by Pelecanos are signed on the title page. First-issue dust jacket should retain the original printed price on the front flap (the presence of the printed price is the point, not any amount). US Little, Brown is the true first; standalone novel, published May 11, 2009. No significant book-club issue affecting the trade first-printing point.
• The Cut — 2011 · Reagan Arthur/Little, BrownFirst edition stated on the copyright page over a complete number line descending to 1, carrying the Reagan Arthur Books / Little, Brown imprint (Boston, 2011). The first printing issues in a hardcover binding with a pictorial dust jacket; a correct first-issue jacket retains the printed cover price on the front flap and is not clipped. This is the first Spero Lucas novel. US Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown is the true first, preceding the UK Orion edition; confirm the American first by the stated 'First edition' and full number line. No significant book-club issue affecting the trade first-printing point.
• What It Was — 2012 · Reagan Arthur / Little, BrownIssued simultaneously in three formats in 2012: a trade hardcover, a signed deluxe limited edition housed in a black slipcase (no dust jacket, afro-pick graphic on the slipcase), and a trade paperback original priced at 9.99 (this was a trade paperback, not a mass-market paperback). On the hardcover and paperback, look for a Little, Brown full number line ending in 1. Because the formats appeared together, no…. A Derek Strange novel released across multiple formats at once by Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown in early 2012; the paperback issue is a trade paperback original, not a mass-market paperback. Collectors distinguish the signed limited slipcase edition from the ordinary trade hardcover and the paperback original. None significant.
• The Double — 2013 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown and Company first US edition, 2013 (ISBN 9780316239899), the second Spero Lucas novel, published October 2013. The first printing states 'First Edition' (or 'First Printing') on the copyright page accompanied by a full descending number line ending in 1; the dust jacket should retain its printed price. US Little, Brown hardcover is the true first; the second Spero Lucas novel, published October 2013. None significant.
• The Martini Shot — 2015 · Little, BrownUS Little, Brown hardcover first printing, identified by a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Subtitled A Novella and Stories, collecting the title novella (about a writer-producer on a cable cop show) with previously published short stories and one new piece. First-state jacket carries the printed price on the front flap. ISBN 9780316284394. US Little, Brown hardcover is the true first; Pelecanos's first collection of short fiction, a novella and stories, published January 2015. None significant.
• The Man Who Came Uptown — 2018 · Mulholland / Little, BrownMulholland Books first printing, identified by a full descending number line running from 10 down to 1 and ending in 1 on the copyright page. Published September 4, 2018, ISBN 9780316479820; a standalone novel. US Mulholland Books (a Little, Brown imprint) hardcover is the true first; a standalone novel published September 2018. None significant.
• Owning Up — 2024 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown and Company first printing, full title Owning Up: New Fiction. First printings carry the Little, Brown descending number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page, the terminal 1 indicating the first printing. A collection of four novellas. Copies signed by Pelecanos are signed on the title page. First-issue dust jacket should carry the original printed price on the front flap; the presence of…. US Little, Brown and Company hardcover is the true first, published February 6, 2024; a collection of four novellas (not a general short-story collection), issued under the full title Owning Up: New Fiction. None significant.

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