2 John M. Ford first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Dragon Waiting (1983) to Growing Up Weightless (1993) across 2 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that John M. Ford title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.

Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a John M. Ford copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.

The Dragon Waiting — 1983 · Timescape Books / Simon & Schuster, New YorkFirst edition under the Timescape Books / Simon & Schuster imprint, 1983 (full title 'The Dragon Waiting: A Masque of History'); copyright-page number line / first-printing statement; quarter crimson cloth over charcoal boards stamped in silver; price on the jacket flap. World Fantasy Award winner. The US Timescape/S&S hardcover is the true first; UK and paperback editions follow. Confirm the Timescape imprint and the S&S number line. A Science Fiction Book Club printing shows a rear-board gutter blindstamp and an unpriced jacket; confirm the Timescape imprint and the S&S number line for the trade first.
Growing Up Weightless — 1993 · Bantam SpectraUS Bantam Spectra mass-market paperback original, October 1993 (ISBN 0-553-37306-4), issued as a Spectra Special Edition; first printing indicated by the number line counting down to 1 on the copyright page. Wraps carry cover art by Pamela Lee, with the printed cover price present at the lower spine/back panel. The US Bantam Spectra paperback original (1993) is the true first; there was no preceding hardcover, so a first-issue paperback with the down-to-1 number line is the earliest obtainable form. Co-winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for 1993 (presented 1994), tied with Jack Womack's Elvissey. Long out of print, the title was reissued by Tor/Macmillan in 2022 as part of the estate-sanctioned program to bring Ford's work back into print (which began in 2020 with The Dragon Waiting). Any Tor-imprint copy is a later edition, not the 1993 first.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: John McGahern, John O'Hara, John P. Marquand, John Steinbeck, John Updike, John Williams.

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