5 Joy Williams first editions are documented on this shelf, from State of Grace (1973) to The Quick and the Dead (2000) across 4 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Joy Williams 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 Joy Williams copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- State of Grace — 1973 · DoubledayDoubleday first edition, copyright 1973. The reliable point of issue is the stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page; on Doubleday books of this era that statement appears only on first printings (it is dropped on later printings), often accompanied by a Doubleday letter/week dating code. Do not rely on a descending number line, since Doubleday did not consistently use one in this period. Williams's debut…. US Doubleday hardcover (1973) is the true first. The later Vintage Contemporaries paperback (ISBN 0-679-72619-5) is a first-thus, not the first. Doubleday book-club editions of this era are identified by a blind-stamped dot or square on the lower rear board, a smaller and lighter format, and absence of a printed jacket price (the price is replaced by a club code).
- The Changeling — 1978 · DoubledayDoubleday first edition, copyright 1978, with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page per Doubleday practice (statement present only on the first printing). Octavo, 201 pages, publisher's orange boards with black cloth spine. First-state dust jacket carries the original printed price, unclipped. Williams's scarce second novel; it had no second printing and went out of print until the 2008 reissue. US Doubleday hardcover (1978) is the true first. The 2008 Fairy Tale Review Press 30th-anniversary edition, with a foreword by Rick Moody, is a first-thus reissue. Doubleday club editions show the rear-board blind stamp and lack the printed jacket price.
- Taking Care — 1982 · Random HouseRandom House first edition with 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page accompanied by a number line whose lowest number is 2 (Random House first-printing convention of roughly 1970-2002: the stated 'First Edition' plus a line such as '2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9'). If the 'First Edition' statement is absent and the line begins at 2, it is a later printing. Williams's first story collection. Confirm an unclipped jacket…. US Random House hardcover (1982) is the true first. The later Vintage Contemporaries paperback (1985) is a first-thus, not the first. Book-club editions lack the 'First Edition' statement and the number line and may carry a rear-board blind stamp.
- Breaking and Entering — 1988 · Vintage ContemporariesIssued as a Vintage Contemporaries trade paperback original, copyright 1988 (ISBN 0-394-75773-4). As a paperback original there is no preceding hardcover, so this printing is the true first. Confirm a first-printing number line on the copyright page; later reprints add a printing notice. US Vintage Contemporaries paperback (1988) is the true first, a paperback original with no hardcover predecessor. No hardcover club edition precedes it; later reprints carry an added printing statement.
- The Quick and the Dead — 2000 · Alfred A. KnopfBorzoi/Knopf first edition with 'FIRST EDITION' stated on the copyright page and a full descending number line to 1; Borzoi colophon. ISBN 0-679-44646-X. First hardcover printing published October 2000. A 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist. First-state dust jacket should be present and unclipped. US Knopf hardcover (2000) is the true first. Book-club copies typically lack the stated first-edition line and number line and carry no printed jacket price.
More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Joyce Carol Oates, Julian Barnes, Junot Díaz, Karen Russell, Katherine Anne Porter, Katherine Mansfield.
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