# Is "Buried Child & Seduced & Suicide in B-Flat" by Sam Shepard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Buried Child & Seduced & Suicide in B-Flat by Sam Shepard (Urizen Books, 1979) is identified by: Urizen Books, New York, 1979, 155 pp. US Urizen first; the cloth is the only hardcover, issued together with the wrappers.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Urizen Books, New York, 1979, 155 pp
- Issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers; no later printing stated
- First book appearance of the Pulitzer-winning Buried Child (which won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize)
- Publisher imprint reads Urizen Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sam Shepard |
| Publisher | Urizen Books |
| Year | 1979 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Urizen Books, New York, 1979, 155 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Urizen Books, New York, 1979, 155 pp. Issued simultaneously in cloth and in wrappers; no later printing stated. First book appearance of the Pulitzer-winning Buried Child (which won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize).

## Is this the true first?
US Urizen first; the cloth is the only hardcover, issued together with the wrappers.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club. Later Bantam/Vintage reprints stated as such.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Buried Child & Seduced & Suicide in B-Flat* by Sam Shepard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/buried-child-seduced-suicide-in-b-flat
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.