# Is "Carrion Comfort (novella, original appearance)" by Dan Simmons a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Carrion Comfort (novella, original appearance) by Dan Simmons (Omni magazine, 1983) is identified by: The original short-fiction 'Carrion Comfort' first appeared in the September/October 1983 issue of Omni magazine, before the expanded 1989 novel. For the novel, the true first is the 1989 Dark Harvest book; the 1983 Omni appearance is the first appearance of the shorter text only, noted for completists rather than as the novel's first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The original short-fiction 'Carrion Comfort' first appeared in the September/October 1983 issue of Omni magazine, before the expanded 1989 novel
- This is a periodical appearance, not a book first edition
- Publisher imprint reads Omni magazine
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dan Simmons |
| Publisher | Omni magazine |
| Year | 1983 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The original short-fiction 'Carrion Comfort' first appeared in the September/October 1983 issue of Omni magazine, before the expanded 1989… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The original short-fiction 'Carrion Comfort' first appeared in the September/October 1983 issue of Omni magazine, before the expanded 1989 novel. This is a periodical appearance, not a book first edition.

## Is this the true first?
For the novel, the true first is the 1989 Dark Harvest book; the 1983 Omni appearance is the first appearance of the shorter text only, noted for completists rather than as the novel's first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable as a book; the magazine appearance is a periodical, not a book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Carrion Comfort (novella, original appearance)* by Dan Simmons a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/carrion-comfort-novella-original-appearance
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.