# Is "Ceremony" by Leslie Marmon Silko a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (The Viking Press, 1977) is identified by: Copyright page shows only the 1977 Viking date with no later printings listed ('A Richard Seaver Book / The Viking Press'); Viking of this period used no number line, so a first printing simply carries no 'second/third printing' notice. The US Viking Press 1977 edition is the true first and Silko's first NOVEL (her poetry collection 'Laguna Woman,' 1974, precedes it, so this is her first novel, not her first book).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page shows only the 1977 Viking date with no later printings listed ('A Richard Seaver Book / The Viking Press')
- Viking of this period used no number line, so a first printing simply carries no 'second/third printing' notice
- Dust-jacket front photograph by the author's father, Lee H. Marmon (his image of Mt
- Taylor and old Acoma pueblo); price present at the front flap
- The defining point is the jacket state: the FIRST-issue jacket rear flap is headed 'Some comments on Leslie Silko'; the second-issue jacket (on the July 1977 second printing) substitutes 'Some Comments On: Ceremony.'
- Publisher imprint reads The Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Leslie Marmon Silko |
| Publisher | The Viking Press |
| Year | 1977 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Copyright page shows only the 1977 Viking date with no later printings listed ('A Richard Seaver Book / The Viking Press') |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Copyright page shows only the 1977 Viking date with no later printings listed ('A Richard Seaver Book / The Viking Press'); Viking of this period used no number line, so a first printing simply carries no 'second/third printing' notice. Dust-jacket front photograph by the author's father, Lee H. Marmon (his image of Mt. Taylor and old Acoma pueblo); price present at the front flap. The defining point is the jacket state: the FIRST-issue jacket rear flap is headed 'Some comments on Leslie Silko'; the second-issue jacket (on the July 1977 second printing) substitutes 'Some Comments On: Ceremony.'

## Is this the true first?
The US Viking Press 1977 edition is the true first and Silko's first NOVEL (her poetry collection 'Laguna Woman,' 1974, precedes it, so this is her first novel, not her first book). There is no competing simultaneous UK first — the Viking printing is the first appearance. The defining first-printing tell is the first-issue jacket-flap wording 'Some comments on Leslie Silko'; the July 1977 second printing carries the reset 'Some Comments On: Ceremony' flap.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club and later reprints lack the clean 1977-only copyright-page state and the first-issue jacket flap. Track the two documented jacket states: first issue 'Some comments on Leslie Silko' (first printing) vs. 'Some Comments On: Ceremony' (July 1977 second printing). A book-club copy has neither the priced first-issue jacket nor the first-printing copyright-page state.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Ceremony* by Leslie Marmon Silko a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/ceremony
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.