# Is "Chilly Scenes of Winter" by Ann Beattie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Chilly Scenes of Winter by Ann Beattie (Doubleday & Company, 1976) is identified by: The true first is the US Doubleday edition of 1976 (280 pp.), quarter-bound in blue cloth over gray boards, with the dust jacket priced at the front flap. US Doubleday (1976) is the true first; it appeared simultaneously with the story collection Distortions (also Doubleday, 1976), so the two share debut status and the companion volume should not be confused with this novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the US Doubleday edition of 1976 (280 pp.), quarter-bound in blue cloth over gray boards, with the dust jacket priced at the front flap
- The first printing carries a stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page (Doubleday's long-running house point); note that Doubleday began adding number lines in late 1976, so the reliable first-printing marker for this title is the 'First Edition' statement together with no later-printing indication
- It was Beattie's first novel, issued simultaneously with her first story collection, Distortions — a well-known dual Doubleday debut; both volumes are collected as her first books
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ann Beattie |
| Publisher | Doubleday & Company |
| Year | 1976 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the US Doubleday edition of 1976 (280 pp.), quarter-bound in blue cloth over gray boards, with the dust jacket priced at… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The true first is the US Doubleday edition of 1976 (280 pp.), quarter-bound in blue cloth over gray boards, with the dust jacket priced at the front flap. The first printing carries a stated 'First Edition' on the copyright page (Doubleday's long-running house point); note that Doubleday began adding number lines in late 1976, so the reliable first-printing marker for this title is the 'First Edition' statement together with no later-printing indication. It was Beattie's first novel, issued simultaneously with her first story collection, Distortions — a well-known dual Doubleday debut; both volumes are collected as her first books.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday (1976) is the true first; it appeared simultaneously with the story collection Distortions (also Doubleday, 1976), so the two share debut status and the companion volume should not be confused with this novel. The 1986 Vintage Contemporaries paperback (with its well-known cover) is a later reprint / 'first thus,' not the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club printing is documented for the Doubleday first; the 1986 Vintage Contemporaries paperback is a reprint. Distinguish the first from the simultaneously issued companion collection Distortions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Chilly Scenes of Winter* by Ann Beattie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/chilly-scenes-of-winter
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.