# Is "Conjure Wife" by Fritz Leiber a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber (Twayne, 1952) is identified by: First magazine appearance was the April 1943 issue of Unknown Worlds. The 1943 Unknown Worlds serial is the true textual first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First magazine appearance was the April 1943 issue of Unknown Worlds
- The first book appearance was in the hardcover anthology Witches Three (Twayne, 1952), where an expanded and revised text led the volume alongside stories by Blish and Pratt
- The first standalone book was the Lion Books paperback original of 1953; a standalone hardcover did not follow until the Gregg Press edition of 1977
- Publisher imprint reads Twayne
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Fritz Leiber |
| Publisher | Twayne |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First magazine appearance was the April 1943 issue of Unknown Worlds |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First magazine appearance was the April 1943 issue of Unknown Worlds. The first book appearance was in the hardcover anthology Witches Three (Twayne, 1952), where an expanded and revised text led the volume alongside stories by Blish and Pratt. The first standalone book was the Lion Books paperback original of 1953; a standalone hardcover did not follow until the Gregg Press edition of 1977.

## Is this the true first?
The 1943 Unknown Worlds serial is the true textual first. The first book appearance is the 1952 Twayne anthology Witches Three (hardcover), not the Lion paperback. The 1953 Lion edition is the first standalone book; the 1977 Gregg hardcover is the first standalone hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition applies. Distinguish the fragile 1953 Lion paperback original from later Ace and Berkley reprints, and note that the earliest book form is the 1952 Twayne anthology rather than any standalone.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Conjure Wife* by Fritz Leiber a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/conjure-wife
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.