# Is "Dance of the Happy Shades" by Alice Munro a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro (Ryerson Press, 1968) is identified by: Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1968 - Munro's debut and first story collection, which won the 1968 Governor General's Award for English-language Fiction. Canadian Ryerson 1968 is the true first and quite scarce; the US edition is later.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1968 - Munro's debut and first story collection, which won the 1968 Governor General's Award for English-language Fiction
- Bound in green cloth boards with gilt spine lettering, issued in a dust jacket, and includes a foreword by Hugh Garner
- The 1968 first printing is not reliably identified by an explicit printed 'First Edition' statement; dealers establish it by date and points rather than a self-declared edition line
- Key point of issue is the dust jacket state: the true first-issue jacket has NO gold 'Winner of Governor General's Award' sticker on the lower-right front panel
- The award was won the same year as publication, so the prize sticker was added afterward; sticker'd copies are a later state (catalogued by some as first edition, second printing)
- Seek the first-issue jacket without the sticker, priced rather than clipped
- Publisher imprint reads Ryerson Press

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alice Munro |
| Publisher | Ryerson Press |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | Canadian edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1968 - Munro's debut and first story collection, which won the 1968 Governor General's Award for English-language… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1968 - Munro's debut and first story collection, which won the 1968 Governor General's Award for English-language Fiction. Bound in green cloth boards with gilt spine lettering, issued in a dust jacket, and includes a foreword by Hugh Garner. The 1968 first printing is not reliably identified by an explicit printed 'First Edition' statement; dealers establish it by date and points rather than a self-declared edition line. Key point of issue is the dust jacket state: the true first-issue jacket has NO gold 'Winner of Governor General's Award' sticker on the lower-right front panel. The award was won the same year as publication, so the prize sticker was added afterward; sticker'd copies are a later state (catalogued by some as first edition, second printing). Seek the first-issue jacket without the sticker, priced rather than clipped.

## Is this the true first?
Canadian Ryerson 1968 is the true first and quite scarce; the US edition is later. Munro's debut.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No club edition; primary risk is a later printing/state or the US edition being mis-described as the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dance of the Happy Shades* by Alice Munro a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dance-of-the-happy-shades
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.