# Is "Emerald City and Other Stories" by Jennifer Egan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Emerald City and Other Stories by Jennifer Egan (Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, 1996) is identified by: First US edition, first printing. Corrected precedence: the US Nan A.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, first printing
- The copyright page carries the statement 'First Edition in the United States of America' together with a complete number line descending to 1
- This is Egan's debut story collection in its US form (Nan A. Talese / Doubleday)
- The hardcover is bound in dark orange boards with a black cloth spine lettered in gilt
- The dust jacket should retain its printed cover price (unclipped); price-clipping does not by itself disqualify a first printing but an intact printed price is preferred
- ISBN 9780385482127
- Publisher imprint reads Nan A. Talese / Doubleday

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jennifer Egan |
| Publisher | Nan A. Talese / Doubleday |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First US edition, first printing. The copyright page carries the statement 'First Edition in the United States of America' together with a complete number line descending to 1. This is Egan's debut story collection in its US form (Nan A. Talese / Doubleday). The hardcover is bound in dark orange boards with a black cloth spine lettered in gilt. The dust jacket should retain its printed cover price (unclipped); price-clipping does not by itself disqualify a first printing but an intact printed price is preferred. ISBN 9780385482127.

## Is this the true first?
Corrected precedence: the US Nan A. Talese/Doubleday 1996 hardcover is the first US edition, but it does NOT precede the UK. Picador published an Emerald City collection in London in 1993 (ISBN 0-330-32116-1), three years earlier; the 1996 US edition is an expanded version. Any claim that the US precedes the UK is inaccurate. The US 1996 remains the collectible first US edition and, being expanded, the first appearance of the collection in its enlarged form.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition. Distinguish the 1996 first US printing from the later 2007 Anchor trade paperback reissue (a separate ISBN), which is a reprint, not a first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Emerald City and Other Stories* by Jennifer Egan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/emerald-city-and-other-stories
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.