# Is "Encounters with Chinese Writers" by Annie Dillard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Encounters with Chinese Writers by Annie Dillard (Wesleyan University Press, 1984) is identified by: Wesleyan University Press (Middletown, Connecticut) first edition, dated 1984 on the copyright page per their convention (ISBN 0-8195-5130-9). True first US edition of this journalism/essays collection; there was no separate UK first ahead of the Wesleyan printing.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Wesleyan University Press (Middletown, Connecticut) first edition, dated 1984 on the copyright page per their convention (ISBN 0-8195-5130-9)
- Issued in cloth-covered boards, generally reported as bright blue boards lettered in silver on the spine, in a pictorial dust jacket
- A first-issue jacket should carry the printed price on the front flap (price present, not clipped) and identify Wesleyan University Press as publisher
- Work of literary journalism/essays, 117 pages
- Publisher imprint reads Wesleyan University Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Annie Dillard |
| Publisher | Wesleyan University Press |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Wesleyan University Press (Middletown, Connecticut) first edition, dated 1984 on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Wesleyan University Press (Middletown, Connecticut) first edition, dated 1984 on the copyright page per their convention (ISBN 0-8195-5130-9). Issued in cloth-covered boards, generally reported as bright blue boards lettered in silver on the spine, in a pictorial dust jacket. A first-issue jacket should carry the printed price on the front flap (price present, not clipped) and identify Wesleyan University Press as publisher. Work of literary journalism/essays, 117 pages.

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition of this journalism/essays collection; there was no separate UK first ahead of the Wesleyan printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No major book-club edition concern. A later Harper Perennial / Harper & Row trade paperback reissue exists and is a reprint, not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Encounters with Chinese Writers* by Annie Dillard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/encounters-with-chinese-writers
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.