# Is "Midnight Magic: Selected Stories" by Bobbie Ann Mason a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Midnight Magic: Selected Stories by Bobbie Ann Mason (Ecco Press, 1998) is identified by: A first-thus selection of seventeen previously published stories drawn from Shiloh and Other Stories and Love Life, with a new introduction by the author. US first edition of this selection (Ecco Press, Hopewell, New Jersey).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- A first-thus selection of seventeen previously published stories drawn from Shiloh and Other Stories and Love Life, with a new introduction by the author
- First printing follows the Ecco number-line convention
- Publisher imprint reads Ecco Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bobbie Ann Mason |
| Publisher | Ecco Press |
| Year | 1998 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | A first-thus selection of seventeen previously published stories drawn from Shiloh and Other Stories and Love Life, with a new introduction… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
A first-thus selection of seventeen previously published stories drawn from Shiloh and Other Stories and Love Life, with a new introduction by the author. First printing follows the Ecco number-line convention.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition of this selection (Ecco Press, Hopewell, New Jersey). The contents are first-thus only; the individual stories appeared earlier in Mason's two prior collections.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No significant book-club issue noted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Midnight Magic: Selected Stories* by Bobbie Ann Mason a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/midnight-magic-selected-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 2026-07-04.