# Is "Mother Night" by Kurt Vonnegut a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut (Harper & Row, 1966) is identified by: The true first edition is the 1962 Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original (issued February 1962, printed wrappers). The genuine first edition is the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original (1962); the 1966 Harper & Row hardcover is the first hardcover, with newly added introductory matter.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition is the 1962 Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original (issued February 1962, printed wrappers)
- The first hardcover is Harper & Row 1966, which adds a new Introduction concluding with the dateline 'Iowa City, 1966'; first printing so stated, with the jacket carrying the printed price
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition is the 1962 Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original (issued February 1962, printed wrappers) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first edition is the 1962 Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original (issued February 1962, printed wrappers). The first hardcover is Harper & Row 1966, which adds a new Introduction concluding with the dateline 'Iowa City, 1966'; first printing so stated, with the jacket carrying the printed price.

## Is this the true first?
The genuine first edition is the Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original (1962); the 1966 Harper & Row hardcover is the first hardcover, with newly added introductory matter.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Harper book-club hardcover lacks the price and is blind-stamped; the paperback original cannot be confused with a book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mother Night* by Kurt Vonnegut a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mother-night
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.