# Is "Nightwings" by Robert Silverberg a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Nightwings by Robert Silverberg (Avon, 1969) is identified by: Avon paperback original, catalog number V2303 (not V2331), first printing September 1969, running to 190 pages, with the wraparound cover art by Don Ivan Punchatz. The US Avon paperback original (V2303, September 1969) is the true first book edition, first assembling the three linked stories Nightwings, Perris Way, and To Jorslem into a single fix-up novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Avon paperback original, catalog number V2303 (not V2331), first printing September 1969, running to 190 pages, with the wraparound cover art by Don Ivan Punchatz
- As a paperback original there is no printer's number line; the true first is identified by the V2303 catalog number and the printed cover price on the front cover (present, not clipped, on an unmarked copy)
- The title novella won the 1969 Hugo Award, and the assembled novel later took the 1975 Prix Apollo
- Publisher imprint reads Avon
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Silverberg |
| Publisher | Avon |
| Year | 1969 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Avon paperback original, catalog number V2303 (not V2331), first printing September 1969, running to 190 pages, with the wraparound cover… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Avon paperback original, catalog number V2303 (not V2331), first printing September 1969, running to 190 pages, with the wraparound cover art by Don Ivan Punchatz. As a paperback original there is no printer's number line; the true first is identified by the V2303 catalog number and the printed cover price on the front cover (present, not clipped, on an unmarked copy). The title novella won the 1969 Hugo Award, and the assembled novel later took the 1975 Prix Apollo.

## Is this the true first?
The US Avon paperback original (V2303, September 1969) is the true first book edition, first assembling the three linked stories Nightwings, Perris Way, and To Jorslem into a single fix-up novel. No prior hardcover precedes it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable; a paperback original with no book club edition. Later Avon printings carry higher catalog numbers and revised cover pricing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Nightwings* by Robert Silverberg a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/nightwings
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.