# Is "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" by Annie Dillard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (Harper's Magazine Press / Harper & Row, 1974) is identified by: First edition, first printing has the full number line ending in '1' and/or the Harper's Magazine Press first-issue copyright state, 1974. US Harper's Magazine Press / Harper & Row (1974) is the true first—Dillard's landmark nature work and 1975 Pulitzer winner.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing has the full number line ending in '1' and/or the Harper's Magazine Press first-issue copyright state, 1974
- First-issue dust jacket priced on the front flap with NO mention of the Pulitzer Prize (Dillard won the 1975 Pulitzer for this book, so a Pulitzer-free jacket = first issue)
- Publisher imprint reads Harper's Magazine Press / Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Annie Dillard |
| Publisher | Harper's Magazine Press / Harper & Row |
| Year | 1974 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing has the full number line ending in '1' and/or the Harper's Magazine Press first-issue copyright state, 1974 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing has the full number line ending in '1' and/or the Harper's Magazine Press first-issue copyright state, 1974. First-issue dust jacket priced on the front flap with NO mention of the Pulitzer Prize (Dillard won the 1975 Pulitzer for this book, so a Pulitzer-free jacket = first issue).

## Is this the true first?
US Harper's Magazine Press / Harper & Row (1974) is the true first—Dillard's landmark nature work and 1975 Pulitzer winner. The absence of any Pulitzer notice on the first-issue jacket is the key point; later printings/jackets add the award. Signed firsts are sought.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the number-line/first-issue state and carry a blind-stamp and price-clipped jacket. Any jacket touting the Pulitzer is a later printing or state, not the first issue.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Pilgrim at Tinker Creek* by Annie Dillard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/pilgrim-at-tinker-creek
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.