# Is "Run River" by Joan Didion a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Run River by Joan Didion (Ivan Obolensky, 1963) is identified by: First printing under the Ivan Obolensky imprint, 1963, with no later-printing statement on the copyright page. The US Ivan Obolensky 1963 edition is the true first and Didion's debut novel.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing under the Ivan Obolensky imprint, 1963, with no later-printing statement on the copyright page
- Publisher's cloth (teal/blue, stamped in white to the spine) in the original aqua dust jacket designed by Anthony Post, with a photograph of Didion on the rear panel
- Didion's first novel, set in the Sacramento Valley
- Publisher imprint reads Ivan Obolensky
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Joan Didion |
| Publisher | Ivan Obolensky |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing under the Ivan Obolensky imprint, 1963, with no later-printing statement on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing under the Ivan Obolensky imprint, 1963, with no later-printing statement on the copyright page. Publisher's cloth (teal/blue, stamped in white to the spine) in the original aqua dust jacket designed by Anthony Post, with a photograph of Didion on the rear panel. Didion's first novel, set in the Sacramento Valley.

## Is this the true first?
The US Ivan Obolensky 1963 edition is the true first and Didion's debut novel. Later reissues under different imprints are 'first thus,' not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Identified by the Ivan Obolensky imprint and the original priced first-issue jacket; commonly encountered copies are later reissues with different imprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Run River* by Joan Didion a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/run-river
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.