# Is "Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand" by Samuel R. Delany a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany (Bantam Books, 1984) is identified by: Bantam hardcover, cloth-backed boards; copyright page states 'A Bantam Book / December 1984' with a full number line ending in 1; priced dust jacket. US Bantam hardcover (December 1984) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bantam hardcover, cloth-backed boards; copyright page states 'A Bantam Book / December 1984' with a full number line ending in 1; priced dust jacket
- The Bantam Spectra mass-market paperback followed in 1985, not simultaneously
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Samuel R. Delany |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bantam hardcover, cloth-backed boards; copyright page states 'A Bantam Book / December 1984' with a full number line ending in 1; priced… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Bantam hardcover, cloth-backed boards; copyright page states 'A Bantam Book / December 1984' with a full number line ending in 1; priced dust jacket. The Bantam Spectra mass-market paperback followed in 1985, not simultaneously.

## Is this the true first?
US Bantam hardcover (December 1984) is the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Copies lacking a priced jacket or the full number line should be treated as book club or later printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand* by Samuel R. Delany a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/stars-in-my-pocket-like-grains-of-sand
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.