# Is "Storyteller" by Leslie Marmon Silko a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Storyteller by Leslie Marmon Silko (Seaver Books, 1981) is identified by: Seaver Books imprint, 1981. The US Seaver Books edition of 1981, distributed by Grove Press, is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Seaver Books imprint, 1981
- Issued simultaneously in trade paperback wrappers (stating 'First Edition' on the copyright page) and in a clothbound hardcover
- Unusual oblong octavo format combining poetry, prose, and family photographs
- The true first carries the Seaver imprint with no later-printing notice
- Publisher imprint reads Seaver Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Leslie Marmon Silko |
| Publisher | Seaver Books |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Seaver Books imprint, 1981 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Seaver Books imprint, 1981. Issued simultaneously in trade paperback wrappers (stating 'First Edition' on the copyright page) and in a clothbound hardcover. Unusual oblong octavo format combining poetry, prose, and family photographs. The true first carries the Seaver imprint with no later-printing notice.

## Is this the true first?
The US Seaver Books edition of 1981, distributed by Grove Press, is the true first. Both the paperback and the clothbound hardcover are first-printing states. Later Arcade and Penguin reissues are 'first thus.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Identified by the Seaver Books imprint and the absence of any later-printing notice; reissues bear different imprints and added dates. Note the paperback issue is in wrappers and has no dust jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Storyteller* by Leslie Marmon Silko a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/storyteller
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.