# Is "The Black Book (Kara Kitap)" by Orhan Pamuk a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Black Book (Kara Kitap) by Orhan Pamuk (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1994) is identified by: First English edition, 1994, translated by Guneli Gun, issued by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. The 1994 Gun translation is the true first English edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English edition, 1994, translated by Guneli Gun, issued by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. Cloth in dust jacket
- The Gun translation is the original first English text; the later Maureen Freely retranslation of 2006 is a separate first-thus, not the first English appearance
- The Turkish original appeared in 1990
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Orhan Pamuk |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus & Giroux |
| Year | 1994 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition, 1994, translated by Guneli Gun, issued by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. Cloth in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English edition, 1994, translated by Guneli Gun, issued by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in the US and Faber & Faber in the UK. Cloth in dust jacket. The Gun translation is the original first English text; the later Maureen Freely retranslation of 2006 is a separate first-thus, not the first English appearance. The Turkish original appeared in 1990.

## Is this the true first?
The 1994 Gun translation is the true first English edition. US and UK appeared the same year; precedence between the FSG and Faber imprints is not firmly established, so verify by imprint on the copy in hand. The 2006 Freely retranslation is a distinct first-thus.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The 2006 Freely translation and later paperbacks are subsequent. Distinguish the Gun (1994) and Freely (2006) translations.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Black Book (Kara Kitap)* by Orhan Pamuk a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-black-book-kara-kitap
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.