# Is "The Drowning Girl" by Caitlín R. Kiernan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc, 2012) is identified by: Trade paperback original, Roc, March 2012; the first printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The 2012 Roc trade paperback is the true first edition, a paperback original with no preceding hardcover trade edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Trade paperback original, Roc, March 2012; the first printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for 2012 (presented 2013) and the James Tiptree Jr
- Publisher imprint reads Roc
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Caitlín R. Kiernan |
| Publisher | Roc |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Trade paperback original, Roc, March 2012; the first printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Trade paperback original, Roc, March 2012; the first printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel for 2012 (presented 2013) and the James Tiptree Jr. Award.

## Is this the true first?
The 2012 Roc trade paperback is the true first edition, a paperback original with no preceding hardcover trade edition. A later signed limited hardcover from Centipede Press is a separate collectible state, not the first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. Later printings drop the 1 from the number line. The later Centipede limited is not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Drowning Girl* by Caitlín R. Kiernan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-drowning-girl
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.