# Is "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (The Dial Press, 1963) is identified by: The Dial Press, New York, 1963, first printing: white covered boards with a beige speckle, stamped in red on the spine, with the top edge stained maroon and black endpapers, 120 pages. US Dial Press (New York) 1963 is the true first; the UK Michael Joseph edition also appeared in 1963.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Dial Press, New York, 1963, first printing: white covered boards with a beige speckle, stamped in red on the spine, with the top edge stained maroon and black endpapers, 120 pages
- The copyright page carries no later-printing statement
- The first-state dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon with a photograph by Mottke Weissman and carries its printed price on the flap
- Publisher imprint reads The Dial Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Baldwin |
| Publisher | The Dial Press |
| Year | 1963 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Dial Press, New York, 1963, first printing: white covered boards with a beige speckle, stamped in red on the spine, with the top edge… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The Dial Press, New York, 1963, first printing: white covered boards with a beige speckle, stamped in red on the spine, with the top edge stained maroon and black endpapers, 120 pages. The copyright page carries no later-printing statement. The first-state dust jacket was designed by Paul Bacon with a photograph by Mottke Weissman and carries its printed price on the flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Dial Press (New York) 1963 is the true first; the UK Michael Joseph edition also appeared in 1963.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints add printing statements to the copyright page; the first-state jacket carries its printed price and the Paul Bacon design with the Weissman photograph.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Fire Next Time* by James Baldwin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-fire-next-time
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.