# Is "The Friend" by Sigrid Nunez a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (Riverhead Books, 2018) is identified by: Riverhead Books (Penguin) hardcover, 2018 (ISBN 978-0-7352-1944-1), with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The US Riverhead hardcover (2018) is the true first; the book won the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction, so genuine first-issue jackets predate any award seal.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Riverhead Books (Penguin) hardcover, 2018 (ISBN 978-0-7352-1944-1), with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- The reported first printing was a small run of roughly 10,500 copies
- The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed retail price on the flap and, being from the initial 2018 run, bears no National Book Award seal
- Publisher imprint reads Riverhead Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sigrid Nunez |
| Publisher | Riverhead Books |
| Year | 2018 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Riverhead Books (Penguin) hardcover, 2018 (ISBN 978-0-7352-1944-1), with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Riverhead Books (Penguin) hardcover, 2018 (ISBN 978-0-7352-1944-1), with a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The reported first printing was a small run of roughly 10,500 copies. The first-issue dust jacket carries the printed retail price on the flap and, being from the initial 2018 run, bears no National Book Award seal.

## Is this the true first?
The US Riverhead hardcover (2018) is the true first; the book won the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction, so genuine first-issue jackets predate any award seal.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is a concern. Confirm a number line ending in 1, the printed price on the jacket flap, and the absence of an award seal; later printings and post-award jackets add the National Book Award Winner banner.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Friend* by Sigrid Nunez a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-friend
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.