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First-Edition Identification · James McBride

Is My The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store a First Edition?

Riverhead Books, 2023

The points of issue

Number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; Riverhead / Penguin imprint; dust jacket with the printed price present.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder · Riverhead Books first-edition guide.

Is this the true first?

The US Riverhead hardcover of 2023 is the true first. It won the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Later printings may add an award seal to the jacket; confirm the number line runs down to 1 on the true first printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: Number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; Riverhead / Penguin imprint; dust jacket with the printed price present.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The US Riverhead hardcover of 2023 is the true first. It won the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Later printings may add an award seal to the jacket; confirm the number line runs down to 1 on the true first printing.

I have a first edition of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store — what should I do?

If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.

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