# Is "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Riverhead Books, 2023) is identified by: First US edition, first printing: Riverhead Books / Penguin, 2023 (ISBN 9780593422946), with the number line on the copyright page descending to 1. The US Riverhead hardcover of 2023 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, first printing: Riverhead Books / Penguin, 2023 (ISBN 9780593422946), with the number line on the copyright page descending to 1
- The first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price on the flap and does not carry an award seal
- Publisher imprint reads Riverhead Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James McBride |
| Publisher | Riverhead Books |
| Year | 2023 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, first printing: Riverhead Books / Penguin, 2023 (ISBN 9780593422946), with the number line on the copyright page… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First US edition, first printing: Riverhead Books / Penguin, 2023 (ISBN 9780593422946), with the number line on the copyright page descending to 1. The first-state dust jacket should retain its printed price on the flap and does not carry an award seal.

## Is this the true first?
The US Riverhead hardcover of 2023 is the true first. The novel won the 2023 Kirkus Prize for Fiction and was named Barnes & Noble's 2023 Book of the Year. (It was a finalist in the awards season but did not win the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, which went to Lorrie Moore for that year.)

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings and later-issued jackets may add an award seal or 'Barnes & Noble Book of the Year' banner; confirm the number line runs down to 1 and that the jacket carries no seal to identify the true first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store* by James McBride a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-heaven-earth-grocery-store
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.