# Is "The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula K. Le Guin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971) is identified by: First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. The US Scribner edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971
- The first printing carries the Scribner 'A' point on the copyright page (the code 'A-10.71 [C]') together with the Scribner seal, the standard Scribner first-printing identifier of this period
- Bound in green boards with blue cloth backstrip and gilt spine lettering; price-clipped jackets weaken a copy
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ursula K. Le Guin |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. The first printing carries the Scribner 'A' point on the copyright page (the code 'A-10.71 [C]') together with the Scribner seal, the standard Scribner first-printing identifier of this period. Bound in green boards with blue cloth backstrip and gilt spine lettering; price-clipped jackets weaken a copy.

## Is this the true first?
The US Scribner edition is the true first. The UK Gollancz edition followed in 1972. The Scribner 'A' code plus seal is the key US identifier for first printings of this era.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the Scribner 'A' code and seal and have no flap price; Science Fiction Book Club copies are common. The novel was previously serialized in Amazing Stories, which does not affect the book first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Lathe of Heaven* by Ursula K. Le Guin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-lathe-of-heaven
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.