# Is "The Story of a Novel" by Thomas Wolfe a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Story of a Novel by Thomas Wolfe (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1936) is identified by: First printing has the 'A' together with the Scribner seal on the copyright page. True US first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing has the 'A' together with the Scribner seal on the copyright page
- A thin volume (the revised text of Wolfe's Boulder writers'-conference lecture), bound in reddish/orange cloth with titling in gilt on black panels
- First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomas Wolfe |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons, New York |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing has the 'A' together with the Scribner seal on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First printing has the 'A' together with the Scribner seal on the copyright page. A thin volume (the revised text of Wolfe's Boulder writers'-conference lecture), bound in reddish/orange cloth with titling in gilt on black panels. First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price.

## Is this the true first?
True US first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club for the true first; later printings drop the 'A.'

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Story of a Novel* by Thomas Wolfe a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-story-of-a-novel
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.