# Is "The Storyteller" by Mario Vargas Llosa a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Storyteller by Mario Vargas Llosa (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1989) is identified by: First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1989, with 'First edition' stated on the copyright page; translated from the Spanish by Helen Lane, in the priced dust jacket (printed price present on the front flap, unclipped). First English-language edition of El hablador (Seix Barral, 1987).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1989, with 'First edition' stated on the copyright page; translated from the Spanish by Helen Lane, in the priced dust jacket (printed price present on the front flap, unclipped)
- Jacket art by Mark Sturgeon with jacket design by Cynthia Krupat
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Mario Vargas Llosa |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1989, with 'First… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First US edition, first printing, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1989, with 'First edition' stated on the copyright page; translated from the Spanish by Helen Lane, in the priced dust jacket (printed price present on the front flap, unclipped). Jacket art by Mark Sturgeon with jacket design by Cynthia Krupat.

## Is this the true first?
First English-language edition of El hablador (Seix Barral, 1987). The US FSG edition of 1989 precedes the UK Faber & Faber hardcover (1990, ISBN 0571152082, jacket by Andrzej Klimowski), so the FSG printing is the true first in English.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition point documented; the stated 'First edition' plus the printed jacket price identify the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Storyteller* by Mario Vargas Llosa a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-storyteller
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.