# Is "They Thirst" by Robert R. McCammon a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of They Thirst by Robert R. McCammon (Avon, 1981) is identified by: Avon paperback original, first printing dated May 1981, with the copyright page stating 'First Avon Printing.' The cover carries the Avon inventory code 77180 on the front and spine. This is the true first as a paperback original; Dark Harvest issued the first hardcover only in 1991, a limited edition of 500 numbered copies signed by McCammon and by artists Charles and Wendy Lang.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Avon paperback original, first printing dated May 1981, with the copyright page stating 'First Avon Printing.' The cover carries the Avon inventory code 77180 on the front and spine
- This Los Angeles-set vampire epic was McCammon's fourth novel and one of the four early paperback originals he later suppressed, so any later Avon printing states its own printing number and is not the first
- Publisher imprint reads Avon
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert R. McCammon |
| Publisher | Avon |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Avon paperback original, first printing dated May 1981, with the copyright page stating 'First Avon Printing.' The cover carries the Avon… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Avon paperback original, first printing dated May 1981, with the copyright page stating 'First Avon Printing.' The cover carries the Avon inventory code 77180 on the front and spine. This Los Angeles-set vampire epic was McCammon's fourth novel and one of the four early paperback originals he later suppressed, so any later Avon printing states its own printing number and is not the first.

## Is this the true first?
This is the true first as a paperback original; Dark Harvest issued the first hardcover only in 1991, a limited edition of 500 numbered copies signed by McCammon and by artists Charles and Wendy Lang. A 1988 Pocket Books reprint with Rowena Morrill cover art is a later state, not a first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
N/A (paperback original).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *They Thirst* by Robert R. McCammon a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/they-thirst
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.