# Is "Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories" by Raymond Carver a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories by Raymond Carver (Atlantic Monthly Press, 1988) is identified by: Terra-cotta cloth stamped in gilt; 393 pp.; published May 1988, three months before Carver's death. Two distinct signed states precede or parallel the trade hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Terra-cotta cloth stamped in gilt
- 393 pp.; published May 1988, three months before Carver's death
- The trade first edition carries a stated First Edition / First Printing on the copyright page (no number line)
- Publisher imprint reads Atlantic Monthly Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Raymond Carver |
| Publisher | Atlantic Monthly Press |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Terra-cotta cloth stamped in gilt |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Terra-cotta cloth stamped in gilt; 393 pp.; published May 1988, three months before Carver's death. The trade first edition carries a stated First Edition / First Printing on the copyright page (no number line).

## Is this the true first?
Two distinct signed states precede or parallel the trade hardcover. The Franklin Library signed first edition (burgundy leather with four raised bands, gilt titling and gilt designs to both panels, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, and a sewn-in ribbon marker) preceded the trade and contains an introduction, a Special Message by Carver, that appears nowhere else in the text. Separately, Atlantic Monthly Press issued a signed limited edition of 250 numbered copies in a slipcase. The trade Atlantic Monthly Press hardcover is the standard first trade edition. The Vintage Contemporaries paperback (1989) is a later reprint.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Franklin Library leather edition is a separate signed issue, not the trade first; do not conflate the two. Book-club reprints lack the stated First Edition / First Printing and use cheaper bindings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories* by Raymond Carver a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/where-im-calling-from-new-and-selected-stories
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.