# Is "Wizard of the Crow (Murogi wa Kagogo)" by Ngugi wa Thiong'o a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Wizard of the Crow (Murogi wa Kagogo) by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Pantheon Books, 2006) is identified by: First English-language edition, 2006, translated from the Gikuyu by the author. 2006 is the first English-language edition; the Gikuyu original, Murogi wa Kagogo, appeared in 2004.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English-language edition, 2006, translated from the Gikuyu by the author
- The US issue (Pantheon Books, New York) is bound in green cloth with a priced dust jacket and carries a full number line ending in 1; the UK issue (Harvill Secker, London) appeared the same year
- Both are 2006 first English-language printings
- Publisher imprint reads Pantheon Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ngugi wa Thiong'o |
| Publisher | Pantheon Books |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English-language edition, 2006, translated from the Gikuyu by the author |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English-language edition, 2006, translated from the Gikuyu by the author. The US issue (Pantheon Books, New York) is bound in green cloth with a priced dust jacket and carries a full number line ending in 1; the UK issue (Harvill Secker, London) appeared the same year. Both are 2006 first English-language printings.

## Is this the true first?
2006 is the first English-language edition; the Gikuyu original, Murogi wa Kagogo, appeared in 2004. The US Pantheon and UK Harvill Secker issues are both dated 2006 and precedence between the two is not firmly established, so both are best treated as co-first English-language editions; confirm the imprint and number line on any given copy.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Anchor and Vintage paperbacks are reprints relative to the 2006 hardcover first English-language editions.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Wizard of the Crow (Murogi wa Kagogo)* by Ngugi wa Thiong'o a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/wizard-of-the-crow-murogi-wa-kagogo
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.