How to identify a first printing
- 1989-2000 (active era under BBCG, Inc.): Standard small-press convention. First printing is typically identified by a number line on the copyright page in which the lowest number present indicates the printing (a present '1' means first printing); some titles instead state 'First edition' or 'First printing.' Where neither is present, a title-page date matching the copyright date plus the absence of a later-printing notation indicates the first printing.
- Continuity caution: Randall Williams and the Junebug Books children's imprint carried directly into NewSouth Books (founded 2000, Montgomery), so late Black Belt and early NewSouth titles share staff and conventions. Identify the actual imprint named on the copyright page to assign the correct house.
Notable points & cautions
- Montgomery, Alabama independent; the Black Belt Press imprint began publishing in 1989 under BBCG, Inc., with H. Randall Williams (there from 1986) as a founding principal. It published Alabama/Southern history, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and folklore and was, by the mid-1990s, the state's leading independent press.
- Effectively the predecessor of NewSouth Books: when Williams and Suzanne La Rosa founded NewSouth in 2000, the team and the Junebug Books imprint carried over, and Black Belt was discontinued as an active imprint that year.
- The dormant Black Belt Press name was later revived as an imprint under NewSouth, Inc.; backlist titles were partly reissued by NewSouth.
- Long-tail house with thin bibliographic documentation; rely on per-copy copyright-page evidence.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Black Belt Press, Junebug Books (children's, later carried to NewSouth), Black Belt Publishing. Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Black Belt Press book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. 1989-2000 (active era under BBCG, Inc.): Standard small-press convention. First printing is typically identified by a number line on the copyright page in which the lowest number present indicates the printing (a present '1' means first printing); some titles instead state 'First edition' or 'First printing.' Where neither is present, a title-page date matching the copyright date plus the absence of a later-printing notation indicates the first printing. Continuity caution: Randall Williams and the Junebug Books children's imprint carried directly into NewSouth Books (founded 2000, Montgomery), so late Black Belt and early NewSouth titles share staff and conventions. Identify the actual imprint named on the copyright page to assign the correct house.
Does Black Belt Press use a number line?
Continuity caution: Randall Williams and the Junebug Books children's imprint carried directly into NewSouth Books (founded 2000, Montgomery), so late Black Belt and early NewSouth titles share staff and conventions. Identify the actual imprint named on the copyright page to assign the correct house.
Is a book-club edition a Black Belt Press first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Montgomery, Alabama independent; the Black Belt Press imprint began publishing in 1989 under BBCG, Inc., with H. Randall Williams (there from 1986) as a founding principal. It published Alabama/Southern history, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and folklore and was, by the mid-1990s, the state's leading independent press.
What era does this cover?
This covers Black Belt Press (1989-2000 (original imprint)). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.