How to identify a first printing
- 1998-c.2008 (active era): 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 '1' present means first printing); some titles instead state 'First edition' or 'First printing.' Where neither is present, a title-page date matching the copyright date together with the absence of any later-printing notation indicates the first printing.
- Hill Street Classics (reprint line): a reprint imprint, so a Hill Street Classics issue is generally NOT the first edition of the underlying work; the issue itself follows the house number-line convention for its own printing.
Notable points & cautions
- Athens, Georgia independent founded in 1998 by Tom Payton and Judy Long; published regional Southern fiction, nonfiction, sports, and culture before ceasing active trade publishing in the late 2000s.
- Now effectively defunct/dormant as the original literary house; a long-tail Southern small press whose backlist is scattered across the used market. (Listings under the Hill Street Press name in later years reflect an unrelated trivia/puzzle reincarnation, not the original literary list.)
- Hill Street Classics revived older Southern titles, so distinguish a seeker of the original edition from a reprint copy.
- Limited bibliographic documentation; rely on per-copy copyright-page evidence.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Hill Street Press, Hill Street Classics (reprint series). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Hill Street Press book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. 1998-c.2008 (active era): 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 '1' present means first printing); some titles instead state 'First edition' or 'First printing.' Where neither is present, a title-page date matching the copyright date together with the absence of any later-printing notation indicates the first printing. Hill Street Classics (reprint line): a reprint imprint, so a Hill Street Classics issue is generally NOT the first edition of the underlying work; the issue itself follows the house number-line convention for its own printing.
Does Hill Street Press use a number line?
Hill Street Classics (reprint line): a reprint imprint, so a Hill Street Classics issue is generally NOT the first edition of the underlying work; the issue itself follows the house number-line convention for its own printing.
Is a book-club edition a Hill Street Press first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Athens, Georgia independent founded in 1998 by Tom Payton and Judy Long; published regional Southern fiction, nonfiction, sports, and culture before ceasing active trade publishing in the late 2000s.
What era does this cover?
This covers Hill Street Press (1998-c.2009). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.