How to identify a first printing
- Pre-1973: usually printed 'First Printing (Month, Year)' on the copyright page and ALWAYS indicated later printings — so a first shows only the first-printing notation.
- Post-1973 / modern: states 'First Edition' AND uses a number line; the number row indicates year/printing, with the lowest number 1 present on a first.
- Modern HarperCollins-era Morrow: 'First Edition' + descending line ending in 1 is the reliable test.
- Absence of later-printing lines confirms a first across eras.
Notable points & cautions
- Founded 1926 by William Morrow; acquired by Hearst, then by HarperCollins (1999). Now a HarperCollins imprint.
- The pre-1973 'First Printing (Month Year)' habit is a distinctive, reliable Morrow tell.
- Avon (acquired with Morrow) is the mass-market romance line — many Avon paperback originals are firsts.
- Watch for HarperCollins-era number line that can include a year-code digit; the presence of 1 is the key.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Avon (mass-market romance), Morrow/Avon, Custom House, William Morrow Paperbacks, Dey Street Books (sister), Mariner-adjacent (HC), Voyager (former SF, UK-linked). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my William Morrow book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Pre-1973: usually printed 'First Printing (Month, Year)' on the copyright page and ALWAYS indicated later printings — so a first shows only the first-printing notation. Post-1973 / modern: states 'First Edition' AND uses a number line; the number row indicates year/printing, with the lowest number 1 present on a first.
Does William Morrow use a number line?
Post-1973 / modern: states 'First Edition' AND uses a number line; the number row indicates year/printing, with the lowest number 1 present on a first.
Is a book-club edition a William Morrow first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Founded 1926 by William Morrow; acquired by Hearst, then by HarperCollins (1999). Now a HarperCollins imprint.
What era does this cover?
This covers William Morrow (1926–present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
William Morrow titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- A Dance at the Slaughterhouse (Lawrence Block, 1991)
- A Head Full of Ghosts (Paul Tremblay, 2015)
- A Long Line of Dead Men (Lawrence Block, 1994)
- A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving, 1989)
- A River Never Sleeps (Roderick L. Haig-Brown, 1946)
- A Ticket to the Boneyard (Lawrence Block, 1990)
- A Walk Among the Tombstones (Lawrence Block, 1992)
- A Winter Haunting (Dan Simmons, 2002)
- All the Flowers Are Dying (Lawrence Block, 2005)
- American Gods (Neil Gaiman, 2001)
- Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman, 2005)
- Anathem (Neal Stephenson, 2008)
- Autopsy (Patricia Cornwell, 2021)
- Beezus and Ramona (Beverly Cleary, 1955)
- Black Elk Speaks (John G. Neihardt (as told through Black Elk), 1932)
- Build My Gallows High (Geoffrey Homes (Daniel Mainwaring), 1946)
- California Girl (T. Jefferson Parker, 2004)
- Car (Harry Crews, 1972)
- Chaos (Patricia Cornwell, 2016)
- Cock Pit (James Gould Cozzens, 1928)
- Coronado (Dennis Lehane, 2006)
- Darkness, Take My Hand (Dennis Lehane, 1996)
- Darwin's Blade (Dan Simmons, 2000)
- Dear Mr. Henshaw (Beverly Cleary, 1983)
Documenting 149 William Morrow titles in all — browse the full title-by-title library →