# Is "When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice" by Terry Tempest Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice by Terry Tempest Williams (Sarah Crichton Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012) is identified by: Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York; first printing with a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. True first US edition; published April 2012.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York; first printing with a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Dated 2012 (ISBN 9780374288976), published April 2012
- Hardbound with dust jacket; the first-state jacket retains its printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Sarah Crichton Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Terry Tempest Williams |
| Publisher | Sarah Crichton Books / Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York; first printing with a complete number line ending in 1 on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York; first printing with a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Dated 2012 (ISBN 9780374288976), published April 2012. Hardbound with dust jacket; the first-state jacket retains its printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition; published April 2012.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition concern for the first; later printings show a shortened number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice* by Terry Tempest Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/when-women-were-birds-fifty-four-variations-on-voice
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.