# Is "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (Bantam Spectra, 1996) is identified by: US Bantam Spectra hardcover, August 1996. Precedence between the US Bantam Spectra and the UK HarperCollins Voyager editions (both August 1996) is genuinely disputed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Bantam Spectra hardcover, August 1996
- First printing has the full number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page
- Dust jacket art by Tom Hallman (NOT Stephen Youll, who did later Bantam paperback covers); the jacket carries the printed price at the flap and a Robert Jordan blurb
- The first-issue jacket lacks the later-printing blurbs and award notices
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Spectra
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | George R.R. Martin |
| Publisher | Bantam Spectra |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Bantam Spectra hardcover, August 1996 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Bantam Spectra hardcover, August 1996. First printing has the full number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page. Dust jacket art by Tom Hallman (NOT Stephen Youll, who did later Bantam paperback covers); the jacket carries the printed price at the flap and a Robert Jordan blurb. The first-issue jacket lacks the later-printing blurbs and award notices.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence between the US Bantam Spectra and the UK HarperCollins Voyager editions (both August 1996) is genuinely disputed. US advance/proof copies circulated at the June 1996 ABA convention, and George R.R. Martin himself regards the Bantam edition as the true first; most collectors treat the US Bantam trade hardcover -- with a far smaller first printing than later volumes in the series -- as the key collectible first. The UK Voyager hardcover (August 1996) has its own competing precedence claim and is collected as the first British edition with separate points. Both are legitimately 'a first'; identify whichever you hold and note the unsettled precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Science Fiction Book Club edition is the common look-alike: smaller trim/boards, a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board, a gutter code, no printed jacket price (a code appears instead of a price), and NO '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' trade number line. A full number line ending in 1 together with a printed jacket price = trade first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Game of Thrones* by George R.R. Martin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-game-of-thrones
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.