# Is "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (Doubleday, 2015) is identified by: Copyright page reads First Edition with the Doubleday number line including 1 (1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2). US Doubleday (March 2015) precedes the UK Picador edition and is the true/lead first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page reads First Edition with the Doubleday number line including 1 (1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2)
- The jacket photograph is Peter Hujar's Orgasmic Man (The Peter Hujar Archive, 1987); roughly 720 pages
- First-issue jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Hanya Yanagihara |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 2015 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Copyright page reads First Edition with the Doubleday number line including 1 (1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Copyright page reads First Edition with the Doubleday number line including 1 (1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2). The jacket photograph is Peter Hujar's Orgasmic Man (The Peter Hujar Archive, 1987); roughly 720 pages. First-issue jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday (March 2015) precedes the UK Picador edition and is the true/lead first. Booker shortlist and National Book Award finalist; signed firsts are scarce and strongly sought.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No BCE of note; distinguish printings by the number line containing 1. Later printings add Booker and award-shortlist blurbs to the jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Little Life* by Hanya Yanagihara a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-little-life
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.