Skip to main content

First-Edition Identification · Alison Bechdel

Is My Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama a First Edition?

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012

The points of issue

First edition: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover with dust jacket, 2012, ISBN 9780618982509 (ISBN-10 0618982507). A first printing shows a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt first-edition guide.

Is this the true first?

The US Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover is the true first edition. The UK Jonathan Cape edition followed.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition; the later paperback is a first thus.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: First edition: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover with dust jacket, 2012, ISBN 9780618982509 (ISBN-10 0618982507). A first printing shows a full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The US Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover is the true first edition. The UK Jonathan Cape edition followed.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club edition; the later paperback is a first thus.

I have a first edition of Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama — what should I do?

If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.

Keep identifying