Iain Banks First Editions

• The Wasp Factory — 1984 · MacmillanUK Macmillan London first hardcover, published 16 February 1984, with 'First published 1984' on the copyright page and no later-printing statement; jacket priced. Bound in brown boards with gilt spine lettering. The UK Macmillan 1984 hardcover is the true first edition — Banks's controversial debut. The US Houghton Mifflin edition (1984) is the first American edition. No book-club edition is the principal concern; later printings add a reprint statement to the copyright page. Confirm the Macmillan imprint and the clean 'First published 1984' line. The initial run was about 10,000 copies and reprinted quickly.
• Walking on Glass — 1985 · MacmillanMacmillan London hardcover, 1985 (ISBN 0333379861), the author's second book. The copyright page states 'First published 1985 by Macmillan London Limited' with no further printings listed. Bound in black cloth with gilt lettering on the spine, and issued in the pictorial photographic dust jacket, the jacket photograph credited to Marcus Wilson-Smith. First-issue jacket bears its original printed price and should…. The UK Macmillan hardcover (1985) is the true first. None notable; confirm the 'First published 1985' statement with no additional printing line and the gilt-lettered black cloth binding.
• Espedair Street — 1987 · MacmillanMacmillan London hardcover, published 24 September 1987; the copyright page states 'First published 1987 by Macmillan London Limited' with no later printings noted. Dark blue cloth boards with gilt spine lettering, 249 pages, in a pictorial dust jacket that should retain its printed price on the flap (unclipped). ISBN 0333449169. The UK Macmillan hardcover (24 September 1987) is the true first. None notable.
• Canal Dreams — 1989 · MacmillanMacmillan London hardcover, 1989, bound in black boards with gilt-blocked titles to the spine; collation viii + 198 pages, ISBN 0333517687. The first impression carries no statement of reprint or later printing on the copyright page. Issued in the publisher's dust jacket, which should retain the printed price and is desirable unclipped. UK Macmillan hardcover (1989) is the true first; the US Doubleday edition followed in 1991. None notable. The first impression is identified by the absence of any reprint or added impression statement on the copyright page.
• The Crow Road — 1992 · ScribnersScribners UK hardcover; first printing with no later printings indicated on the copyright page; grey boards with black spine panel lettered in silver; unclipped jacket with 15.the printed price intact. Genuinely scarce in first printing. UK Scribners hardcover (1992) is the true first. None notable.
• Complicity — 1993 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown UK hardcover; copyright page states first published in Great Britain in 1993 by Little, Brown with no later printing statements. Bound in black and cream boards, the spine designed and lettered in silver, with grey endpapers the front of which is pictorial; 313 pages. First-state dust jacket carries cover art by Peter Brown and the printed price on the flap, which should be present and unclipped on…. UK Little, Brown hardcover (1993) is the true first. None notable.
• Whit — 1995 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown UK hardcover, full title 'Whit, or Isis Amongst the Unsaved'; ISBN 0-316-91436-3; 455 pages. Copyright page reads 'First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Little, Brown and Company', with no statement of a later impression. Black boards with black endpapers; priced, unclipped dust jacket with cover illustration by Peter Brown. UK Little, Brown hardcover (1995), ISBN 0-316-91436-3, is the true first. None notable.
• A Song of Stone — 1997 · Abacus/Little, BrownAbacus UK hardcover (Abacus is a Little, Brown imprint). Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1997 by Abacus, with no statement of a later printing. Priced dust jacket. ISBN 0316640166. UK Abacus hardcover (1997) is the true first. Unusually for Banks, this title appeared under the Abacus imprint rather than Little, Brown proper, so the Abacus imprint on the title page is correct for the first edition. None notable.
• The Business — 1999 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown UK hardcover, 393 pages, jacket art by Peter Brown. Copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 1999 by Little, Brown and Company, with no statement of a later impression. Priced, unclipped dust jacket. ISBN 0316648442. UK Little, Brown hardcover (1999) is the true first. None notable.
• Dead Air — 2002 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown (London) hardcover of 2002; the copyright page states that it was first published in Great Britain in 2002 by Little, Brown and carries a full descending number line. Bound in purple cloth boards with silver titling to the spine, issued in the original pictorial dust jacket. A first-issue jacket retains its printed price on the front flap (unclipped); price-clipped copies are common but do not by…. The UK Little, Brown hardcover (2002) is the true first edition; US publication followed later. None notable.
• Raw Spirit — 2003 · CenturyNonfiction whisky travelogue, full title Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram. Century UK hardcover; copyright page states first publication in 2003 by Century, with the first-impression number line including 1. Priced dust jacket. UK Century hardcover (2003) is the true first. None notable.
• The Steep Approach to Garbadale — 2007 · Little, BrownFirst UK trade edition, Little, Brown (London), 2007, in red paper-covered boards with plain white endpapers, 390 numbered pages; copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 2007 with a full number line, issued in a priced, unclipped dust jacket. UK Little, Brown hardcover (2007) is the true first. Note a distinct simultaneous limited issue: a Waterstone's signed limited edition of 1,000 numbered copies, signed by Banks on the limitation page and housed in an illustrated slipcase, issued without a dust jacket as issued; this is a separate issue from the trade first, not a later printing. None notable for the trade first. The numbered slipcased limited edition is a distinct signed issue, not a book-club printing.
• Transition — 2009 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown UK hardcover credited to Iain Banks; copyright page states First published in Great Britain in 2009 with a full number line; priced, unclipped jacket. The US Orbit edition is credited to Iain M. Banks and states First U.S. Edition: September 2009. UK Little, Brown hardcover (September 2009) is the true first; the byline differs between the UK (Iain Banks) and US (Iain M. Banks) editions. None notable.
• Stonemouth — 2012 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown UK hardcover, published 5 April 2012. Copyright page states first publication in Great Britain in 2012 by Little, Brown, with the first-impression number line including 1. Priced dust jacket. UK Little, Brown hardcover (April 2012) is the true first. None notable.
• The Quarry — 2013 · Little, BrownLittle, Brown UK hardcover, published 20 June 2013. Copyright page states first publication in Great Britain in 2013 by Little, Brown, with the first-impression number line including 1. Priced dust jacket. Banks's final novel. UK Little, Brown hardcover (20 June 2013) is the true first, published eleven days after Banks's death on 9 June 2013; the US and Canadian release followed on 25 June 2013. None notable.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Iain M. Banks, Ian McEwan, Iris Murdoch, Irma S. Rombauer, Irwin Shaw, Isaac Asimov.

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