William Gibson First Editions

• Neuromancer — 1984 · Ace BooksPaperback original -- Ace Science Fiction Special (second series, edited by Terry Carr), July 1984; cover art by James Warhola. The true first printing shows 'Ace Original / July 1984' on the copyright page and carries NO print line / number code; ISBN 0-441-56956-0; black pictorial wrappers with the printed cover price present. Any copy bearing a printing statement or number line is a later printing, not the first. The Ace mass-market PAPERBACK (July 1984) is the true first edition of Neuromancer. The first HARDCOVER is the UK Victor Gollancz edition, published later in 1984 (not 1986). The Phantasia Press hardcover (West Bloomfield, MI, 1986) is the first AMERICAN hardcover -- issued as a signed/numbered deluxe of 375 copies plus a trade issue -- but it is NOT the first hardcover overall and NOT the true first. Precedence,…. Later Ace printings add a printing statement / number line on the copyright page and are common, low-interest reprints. Note that the 2nd and 3rd printings were also issued as Ace SF Specials, so the 'Ace Special' series line does NOT by itself confirm a first -- only the ABSENCE of any printing statement does. A stated '2nd printing' (or later), or any number line, rules out the first printing.
• Burning Chrome — 1986 · Arbor HouseStory collection, Arbor House hardcover. First-printing copies carry a number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; introduction by Bruce Sterling. Later printings remove the low digits from the number line. US Arbor House hardcover (1986) is the true first edition; the Victor Gollancz UK hardcover (also 1986) follows. First collection of Gibson's short fiction. A Science Fiction Book Club issue exists, identifiable by a blind gutter dot on the rear board and no price on the jacket.
• Count Zero — 1986 · Victor Gollancz, LondonFirst UK Gollancz hardcover, 1986, in the characteristic yellow Gollancz jacket, with the printed price on the flap and no later-printing statement. Second Sprawl novel. The UK Gollancz hardcover is the true first, preceding the US Arbor House edition (also 1986). Dealers consistently describe the Gollancz as the true first and the Arbor House as the first American edition. US Arbor House and US book-club editions are later; a club edition typically shows a rear-board gutter blindstamp and an unpriced jacket. The UK Gollancz has no priority club analog.
• Mona Lisa Overdrive — 1988 · Victor Gollancz, LondonFirst UK Victor Gollancz hardcover, June 1988, in the publisher's characteristic bright-yellow pictorial dust jacket with the printed price present on the front flap; a first impression carries no statement of a later printing and Gollancz did not use a number line in this period. Concludes the Sprawl trilogy after Neuromancer and Count Zero. The UK Gollancz hardcover is the true first, published in June 1988 and preceding the US Bantam Spectra edition of the same year; dealers of confirmed firsts consistently describe the Gollancz as the earlier issue. US Bantam Spectra and US book-club editions follow; a Science Fiction Book Club issue typically shows a gutter blindstamp to the rear board and an unpriced jacket, whereas the Gollancz first retains its flap price.
• Virtual Light — 1993 · Bantam SpectraBantam Spectra US hardcover, 325 pp, bound in red paper over quarter black cloth boards with the spine lettered in bright gilt. The first printing carries the statement 'A Bantam Spectra Book / September 1993' and a number line reading 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page (per Bantam practice the line ends in 0, not 1). The priced first-issue jacket should be present. Viking UK hardcover also dated 1993…. US Bantam Spectra (September 1993) is generally cited as the first edition; the UK Viking hardcover follows the same year. Bridge trilogy volume 1. A Science Fiction Book Club edition exists, identifiable by a blind stamp to the board and no price on the jacket.
• Idoru — 1996 · G.P. Putnam's SonsG.P. Putnam's Sons (New York) first edition, first printing: octavo of 308 pages in black boards with metallic (silver) spine lettering, in the original pictorial dust jacket. The first printing carries a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. The first-issue jacket displays the printed cover price on the front flap; the price should be present (a supplied or facsimile jacket, or a clipped…. The US Putnam edition (published 9 September 1996) precedes the UK Viking hardcover (early October 1996), making the US Putnam the true first edition. Second volume of the Bridge trilogy, following Virtual Light. A Science Fiction Book Club issue exists and is distinguished by the blind gutter dot (blind stamp) on the rear board and by a jacket lacking the printed cover price; the trade first printing carries the full number line to 1 and a priced jacket.
• All Tomorrow's Parties — 1999 · G.P. Putnam's SonsG.P. Putnam's Sons US hardcover, 1999, octavo, 278 pages, with a full number line ending in 1 on a true first printing. Bound in quarter black paper over yellow paper boards with the spine lettered in silver. The first-issue jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap when unclipped. The Viking UK hardcover is also dated 1999. US Putnam and UK Viking are both dated 1999; precedence between the two is not firmly established in the standard references, so neither should be asserted as definitively earlier. Bridge trilogy volume 3. A Science Fiction Book Club issue exists, identifiable by the blind gutter dot on the rear board and the absence of a printed price on the jacket.
• Pattern Recognition — 2003 · G.P. Putnam's SonsThe G.P. Putnam's Sons (New York) hardcover shows a stated first edition with a full number line running to 1. The binding has a dark blue spine and gray boards with the title embossed at the top of the front board, and black endpapers. The jacket, designed by Archie Ferguson, is glossy and illustrated with a human face in shades of blue across front, spine and back, carries a Neil Gaiman blurb, and shows a…. US Putnam (February 2003) is generally cited as the true first edition; the UK Viking hardcover follows the same year. Blue Ant trilogy volume 1. Issued as a trade hardcover; no significant book-club printing is noted.
• Spook Country — 2007 · G.P. Putnam's SonsG.P. Putnam's Sons (New York) first edition, first printing (ISBN 9780399154300), a hardcover in the original dust jacket, with a complete number line descending to 1 on the copyright page. The first-issue jacket carries the printed cover price on the front flap; the price should be present for a correct first-issue jacket. The Viking (London) hardcover is likewise dated 2007. The US Putnam edition (August 2007) and the UK Viking edition are both dated 2007; the US Putnam is the conventionally cited first edition. Second volume of the Blue Ant trilogy, following Pattern Recognition. Issued as a trade hardcover with no significant book-club printing noted; identify the first by the full number line to 1 and the priced first-issue jacket.
• Zero History — 2010 · VikingTwo simultaneous-year hardcover firsts. UK Viking (ISBN 0-670-91952-7) was published September 2, 2010; US Putnam (ISBN 0-399-15682-3) followed September 7, 2010, and is identified by a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. By date of publication the UK Viking edition narrowly precedes the US edition. The UK Viking edition (published September 2, 2010) precedes the US Putnam edition (September 7, 2010) by five days, so Viking is the true first by date. Both are 2010 hardcovers and either may be described as a first edition; collectors sometimes treat them as co-firsts. Third volume of the Blue Ant (Bigend) trilogy. Issued as a trade hardcover by both publishers; Subterranean Press also released a signed limited edition. No book-club issue of note.
• The Peripheral — 2014 · G.P. Putnam's SonsUS G. P. Putnam's Sons hardcover in boards, identified by a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; the pictorial dust jacket should retain its printed price on the front flap. A Subterranean Press signed limited edition was also issued. The 2014 US Putnam edition is generally taken as the true first; a UK Viking edition (9780670921553) appeared the same year, and sources do not clearly settle which month-by-month precedes. First volume of the Jackpot (Peripheral) sequence. Trade hardcover, plus the Subterranean Press signed limited. No book-club issue of note; later printings show a number line no longer ending in 1.
• Archangel — 2017 · IDW PublishingFirst book-form edition: the collected hardcover graphic novel from IDW Publishing, ISBN 978-1-63140-875-5, 144 pages, gathering the five-issue IDW comic mini-series. The hardcover was released in October 2017; the first printing is identified on the indicia, where the print date reads 2017. Written by William Gibson with Michael St. John Smith and illustrated by Butch Guice; the series was nominated for an…. Story written by William Gibson with Michael St. John Smith, illustrated by Butch Guice. The five single comic issues (IDW, 2016 series, running 2016 to 2017) precede the collected book; the 2017 hardcover is the first collected book-form edition. A separate German-language edition also exists and is not the first. None. Watch the indicia for a later-printing line on subsequent trade printings.
• Agency — 2020 · Berkley/PenguinUS Berkley (an imprint of Penguin Random House) hardcover, New York, January 2020, identified by a complete descending printer's key on the copyright page ending in 1. Octavo, roughly 400-plus pages; the first-issue dust jacket carries the printed cover price on the front flap (present, not clipped, on a true first-state jacket). The UK Viking edition appeared the same year under ISBN 9780241237212. The US Berkley edition (January 2020) is the true first; the UK Viking edition follows within the same year. Second volume of the Jackpot sequence, after The Peripheral. Signed copies of both the US and UK issues exist. Trade hardcover only of note; issued after the ebook. No US book-club edition of consequence. Later printings advance the number line so that 1 no longer appears.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: William Gilmore Simms, William Harrison Ainsworth, William Kennedy, William Makepeace Thackeray, William Styron, Wright Morris.

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