# Is "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" by Ben Fountain a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (Ecco / HarperCollins, 2012) is identified by: First edition states 'First Edition' with a full HarperCollins number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page, under the Ecco imprint; published 1 May 2012, ISBN 9780060885595, about 307 pages. The US Ecco / HarperCollins hardcover (May 2012) is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition states 'First Edition' with a full HarperCollins number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page, under the Ecco imprint; published 1 May 2012, ISBN 9780060885595, about 307 pages
- Issued as a hardcover in a dust jacket that carries the printed price (unclipped)
- Publisher imprint reads Ecco / HarperCollins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ben Fountain |
| Publisher | Ecco / HarperCollins |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition states 'First Edition' with a full HarperCollins number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page, under the Ecco imprint… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition states 'First Edition' with a full HarperCollins number line beginning with 1 on the copyright page, under the Ecco imprint; published 1 May 2012, ISBN 9780060885595, about 307 pages. Issued as a hardcover in a dust jacket that carries the printed price (unclipped).

## Is this the true first?
The US Ecco / HarperCollins hardcover (May 2012) is the true first edition. The novel won the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, and was a 2012 National Book Award finalist. It did NOT win the PEN/Faulkner Award.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the full HarperCollins number line and the 'First Edition' statement, are smaller in format, and have an unpriced jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk* by Ben Fountain a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/billy-lynns-long-halftime-walk
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.