# Is "Breaking and Entering" by Joy Williams a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Breaking and Entering by Joy Williams (Vintage Contemporaries, 1988) is identified by: Issued as a Vintage Contemporaries trade paperback original, copyright 1988 (ISBN 0-394-75773-4). US Vintage Contemporaries paperback (1988) is the true first, a paperback original with no hardcover predecessor.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Issued as a Vintage Contemporaries trade paperback original, copyright 1988 (ISBN 0-394-75773-4)
- As a paperback original there is no preceding hardcover, so this printing is the true first
- Confirm a first-printing number line on the copyright page; later reprints add a printing notice
- Publisher imprint reads Vintage Contemporaries
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Joy Williams |
| Publisher | Vintage Contemporaries |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Issued as a Vintage Contemporaries trade paperback original, copyright 1988 (ISBN 0-394-75773-4) |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Issued as a Vintage Contemporaries trade paperback original, copyright 1988 (ISBN 0-394-75773-4). As a paperback original there is no preceding hardcover, so this printing is the true first. Confirm a first-printing number line on the copyright page; later reprints add a printing notice.

## Is this the true first?
US Vintage Contemporaries paperback (1988) is the true first, a paperback original with no hardcover predecessor.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No hardcover club edition precedes it; later reprints carry an added printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Breaking and Entering* by Joy Williams a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/breaking-and-entering
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.