# Is "Empire of the Sun" by J.G. Ballard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard (Gollancz, 1984) is identified by: First published in Great Britain in 1984 by Victor Gollancz; priced dust jacket. The UK Gollancz edition (1984) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published in Great Britain in 1984 by Victor Gollancz; priced dust jacket
- A recognized first-issue point is the jacket's rear panel carrying only two review quotes (later issues add more)
- Booker-shortlisted; won the Guardian Fiction Prize
- Publisher imprint reads Gollancz
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.G. Ballard |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
| Year | 1984 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published in Great Britain in 1984 by Victor Gollancz; priced dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First published in Great Britain in 1984 by Victor Gollancz; priced dust jacket. A recognized first-issue point is the jacket's rear panel carrying only two review quotes (later issues add more). Booker-shortlisted; won the Guardian Fiction Prize.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Gollancz edition (1984) is the true first. The US Simon & Schuster edition appeared the same year and is the first American edition; the UK edition is conventionally regarded as preceding it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Film tie-in paperbacks (1987) are later reprints, not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Empire of the Sun* by J.G. Ballard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/empire-of-the-sun
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.