# Is "Jesus' Son" by Denis Johnson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992) is identified by: FSG first edition, first printing, identified by a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint. The US FSG hardcover of 1992 is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG first edition, first printing, identified by a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint
- Octavo, bound in black textured boards with metallic spine lettering, in the standard FSG dust jacket
- A small first print run makes the true first hardcover genuinely scarce
- Confirm the original jacket price is present and unclipped on the first-printing jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Denis Johnson |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1992 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG first edition, first printing, identified by a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
FSG first edition, first printing, identified by a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint. Octavo, bound in black textured boards with metallic spine lettering, in the standard FSG dust jacket. A small first print run makes the true first hardcover genuinely scarce. Confirm the original jacket price is present and unclipped on the first-printing jacket.

## Is this the true first?
The US FSG hardcover of 1992 is the true first edition. Confirmed only as a hardcover first; no separate simultaneous paperback original is documented in reliable sources. The UK and later Picador editions followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later FSG and Picador trade paperbacks, including any post-film (1999) movie tie-in cover, are reprints, not firsts. Book-club hardcovers lack the number line and the printed jacket price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Jesus' Son* by Denis Johnson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/jesus-son
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.