# Is "Less Than Zero" by Bret Easton Ellis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis (Simon & Schuster, 1985) is identified by: First edition, first printing has a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The US Simon & Schuster first is the true first, preceding the UK Picador edition (1986).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing has a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Quarter cloth over black paper-covered boards; dust jacket with its printed price, unclipped
- ISBN 0-671-54329-6
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Bret Easton Ellis |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing has a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing has a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. Quarter cloth over black paper-covered boards; dust jacket with its printed price, unclipped; 208 pp. ISBN 0-671-54329-6.

## Is this the true first?
The US Simon & Schuster first is the true first, preceding the UK Picador edition (1986). Ellis's debut, written while a Bennington student.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Vintage Contemporaries paperback (1986 onward) and later printings are not the first. A number line lacking 1 indicates a later printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Less Than Zero* by Bret Easton Ellis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/less-than-zero
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.