# Is "Love Ain't Nothing but Sex Misspelled" by Harlan Ellison a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Love Ain't Nothing but Sex Misspelled by Harlan Ellison (Trident Press, 1968) is identified by: Trident Press first hardcover, New York, 1968, collecting twenty-two stories in 382 pages. US Trident Press first hardcover (New York, 1968) is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Trident Press first hardcover, New York, 1968, collecting twenty-two stories in 382 pages
- Bound with a blue cloth spine over brown paper-covered boards, the title stamped in gilt on the spine, with the top edge dyed brown
- First-state dust jacket designed by Leo and Diane Dillon, with the printed price intact on the front flap
- First printings carry no statement of additional printings on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Trident Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Harlan Ellison |
| Publisher | Trident Press |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Trident Press first hardcover, New York, 1968, collecting twenty-two stories in 382 pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Trident Press first hardcover, New York, 1968, collecting twenty-two stories in 382 pages. Bound with a blue cloth spine over brown paper-covered boards, the title stamped in gilt on the spine, with the top edge dyed brown. First-state dust jacket designed by Leo and Diane Dillon, with the printed price intact on the front flap. First printings carry no statement of additional printings on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
US Trident Press first hardcover (New York, 1968) is the true first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No widely documented book-club edition; identify the first by the Trident Press 1968 imprint, the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page, and the Dillon-designed priced jacket rather than by a blind-stamp test.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Love Ain't Nothing but Sex Misspelled* by Harlan Ellison a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/love-aint-nothing-but-sex-misspelled
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.