# Is "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Ottessa Moshfegh a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin Press, 2018) is identified by: The census claim is CONFIRMED: Penguin Press, New York, published the novel in hardcover on 10 July 2018 (ISBN 9780525522119, 289 pp.), two days ahead of the UK issue. True first: Penguin Press, New York, 10 July 2018 — the US issue precedes the UK by two days and is the true first in every sense.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The census claim is CONFIRMED: Penguin Press, New York, published the novel in hardcover on 10 July 2018 (ISBN 9780525522119, 289 pp.), two days ahead of the UK issue
- Penguin Press does not print an edition statement; the first printing is identified solely by the full number line on the copyright page ending in 1 — dealer descriptions consistently key the point as "complete number line including the 1," and any copy with the 1 removed is a later printing
- The Penguin Press issue is the only hardcover first: the Jonathan Cape UK issue of 12 July 2018 (ISBN 9781787330412) and the subsequent Vintage issues (2019, 2021) are softcover, so a collector seeking a hardcover first has one option and one only
- Refer to jacket price only as priced jacket / price present at the flap; an unclipped flap is the desirable state
- Signed copies from the 2018 tour are typically signed to the title page
- Publisher imprint reads Penguin Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ottessa Moshfegh |
| Publisher | Penguin Press |
| Year | 2018 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The census claim is CONFIRMED: Penguin Press, New York, published the novel in hardcover on 10 July 2018 (ISBN 9780525522119, 289 pp.), two… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The census claim is CONFIRMED: Penguin Press, New York, published the novel in hardcover on 10 July 2018 (ISBN 9780525522119, 289 pp.), two days ahead of the UK issue. Penguin Press does not print an edition statement; the first printing is identified solely by the full number line on the copyright page ending in 1 — dealer descriptions consistently key the point as "complete number line including the 1," and any copy with the 1 removed is a later printing. The Penguin Press issue is the only hardcover first: the Jonathan Cape UK issue of 12 July 2018 (ISBN 9781787330412) and the subsequent Vintage issues (2019, 2021) are softcover, so a collector seeking a hardcover first has one option and one only. Refer to jacket price only as priced jacket / price present at the flap; an unclipped flap is the desirable state. Signed copies from the 2018 tour are typically signed to the title page.

## Is this the true first?
True first: Penguin Press, New York, 10 July 2018 — the US issue precedes the UK by two days and is the true first in every sense. Jonathan Cape, London, 12 July 2018 is the UK first but is a paperback issue, which is why it is not the collected first and is not a rival to the American hardcover. Name the US issue as the first and the Cape issue only as the UK first paperback. Trap: the later Vintage "Vintage Heroines" issue (ISBN 9781784877477) and the 2024 Cape reissue are first-thus only.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented for the 2018 first printing. Reprint tells: the title reprinted very heavily after its 2021–22 social-media revival, so surviving copies are overwhelmingly later Penguin Press printings — check the number line before anything else, since jacket, boards and text are unchanged across printings and a later printing is visually identical. Remainder marks to the bottom edge and clipped jacket flaps indicate trade returns, not points of issue. Later Penguin Press printings sometimes add review-quotation leaves not present in the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *My Year of Rest and Relaxation* by Ottessa Moshfegh a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/my-year-of-rest-and-relaxation
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.