# Is "Nelson Algren's Own Book of Lonesome Monsters" by Nelson Algren a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Nelson Algren's Own Book of Lonesome Monsters by Nelson Algren (Bernard Geis Associates, 1962) is identified by: Anthology edited by Algren. US first edition (Bernard Geis Associates, 1962).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing, 1962
- Anthology edited by Algren
- Orange boards backed with a black cloth spine, issued in a printed brown dust wrapper
- Notable for including Thomas Pynchon's story 'Entropy' alongside work by Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Bruce Jay Friedman and others
- Publisher imprint reads Bernard Geis Associates
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Nelson Algren |
| Publisher | Bernard Geis Associates |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing, 1962 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing, 1962. Anthology edited by Algren. Orange boards backed with a black cloth spine, issued in a printed brown dust wrapper. Notable for including Thomas Pynchon's story 'Entropy' alongside work by Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Bruce Jay Friedman and others.

## Is this the true first?
US first edition (Bernard Geis Associates, 1962). A UK paperback edition followed from Panther.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings would be so noted; first printings carry no later-printing designation.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Nelson Algren's Own Book of Lonesome Monsters* by Nelson Algren a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/nelson-algrens-own-book-of-lonesome-monsters
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.