# Is "Night in the Lonesome October" by Richard Laymon a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Night in the Lonesome October by Richard Laymon (Headline, 2001) is identified by: UK Headline hardcover in dust jacket is the true first edition, published October 2001, posthumously. The original record's premise is wrong: the Leisure US paperback is not the first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Headline hardcover in dust jacket is the true first edition, published October 2001, posthumously
- Points: Headline imprint on title page, 2001 date, no later-printing statement
- The US Leisure mass-market paperback did not appear until September 2002 and is a later edition, not the first
- Publisher imprint reads Headline
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Laymon |
| Publisher | Headline |
| Year | 2001 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Headline hardcover in dust jacket is the true first edition, published October 2001… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Headline hardcover in dust jacket is the true first edition, published October 2001, posthumously. Points: Headline imprint on title page, 2001 date, no later-printing statement. The US Leisure mass-market paperback did not appear until September 2002 and is a later edition, not the first.

## Is this the true first?
The original record's premise is wrong: the Leisure US paperback is not the first. The true first is the UK Headline hardcover of 2001; the Leisure US PBO followed in September 2002.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
N/A for the Headline hardcover true first. The 2002 Leisure paperback is a later reprint edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Night in the Lonesome October* by Richard Laymon a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/night-in-the-lonesome-october
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.