# Is "Nova Express" by William S. Burroughs a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Nova Express by William S. Burroughs (Grove Press, 1964) is identified by: First US edition, Grove Press, New York, 1964 (Maynard & Miles A10a), cloth boards in dust jacket. Grove Press US (1964) is the true first (Burroughs wrote it for Grove; unlike The Soft Machine and The Ticket That Exploded there is no prior Olympia edition).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, Grove Press, New York, 1964 (Maynard & Miles A10a), cloth boards in dust jacket
- Bound in orange (sometimes described as red) cloth with black spine lettering and an orange topstain
- First-issue dust jacket designed by Roy Kuhlman, with the printed price present on the front flap
- First printing is stated on the copyright page
- Completes Burroughs's 'Nova'/cut-up trilogy
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William S. Burroughs |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
| Year | 1964 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Poetry |
| Key point | First US edition, Grove Press, New York, 1964 (Maynard & Miles A10a), cloth boards in dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First US edition, Grove Press, New York, 1964 (Maynard & Miles A10a), cloth boards in dust jacket. Bound in orange (sometimes described as red) cloth with black spine lettering and an orange topstain. First-issue dust jacket designed by Roy Kuhlman, with the printed price present on the front flap. First printing is stated on the copyright page. Completes Burroughs's 'Nova'/cut-up trilogy.

## Is this the true first?
Grove Press US (1964) is the true first (Burroughs wrote it for Grove; unlike The Soft Machine and The Ticket That Exploded there is no prior Olympia edition). Jonathan Cape issued the UK edition (1966). Verify the Grove first-printing copyright page.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not a book-club title. Note that Nova Express, unlike the other two cut-up novels, has its true first at Grove with no Olympia precedent. Confirm the first printing by the stated first-printing copyright page, the Kuhlman jacket, and the priced front flap.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Nova Express* by William S. Burroughs a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/nova-express
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.