# Is "Ringworld" by Larry Niven a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Ringworld by Larry Niven (Ballantine Books, 1970) is identified by: First printing so stated; cover with its printed price; first-printing code on copyright page. The Ballantine mass-market PAPERBACK is the true first edition — there was no US hardcover first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing so stated; cover with its printed price; first-printing code on copyright page
- Note the famous first-printing error: Niven had the Earth rotating in the wrong direction (corrected in later printings), but this is a textual point, not a binding point
- Publisher imprint reads Ballantine Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Larry Niven |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
| Year | 1970 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing so stated; cover with its printed price; first-printing code on copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Paperback original. First printing so stated; cover with its printed price; first-printing code on copyright page. Note the famous first-printing error: Niven had the Earth rotating in the wrong direction (corrected in later printings), but this is a textual point, not a binding point.

## Is this the true first?
The Ballantine mass-market PAPERBACK is the true first edition — there was no US hardcover first. The UK Gollancz hardcover (1972) and the later Holt/SFBC hardcover are later. Hugo and Nebula winner.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings raise the price and add higher number-line digits. SFBC and Gollancz hardcovers postdate the paperback. A hardcover is therefore never the true first of Ringworld.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Ringworld* by Larry Niven a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/ringworld
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.