# Is "So Long, See You Tomorrow" by William Maxwell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell (Alfred A. Knopf, 1980) is identified by: The true first is the US Alfred A. US Knopf (1980) is the true first and the collected first edition; a UK edition followed shortly afterward, but the US printing has precedence.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the US Alfred A. Knopf edition of 1980 (135 pp.), bound in blue cloth with the spine stamped in gilt and carrying the Borzoi colophon
- The first printing states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with no later-printing indication; the dust jacket is priced at the front flap, and its design — after Giacometti's sculpture 'The Palace at 4 a.m.,' which figures in the novel — was executed by Maxwell's daughter
- The novel developed from a two-part New Yorker serialization in 1979
- Publisher imprint reads Alfred A. Knopf
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Maxwell |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Year | 1980 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is the US Alfred A. Knopf edition of 1980 (135 pp.), bound in blue cloth with the spine stamped in gilt and carrying the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The true first is the US Alfred A. Knopf edition of 1980 (135 pp.), bound in blue cloth with the spine stamped in gilt and carrying the Borzoi colophon. The first printing states 'FIRST EDITION' on the copyright page with no later-printing indication; the dust jacket is priced at the front flap, and its design — after Giacometti's sculpture 'The Palace at 4 a.m.,' which figures in the novel — was executed by Maxwell's daughter. The novel developed from a two-part New Yorker serialization in 1979.

## Is this the true first?
US Knopf (1980) is the true first and the collected first edition; a UK edition followed shortly afterward, but the US printing has precedence. (The UK publisher/date were not independently confirmed here, so they are not named.)

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club printing is documented for the Knopf first. Later paperback reprints postdate the 1980 hardcover and are not firsts.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *So Long, See You Tomorrow* by William Maxwell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/so-long-see-you-tomorrow
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.