# Is "The Novel Now" by Anthony Burgess a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Novel Now by Anthony Burgess (Faber and Faber, 1967) is identified by: First edition, first printing: the Faber and Faber (London) issue of 1967, a critical guide to contemporary fiction. The UK Faber and Faber 1967 edition is the true first; the US Norton edition followed later in 1967.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing: the Faber and Faber (London) issue of 1967, a critical guide to contemporary fiction
- The Faber first, published in London in 1967, precedes the W. W. Norton (New York) edition of the same year, consistent with Burgess's general pattern of British publication ahead of the American; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price
- Publisher imprint reads Faber and Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Anthony Burgess |
| Publisher | Faber and Faber |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing: the Faber and Faber (London) issue of 1967, a critical guide to contemporary fiction |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing: the Faber and Faber (London) issue of 1967, a critical guide to contemporary fiction. The Faber first, published in London in 1967, precedes the W. W. Norton (New York) edition of the same year, consistent with Burgess's general pattern of British publication ahead of the American; the first-issue jacket should retain its printed price.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Faber and Faber 1967 edition is the true first; the US Norton edition followed later in 1967. Burgess issued a revised edition through Faber in 1971.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The revised 1971 edition has substantially altered and expanded text and should not be confused with the 1967 first; identify the first by the Faber imprint and 1967 date without any 'revised edition' or 'second edition' wording.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Novel Now* by Anthony Burgess a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-novel-now
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.