# Is "The Sportswriter" by Richard Ford a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sportswriter by Richard Ford (Vintage Contemporaries, 1986) is identified by: PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — no preceding hardcover. The Vintage Contemporaries trade paperback IS the true first (Ford's third book); there is no hardcover first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — no preceding hardcover
- First printing has no printing history stated on the copyright page
- ISBN 0-394-74325-3; cover carries its printed price
- Rick Lovell cover illustration with Lorraine Louie series design
- Frank Bascombe #1
- Publisher imprint reads Vintage Contemporaries
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Ford |
| Publisher | Vintage Contemporaries |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — no preceding hardcover |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — no preceding hardcover. First printing has no printing history stated on the copyright page; ISBN 0-394-74325-3; cover carries its printed price; Rick Lovell cover illustration with Lorraine Louie series design; 375 pp. Frank Bascombe #1.

## Is this the true first?
The Vintage Contemporaries trade paperback IS the true first (Ford's third book); there is no hardcover first. The UK Collins Harvill hardcover (1986) follows but does not precede.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No club edition; later Vintage printings add a printing line/number (second printing April 1986; third May 1986; fourth August 1986). Note the 1996 Knopf hardcover is a later reissue of the text, not the first appearance.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sportswriter* by Richard Ford a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sportswriter
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.