How to identify a first printing
- Mass-market paperback originals: copyright page shows 'First Avon … Printing (Month Year)' / 'First Edition'; a true first lists ONLY the first printing.
- Number line where present: lowest number 1 indicates first printing.
- Absence of any later-printing notation is the core test for paperback originals.
- Modern HarperCollins-era Avon follows the HC line-to-1 convention on the copyright page.
Notable points & cautions
- Founded 1941 as a mass-market paperback house; the dominant US romance imprint, so a huge share of Avon titles are paperback FIRSTS.
- Acquired by HarperCollins (via the Hearst/Morrow acquisition, 1999); now a HarperCollins romance imprint.
- Romance collectors treat the Avon mass-market original as the true first edition.
- Older Avon paperbacks identified by series number and printing line rather than a stated 'First Edition'.
Imprints
First editions also appear under: Avon Romance, Avon Impulse, Avon Inspire, Avon Red, Bard (former), Camelot/Flare (children's-YA, former). Each generally follows the house convention above.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my Avon Books book is a first edition?
Check the copyright page. Mass-market paperback originals: copyright page shows 'First Avon … Printing (Month Year)' / 'First Edition'; a true first lists ONLY the first printing. Number line where present: lowest number 1 indicates first printing.
Does Avon Books use a number line?
Number line where present: lowest number 1 indicates first printing.
Is a book-club edition a Avon Books first edition?
No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Founded 1941 as a mass-market paperback house; the dominant US romance imprint, so a huge share of Avon titles are paperback FIRSTS.
What era does this cover?
This covers Avon Books (1941–present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.
Avon Books titles with documented first-edition points
Each link opens that title’s specific points of issue — the exact marks that separate a true first printing from a later one.
- A Song for Lya and Other Stories (George R.R. Martin, 1976)
- Baal (Robert R. McCammon, 1978)
- Bethany's Sin (Robert R. McCammon, 1980)
- Brown's Requiem (James Ellroy, 1981)
- Captive Bride (Johanna Lindsey, 1977)
- Clandestine (James Ellroy, 1982)
- Confess, Fletch (Gregory Mcdonald, 1976)
- Killer on the Road (a.k.a. Silent Terror) (James Ellroy, 1986)
- Lord of Scoundrels (Loretta Chase, 1995)
- Nightwings (Robert Silverberg, 1969)
- Shanna (Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, 1977)
- Smoke and Mirrors (Neil Gaiman, 1998)
- Sweet Savage Love (Rosemary Rogers, 1974)
- The Crook Factory (Dan Simmons, 1999)
- The Enchanted Land (Jude Deveraux, 1978)
- The Flame and the Flower (Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, 1972)
- The Fulfillment (LaVyrle Spencer, 1979)
- The Man in the Maze (Robert Silverberg, 1969)
- The Night Boat (Robert R. McCammon, 1980)
- The Wolf and the Dove (Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, 1974)
- They Thirst (Robert R. McCammon, 1981)
- Tristessa (Jack Kerouac, 1960)
- Wetware (Rudy Rucker, 1988)