# Is "The Secret of Evil" by Roberto Bolaño a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Secret of Evil by Roberto Bolaño (New Directions, 2012) is identified by: First English-language edition, New Directions, New York, 2012, translated by Chris Andrews and Natasha Wimmer. The Spanish original, El secreto del mal, was published posthumously by Anagrama (Barcelona) in 2007 and gathers twenty-one pieces, of which nineteen appear in this English edition; that Anagrama first is the true first, and New Directions issued the first English-language edition in 2012.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English-language edition, New Directions, New York, 2012, translated by Chris Andrews and Natasha Wimmer
- Hardcover, 144 pages, ISBN 9780811218153; the English text collects nineteen of the short pieces and sketches found on the author's computer after his death
- Confirm the first printing by the New Directions imprint statement and 2012 copyright on the copyright page, with the printed jacket price present and unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roberto Bolaño |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English-language edition, New Directions, New York, 2012, translated by Chris Andrews and Natasha Wimmer |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First English-language edition, New Directions, New York, 2012, translated by Chris Andrews and Natasha Wimmer. Hardcover, 144 pages, ISBN 9780811218153; the English text collects nineteen of the short pieces and sketches found on the author's computer after his death. Confirm the first printing by the New Directions imprint statement and 2012 copyright on the copyright page, with the printed jacket price present and unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
The Spanish original, El secreto del mal, was published posthumously by Anagrama (Barcelona) in 2007 and gathers twenty-one pieces, of which nineteen appear in this English edition; that Anagrama first is the true first, and New Directions issued the first English-language edition in 2012.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. New Directions issued this title only in the standard trade hardcover and a later paperback; the paperback is a separate later issue, not a first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Secret of Evil* by Roberto Bolaño a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-secret-of-evil
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.