# Is "The Unknown University" by Roberto Bolaño a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Unknown University by Roberto Bolaño (New Directions, 2013) is identified by: First English-language edition, New Directions, July 2013, a substantial hardcover of roughly 888 pages presenting the complete poems in a bilingual Spanish/English text translated by Laura Healy, ISBN 9780811219280. The Spanish original, La Universidad Desconocida (Editorial Anagrama, 2007), is the true first; New Directions issued the first English/bilingual edition as a hardcover in 2013.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English-language edition, New Directions, July 2013, a substantial hardcover of roughly 888 pages presenting the complete poems in a bilingual Spanish/English text translated by Laura Healy, ISBN 9780811219280
- The first printing is a hardcover issued in an unclipped dust jacket that retains its printed price
- Shortlisted for the 2014 Best Translated Book Award
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roberto Bolaño |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 2013 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English-language edition, New Directions, July 2013, a substantial hardcover of roughly 888 pages presenting the complete poems in a… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First English-language edition, New Directions, July 2013, a substantial hardcover of roughly 888 pages presenting the complete poems in a bilingual Spanish/English text translated by Laura Healy, ISBN 9780811219280. The first printing is a hardcover issued in an unclipped dust jacket that retains its printed price. Shortlisted for the 2014 Best Translated Book Award.

## Is this the true first?
The Spanish original, La Universidad Desconocida (Editorial Anagrama, 2007), is the true first; New Directions issued the first English/bilingual edition as a hardcover in 2013.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Unknown University* by Roberto Bolaño a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-unknown-university
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.