# Is "Tres" by Roberto Bolaño a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Tres by Roberto Bolaño (New Directions, 2011) is identified by: New Directions, 2011, first English-language edition; a bilingual Spanish/English volume of 174 pages with the original Spanish on the versos and Laura Healy's translation on the rectos, in three sections ('Prose from Autumn in Gerona,' 'The Neochileans,' 'A Stroll Through Literature'). First English-language edition of the poetry collection Tres (Spanish 2000), published September 2011 as a hardcover original.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- New Directions, 2011, first English-language edition; a bilingual Spanish/English volume of 174 pages with the original Spanish on the versos and Laura Healy's translation on the rectos, in three sections ('Prose from Autumn in Gerona,' 'The Neochileans,' 'A Stroll Through Literature')
- Issued as a hardcover; the first printing bears the New Directions imprint and a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads New Directions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roberto Bolaño |
| Publisher | New Directions |
| Year | 2011 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | New Directions, 2011, first English-language edition; a bilingual Spanish/English volume of 174 pages with the original Spanish on the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
New Directions, 2011, first English-language edition; a bilingual Spanish/English volume of 174 pages with the original Spanish on the versos and Laura Healy's translation on the rectos, in three sections ('Prose from Autumn in Gerona,' 'The Neochileans,' 'A Stroll Through Literature'). Issued as a hardcover; the first printing bears the New Directions imprint and a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
First English-language edition of the poetry collection Tres (Spanish 2000), published September 2011 as a hardcover original.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition; later printings are identified by the shortened number line on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Tres* by Roberto Bolaño a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/tres
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.