JGB Guide Novels Collections Stories

Non-Fiction Miscellaneous Media Books About Ballard

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Many English or American authors offer little difficulty to the collector, since their publications consist in the main of a series of novels, with first publication in hardback in their own country followed by paperback editions and by hardback editions on the other side of the Atlantic. Ballard is, from a bibliographic perspective, much more interesting. Firstly, some of his books were only ever issued in the U.S., and others had their first publication as a paperback. In addition, he has written around 100 short stories, which have appeared in a wide variety of magazines, and has also produced a number of pieces that cannot be easily categorized as either fiction or non-fiction. Finally, the publication details of a number of his writings are rather obscure. Hence the need for this Collector's Guide.

Here's what's covered in the JGB Collectors Guide:

Books, i.e. novels, short story collections, and non-fiction books. I have included information on first editions in hardback in both the U.K. and the U.S. Details of paperback editions are given if there was no previous hardback edition published in the relevant country, or if they are of particular interest.

Short stories. I have given details of first publication in any format, as well as some other interesting or collectable appearances.

Miscellaneous media. This section covers Ballard's work that is not easily classifiable as either fiction or non-fiction, for example collages, poems, 'advertiser's announcements', etc. I have included details of first publication, and a few other interesting or collectible appearances.

Books about Ballard. Books that are wholly or mainly about Ballard and his work: bibliographies, critical appreciations, etc.

And here's what's not covered:

Translations. The focus of the site is the English language, so I haven't included translations into other languages. David Pringle's 1984 bibliography contains details of a selection of translations of Ballard's books up to 1982. And Herve Lagoguey has put together a cover gallery with details of French editions of JGB's books.

Subsequent editions and re-printings. Most of the novels and collections have been re-printed, often with different artwork, or re-issued in editions that differ only marginally, if at all, from the original. No attempt has been made to catalogue all of these subsequent publications.  

Individual non-fiction writings. A User's Guide to the Millennium collects ninety of Ballard's reviews and articles. In addition, David Pringle has compiled lists of Ballard's later non-fiction writings (up to the end of 2003), and of shorter 'round-robin' items appearing in newspapers and magazines from the start of Ballard's career until mid-1996. These details are available at the JGB mailing list (messages #6279 and #6282). An updated bibliography of Ballard's short non-fiction (excluding interviews and 'round-robins'), again compiled by David Pringle, appeared in the catalogue for Crash: Homage to J. G. Ballard (2010).

Proof copies, and advance reading copies. Most books will have had proof copies or ARCs, so these are not separately dealt with, unless they are of special interest.

Letters, manuscripts, and other ephemera.

Audio-books, videos, DVDs, film soundtracks, etc.

Interviews with Ballard in magazines, newspapers, etc. Rick McGrath's website contains a list of over 200 interviews with Ballard, covering the period 1967 to 2008, and details of most pre-1982 interviews are given in Pringle (1984). Over 40 of Ballard’s finest interviews have now been collected in Extreme Metaphors.

Articles about Ballard in magazines, newspapers, etc. Pringle (1984) has details of significant articles about Ballard up to 1982. In addition, Umberto Rossi has compiled The Critical Exhibition, a listing of secondary literature on Ballard, both books and articles.