Full Bibliography: First Publications

Every Vance novel, collection, and short story, with first appearance only (magazine, book, or omnibus) and, where a work first appeared serialized in a magazine and only later as a standalone book, both dates. Compiled from references/vance-life-and-works.md (itself sourced from ISFDB, the FictionMags Index, sfadb, and Foreverness — see that file’s §10 for full citations) and cross-checked against ISFDB’s summary bibliography.

Full chronological list — fiction and non-fiction

Every Vance novel, short story, collection, and his one non-fiction book (the autobiography), in a single sequence sorted by earliest identifiable first-publication date (magazine/anthology serialization where it preceded book publication, otherwise the book date). Compiled from VIE.md and references/vance-life-and-works.md (ISFDB/FictionMags Index/sfadb/Foreverness) plus the 2018 Spatterlight addendum. Collections and omnibuses are dated to their own first edition, not to the stories they reprint.

The Genesee Slough Murders was added to the 2018 Spatterlight Wild Thyme and Violets and Other Unpublished Works, not the original VIE volume. The Telephone Was Ringing in the Dark was published only by the Vance Integral Edition. This list reflects the VIE’s own claim to completeness (plus the 2018 Spatterlight addendum) — the fullest single accounting of Vance’s output available without a story-by-story ISFDB pass. If a title turns up that isn’t here, treat that as a gap to log, not as evidence the list is wrong.

Open questions / next steps for this page

• ISBNs were removed from this page (2026-08-21, at the user’s request) to keep the table focused on first-publication venues/dates. If ISBNs are wanted again later, references/vance-life-and-works.md and the Subterranean Press “Early Jack Vance” series copyright pages are the fastest starting points (978-1596063013, 978-1596064515, 978-1596065604, 978-1596066458, 978-1596067103 for vols. 1–5 respectively); everything else would need a fresh ISFDB/WorldCat pass.
• VIE vs. commercial first editions: this page tracks commercial first publications only. For the VIE’s own restored/authorial texts and their relationship to first commercial editions, see VIE.md.
• Coverage is complete per the VIE’s own record (2026-08-21 pass, ~160 items across novels, short fiction, collections, and the autobiography, drawn from VIE.md’s per-volume contents plus the 2018 Spatterlight addendum). Treat as complete unless a title turns up that isn’t here; it has not been independently re-verified against ISFDB’s chronological title list item-by-item.

2009 This Is Me, Jack Vance! (2009)

This Is Me, Jack Vance! is the only non-fiction work by Vance, and it won the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Related Book.

Jack’s autobiography provides an intimate and fascinating glimpse into his rich and eventful life, offering readers a unique perspective on the man behind the celebrated works. It’s also his last published work, he no longer used his computer setup but dictated his memoirs. Jeremy Cavaterra (Jack’s caretaker), transcribed the dictated memoirs into the final published form (Norma sadly passed away before the book was completed).

There are two additional noteworhthy books released that give more insight into Jack’s life and works: About Jack Vance and Jack Vance Interviews both by Jean Luc Esteban, available on lulu.com

2004 Lurulu

1998 Ports of Call

Ports of call was intended as a 2-volume series, Lurulu was released as the second volume in 2004. This was also the last (fiction) novel by Vance to be published during his lifetime, and the last to get the luxury Underwood Books treatment.

Additional information about the writing of Ports of Call can be found in the companion book “Backstage with Jack Vance” by Spatterlight Press. It contains a lot of information about the writing of Ports of Call, including the outline of the novel, some background stories, and details that didn’t make it into the final book.

1996 Night Lamp

Night Lamp is the first novel by Vance to be published in hardcover by a major trade publisher (Tor), and the first to be published in hardcover since 1979’s The Face. It was originally published in a limited edition of 600 signed copies by Underwood Books, with cover art by Stephen Hickman.

Spatterlight Press has released a companion book called “Backstage with Jack Vance” which contains a lot of information about the writing of Night Lamp. It’s the outline of Night Lamp, it gives an insight into the writing of the novel, some background stories, names of characters have been changed - some details from the outline didn’t make it into the novel, it is a very interesting read for anyone who is interested in the writing process of Jack Vance.

xxxx Big Planet (1952)

Cosmopolis 25 has a very interesting article about the history of the publication of Big Planet, and the differences between the original magazine version and the later book version. The article is called “Big Planet, Big Scissors…” by Patrick Dusoulier

Most of you, dear Readers, are under the impression that you have read Big Planet, a novel written by Jack Vance, as published by ACE in 1957.

1952 Gold and Iron (1952)

VIE edition is missing the few paragraphs (as appeared in the “space Stories” and “Underwood-Miller” books) - the Spatterlight edition has the complete text.