This book, written by a first-time novelist, was released with a modest print run of 25,000 .

And what happens to a first-time novelist for whom a departing editor has taken a gamble?

Miller is the other first-time novelist to have made the shortlist.

The purpose of the series was to give attention to first-time novelists.

In any other case," she explains, "I would never have a signing for a first-time novelist with a book that's just come out.

For most first-time novelists, just making it onto the best-seller lists is a thrill.

As a first-time novelist, Niffenegger had trouble finding a literary agent.

"Not many first-time novelists have even a clue how to do that," she said.

Nor is it the typically autobiographical fare of a first-time novelist.

Milorad Ulemek, a first-time novelist, has been quite a success.