# Is "Anthills of the Savannah" by Chinua Achebe a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe (William Heinemann, 1987) is identified by: First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1987 (published December 1987). The Heinemann London 1987 issue is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1987 (published December 1987)
- Bound in pale green cloth boards with silver titling to the spine, issued in a graphic dust jacket designed by Siobhan Keaney
- The first-issue jacket carries the printed publisher's price at the front flap; a complete, unclipped example is preferred
- Shortlisted for the 1987 Booker Prize
- Precedes the first US edition (Anchor Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988)
- Publisher imprint reads William Heinemann
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Chinua Achebe |
| Publisher | William Heinemann |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | American edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1987 (published December 1987) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first impression, William Heinemann, London, 1987 (published December 1987). Bound in pale green cloth boards with silver titling to the spine, issued in a graphic dust jacket designed by Siobhan Keaney. The first-issue jacket carries the printed publisher's price at the front flap; a complete, unclipped example is preferred. Shortlisted for the 1987 Booker Prize. Precedes the first US edition (Anchor Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988).

## Is this the true first?
The Heinemann London 1987 issue is the true first. The first American edition, Anchor Press/Doubleday, follows in 1988 with its own priced jacket and is a later state, not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The US edition and all later paperbacks are reprints; only the 1987 Heinemann first impression is the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Anthills of the Savannah* by Chinua Achebe a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/anthills-of-the-savannah
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.