# Is "Beautiful World, Where Are You" by Sally Rooney a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, 2021) is identified by: UK Faber trade first: First published in 2021 on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1. The book was published simultaneously on 7 September 2021 by Faber in the UK and by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the US (and Knopf in Canada), so the UK edition does not clearly precede the US edition in time.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Faber trade first: First published in 2021 on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1
- Faber also issued limited signed and special editions (including a yellow-jacketed issue); distinguish the trade first from those by the edition or limitation statement rather than treating any decorated copy as the trade first
- Publisher imprint reads Faber & Faber
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Sally Rooney |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
| Year | 2021 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Faber trade first: First published in 2021 on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
UK Faber trade first: First published in 2021 on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1. Faber also issued limited signed and special editions (including a yellow-jacketed issue); distinguish the trade first from those by the edition or limitation statement rather than treating any decorated copy as the trade first.

## Is this the true first?
The book was published simultaneously on 7 September 2021 by Faber in the UK and by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in the US (and Knopf in Canada), so the UK edition does not clearly precede the US edition in time. Collectors generally treat the UK Faber issue as the author's home first, but the US FSG first is a true simultaneous first edition, not merely a first American following the UK. Both are legitimate first printings of the same year.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition issue. Distinguish the Faber trade first from Faber's signed and special editions by the limitation or edition statement; do not conflate a decorated or signed special issue with the standard trade first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Beautiful World, Where Are You* by Sally Rooney a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/beautiful-world-where-are-you
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.