# Is "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (Random House, 2006) is identified by: US Random House hardcover: stated First Edition with a complete number line including 1 on the copyright page; boards with gilt spine lettering; price-printed dust jacket. Precedence corrected: the US Random House hardcover was published in April 2006, roughly a month before the UK Sceptre hardcover in May 2006, so the US edition is the true first by date rather than the Sceptre edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Random House hardcover: stated First Edition with a complete number line including 1 on the copyright page; boards with gilt spine lettering; price-printed dust jacket
- The UK Sceptre edition (forest-green boards, metallic blue spine lettering, number line including 1) is a near-simultaneous edition that does not precede
- Publisher imprint reads Random House
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | David Mitchell |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Random House hardcover: stated First Edition with a complete number line including 1 on the copyright page; boards with gilt spine… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Random House hardcover: stated First Edition with a complete number line including 1 on the copyright page; boards with gilt spine lettering; price-printed dust jacket. The UK Sceptre edition (forest-green boards, metallic blue spine lettering, number line including 1) is a near-simultaneous edition that does not precede.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence corrected: the US Random House hardcover was published in April 2006, roughly a month before the UK Sceptre hardcover in May 2006, so the US edition is the true first by date rather than the Sceptre edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
On both editions, later printings drop the 1 from the number line and/or state the impression.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Black Swan Green* by David Mitchell a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/black-swan-green
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.