# Is "Career of Evil" by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) (Sphere / Little, Brown, 2015) is identified by: Copyright page states 'First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Sphere' with a full number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). UK Sphere edition is conventionally cataloged as the first edition (published 20 October 2015).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Copyright page states 'First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Sphere' with a full number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
- UK Sphere hardcover ISBN 9780751562279
- The US edition (Mulholland Books, an imprint of Little, Brown US) carries its own number line to 1
- Publisher-signed copies of the trade first exist (title page signed 'Robert Galbraith'); these are the standard first edition signed, not a separately numbered limited issue
- Publisher imprint reads Sphere / Little, Brown
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) |
| Publisher | Sphere / Little, Brown |
| Year | 2015 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Copyright page states 'First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Sphere' with a full… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Copyright page states 'First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Sphere' with a full number line descending to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). UK Sphere hardcover ISBN 9780751562279. The US edition (Mulholland Books, an imprint of Little, Brown US) carries its own number line to 1. Publisher-signed copies of the trade first exist (title page signed 'Robert Galbraith'); these are the standard first edition signed, not a separately numbered limited issue.

## Is this the true first?
UK Sphere edition is conventionally cataloged as the first edition (published 20 October 2015). Note it was released simultaneously in the US by Mulholland Books the same day, so UK precedence rests on cataloging convention rather than a clear date gap.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings advance the number line so that 1 is no longer present.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Career of Evil* by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/career-of-evil
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.