# Is "Celestial Bodies" by Jokha Alharthi (trans. Marilyn Booth) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (trans. Marilyn Booth) (Sandstone Press, 2018) is identified by: First English edition, Sandstone Press, June 2018, translating the Arabic 'Sayyidat al-Qamar'. The Arabic original (Dar al-Adab, Beirut, 2010) is the true first of the work.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English edition, Sandstone Press, June 2018, translating the Arabic 'Sayyidat al-Qamar'
- Number line to 1; original wrappers
- A first-printing point: the true first printing has no Man Booker International logo on the front cover (later printings add prize references)
- Winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize — the first Arabic-language work to win
- Publisher imprint reads Sandstone Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jokha Alharthi (trans. Marilyn Booth) |
| Publisher | Sandstone Press |
| Year | 2018 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition, Sandstone Press, June 2018, translating the Arabic 'Sayyidat al-Qamar' |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First English edition, Sandstone Press, June 2018, translating the Arabic 'Sayyidat al-Qamar'. Number line to 1; original wrappers. A first-printing point: the true first printing has no Man Booker International logo on the front cover (later printings add prize references). Winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize — the first Arabic-language work to win.

## Is this the true first?
The Arabic original (Dar al-Adab, Beirut, 2010) is the true first of the work. The Sandstone Press 2018 is the true first in English and the prize-winning edition; the US edition (Catapult, 2019) and Canadian edition (House of Anansi, 2019) followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Catapult US (2019) and House of Anansi Canada (2019) editions are distinguished by imprint and date; the Sandstone first is told by the number line to 1 and the absence of a prize logo on the cover. No book-club edition noted.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Celestial Bodies* by Jokha Alharthi (trans. Marilyn Booth) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/celestial-bodies
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.