# Is "Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays" by Zadie Smith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith (Penguin Press, 2009) is identified by: Zadie Smith's first essay collection. Precedence corrected.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Zadie Smith's first essay collection
- The US Penguin Press hardcover carries the publisher's full number line counting down to 1 on the copyright page; cloth-backed boards in dust jacket
- The UK Hamish Hamilton hardcover is a separate, slightly later issue identified by the Penguin number line and date on its copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Penguin Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Zadie Smith |
| Publisher | Penguin Press |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Zadie Smith's first essay collection |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Zadie Smith's first essay collection. The US Penguin Press hardcover carries the publisher's full number line counting down to 1 on the copyright page; cloth-backed boards in dust jacket. The UK Hamish Hamilton hardcover is a separate, slightly later issue identified by the Penguin number line and date on its copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence corrected. The US Penguin Press edition (mid-November 2009) was published ahead of the UK Hamish Hamilton edition (late November 2009), so the US printing is the true first. The earlier record's UK-first claim was incorrect.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings are identified by a number line that no longer ends in 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays* by Zadie Smith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/changing-my-mind-occasional-essays
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.