# Is "Going Postal" by Terry Pratchett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2004) is identified by: Discworld 33; introduces con-man-turned-Postmaster Moist von Lipwig. UK Doubleday is the true first (25 September 2004); the US HarperCollins edition followed within days.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Discworld 33; introduces con-man-turned-Postmaster Moist von Lipwig
- UK Doubleday hardcover, London 2004 (ISBN 0385603428), the first appearance
- First printing carries the interleaved Transworld number string 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page; note that this is not a simple descending line, so the presence of the 10 flanked by odd-then-even digits is the tell rather than a lone terminal 1
- Binding is publisher's black cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and coloured (illustrated) endpapers, 8vo, 352 pp
- The first-state dust jacket carries the cover art and should retain its printed cover price; price-clipping does not by itself demote a jacket but an intact printed price is preferred
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Terry Pratchett |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 2004 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Discworld 33; introduces con-man-turned-Postmaster Moist von Lipwig |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Discworld 33; introduces con-man-turned-Postmaster Moist von Lipwig. UK Doubleday hardcover, London 2004 (ISBN 0385603428), the first appearance. First printing carries the interleaved Transworld number string 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page; note that this is not a simple descending line, so the presence of the 10 flanked by odd-then-even digits is the tell rather than a lone terminal 1. Binding is publisher's black cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and coloured (illustrated) endpapers, 8vo, 352 pp. The first-state dust jacket carries the cover art and should retain its printed cover price; price-clipping does not by itself demote a jacket but an intact printed price is preferred.

## Is this the true first?
UK Doubleday is the true first (25 September 2004); the US HarperCollins edition followed within days. Collect the Doubleday hardcover in black cloth with the 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 string for the primary first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Doubleday printings alter the number string, removing the low digits so it no longer begins 1 3 5...; a stated later-printing line or the absence of the interleaved first-printing string identifies a reprint. Book-club and paperback issues are separate and not the collected first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Going Postal* by Terry Pratchett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/going-postal
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.