# Is "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate, 2006) is identified by: First UK edition, Fourth Estate (an imprint of HarperCollins), London, 2006. UK Fourth Estate 2006 is the true first; the US Knopf is a later first-thus.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First UK edition, Fourth Estate (an imprint of HarperCollins), London, 2006
- This is the true first
- A full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page is consistent with Fourth Estate house practice for a first printing, though the exact digits are not verbatim-confirmed from a primary scan; treat the number line as the printing indicator to check rather than as a quoted string
- Confirm the Fourth Estate imprint and 2006 date against the later US Knopf printing
- Publisher imprint reads Fourth Estate
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
| Publisher | Fourth Estate |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First UK edition, Fourth Estate (an imprint of HarperCollins), London, 2006 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First UK edition, Fourth Estate (an imprint of HarperCollins), London, 2006. This is the true first. A full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page is consistent with Fourth Estate house practice for a first printing, though the exact digits are not verbatim-confirmed from a primary scan; treat the number line as the printing indicator to check rather than as a quoted string. Confirm the Fourth Estate imprint and 2006 date against the later US Knopf printing.

## Is this the true first?
UK Fourth Estate 2006 is the true first; the US Knopf is a later first-thus. Orange Prize winner and a key modern African-literature first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No club edition. Confirm the UK Fourth Estate imprint and number line versus the US Knopf printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Half of a Yellow Sun* by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/half-of-a-yellow-sun
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.