# Is "Hotel World" by Ali Smith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hotel World by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton, 2001) is identified by: Cloth boards with a gilt-stamped spine, issued in a priced dust jacket; the printed price should be present on the jacket. The UK Hamish Hamilton edition of 2001 (ISBN 0-241-14109-5) is the true first edition and precedes the first American edition, published by Anchor Books (Knopf Doubleday, New York) in 2002 under ISBN 978-0-385-72210-0; the Anchor issue is the first US appearance, not the world first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Cloth boards with a gilt-stamped spine, issued in a priced dust jacket; the printed price should be present on the jacket
- Ali Smith's second novel, it was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Novel Award
- Publisher imprint reads Hamish Hamilton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ali Smith |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Year | 2001 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Cloth boards with a gilt-stamped spine, issued in a priced dust jacket; the printed price should be present on the jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Cloth boards with a gilt-stamped spine, issued in a priced dust jacket; the printed price should be present on the jacket. Ali Smith's second novel, it was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Novel Award.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Hamish Hamilton edition of 2001 (ISBN 0-241-14109-5) is the true first edition and precedes the first American edition, published by Anchor Books (Knopf Doubleday, New York) in 2002 under ISBN 978-0-385-72210-0; the Anchor issue is the first US appearance, not the world first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints and later impressions state the impression on the copyright page; the 2002 US Anchor issue is a separate first-American, and later Penguin/Anchor printings are reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hotel World* by Ali Smith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hotel-world
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.