# Is "Islands in the Sky" by Arthur C. Clarke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Islands in the Sky by Arthur C. Clarke (The John C. Winston Company, 1952) is identified by: Winston Company first edition (a juvenile in the Winston SF series for young readers), issued in cloth with a priced dust jacket. Bibliographic practice treats the Winston US edition as the true first, with the Sidgwick and Jackson UK edition designated the first British edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US John C. Winston Company first edition (a juvenile in the Winston SF series for young readers), issued in cloth with a priced dust jacket
- The UK Sidgwick and Jackson edition, also 1952, is catalogued by dealers as the first British edition
- Publisher imprint reads The John C. Winston Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Arthur C. Clarke |
| Publisher | The John C. Winston Company |
| Year | 1952 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US John C. Winston Company first edition (a juvenile in the Winston SF series for young readers), issued in cloth with a priced dust jacket |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
US John C. Winston Company first edition (a juvenile in the Winston SF series for young readers), issued in cloth with a priced dust jacket. The UK Sidgwick and Jackson edition, also 1952, is catalogued by dealers as the first British edition.

## Is this the true first?
Bibliographic practice treats the Winston US edition as the true first, with the Sidgwick and Jackson UK edition designated the first British edition. The original record reversed this, naming Sidgwick and Jackson as the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition for the true first. Later reprints lack the Winston imprint.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Islands in the Sky* by Arthur C. Clarke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/islands-in-the-sky
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.