# Is "Like" by Ali Smith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Like by Ali Smith (Virago, 1997) is identified by: First edition issued as a cloth hardback with dust jacket (not a paperback original), the copyright page stated as a first edition. UK Virago (1997) is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin edition followed in 1998.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition issued as a cloth hardback with dust jacket (not a paperback original), the copyright page stated as a first edition
- The book is an octavo of about 344 pages bound in black cloth with silver stamping to the spine and black endpapers, in a pictorial Virago dust jacket; a correct first jacket retains the original printed price on the flap
- Smith's debut novel
- Publisher imprint reads Virago
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ali Smith |
| Publisher | Virago |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition issued as a cloth hardback with dust jacket (not a paperback original), the copyright page stated as a first edition |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition issued as a cloth hardback with dust jacket (not a paperback original), the copyright page stated as a first edition. The book is an octavo of about 344 pages bound in black cloth with silver stamping to the spine and black endpapers, in a pictorial Virago dust jacket; a correct first jacket retains the original printed price on the flap. Smith's debut novel.

## Is this the true first?
UK Virago (1997) is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin edition followed in 1998.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition noted; identify the first by the 1997 Virago black-cloth hardback with silver spine stamping, black endpapers and the pictorial dust jacket bearing its original printed price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Like* by Ali Smith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/like
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.