# Is "Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes" by Will Self a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes by Will Self (Viking, 2008) is identified by: Viking (Penguin), London, 2008; story collection in hardcover, boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket, the printed price present on the front flap. UK Viking (2008) is the true first and precedes the US Bloomsbury USA edition (2009, ISBN 9781596916647); a later Grove Press US paperback also exists.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Viking (Penguin), London, 2008; story collection in hardcover, boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket, the printed price present on the front flap
- First printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1
- UK ISBN 9780670889976
- Publisher imprint reads Viking
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Will Self |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Year | 2008 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Viking (Penguin), London, 2008; story collection in hardcover, boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket, the printed price… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Viking (Penguin), London, 2008; story collection in hardcover, boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket, the printed price present on the front flap. First printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1. UK ISBN 9780670889976.

## Is this the true first?
UK Viking (2008) is the true first and precedes the US Bloomsbury USA edition (2009, ISBN 9781596916647); a later Grove Press US paperback also exists.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings can be identified by the lowest number in the line being higher than 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Liver: A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes* by Will Self a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/liver-a-fictional-organ-with-a-surface-anatomy-of-four-lobes
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.