# Is "Magic for Beginners" by Kelly Link a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (Small Beer Press, 2005) is identified by: True first is the Small Beer Press hardcover, published July 2005 (not September), ISBN 1-931520-15-1 (9781931520157). The US Small Beer Press hardcover (2005) is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the Small Beer Press hardcover, published July 2005 (not September), ISBN 1-931520-15-1
- Small Beer issued the hardcover in two states: a signed, hand-numbered limited edition of 150 copies in cobalt-blue pearl linen cloth with two tipped-in plates, and a trade hardcover
- Both precede the later mass-market Harcourt/Harvest trade edition
- A true first carries no later-printing notice; second printing followed in October 2005
- Publisher imprint reads Small Beer Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Kelly Link |
| Publisher | Small Beer Press |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the Small Beer Press hardcover, published July 2005 (not September), ISBN 1-931520-15-1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the Small Beer Press hardcover, published July 2005 (not September), ISBN 1-931520-15-1 (9781931520157). Small Beer issued the hardcover in two states: a signed, hand-numbered limited edition of 150 copies in cobalt-blue pearl linen cloth with two tipped-in plates, and a trade hardcover. Both precede the later mass-market Harcourt/Harvest trade edition. A true first carries no later-printing notice; second printing followed in October 2005.

## Is this the true first?
The US Small Beer Press hardcover (2005) is the true first. The later Harcourt/Harvest (2006) trade paperback is a first-thus, not the first. Within the Small Beer issue, the signed limited of 150 in linen cloth is the most distinctive state, with the unsigned trade hardcover also a true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Any Harcourt or Harvest imprint copy is a later trade edition, not the first. Later Small Beer printings, including the October 2005 second printing, add an impression line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Magic for Beginners* by Kelly Link a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/magic-for-beginners
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.