# Is "Nation" by Terry Pratchett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Nation by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2008) is identified by: Non-Discworld standalone novel. UK Doubleday is the true first, published 11 September 2008; the US HarperCollins hardcover edition followed later the same month (late September 2008) and is a separate, subsequent printing, not the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Doubleday (a Random House Children's Books imprint, London) 2008 is the first edition; the first printing has the full number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page
- Bound in midnight-blue cloth boards
- The first-issue dust jacket carries the wraparound artwork by Jonny Duddle and should retain its printed price (unclipped); the printed price present is the mark of an unclipped first jacket
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Terry Pratchett |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 2008 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Doubleday (a Random House Children's Books imprint, London) 2008 is the first edition; the first printing has the full number line 1 3 5… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Non-Discworld standalone novel. UK Doubleday (a Random House Children's Books imprint, London) 2008 is the first edition; the first printing has the full number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 on the copyright page. Bound in midnight-blue cloth boards. The first-issue dust jacket carries the wraparound artwork by Jonny Duddle and should retain its printed price (unclipped); the printed price present is the mark of an unclipped first jacket.

## Is this the true first?
UK Doubleday is the true first, published 11 September 2008; the US HarperCollins hardcover edition followed later the same month (late September 2008) and is a separate, subsequent printing, not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings show a shortened/reordered number line rather than the full 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 sequence; the UK first jacket is unclipped with the printed price present.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Nation* by Terry Pratchett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/nation
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.