# Is "Rosewater" by Tade Thompson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Rosewater by Tade Thompson (Apex Book Company, 2016) is identified by: US Apex Book Company trade paperback original, published 15 November 2016 (about 287 pages, ISBN 9781937009298); small-press first printing. The Apex Book Company 2016 paperback original is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Apex Book Company trade paperback original, published 15 November 2016 (about 287 pages, ISBN 9781937009298); small-press first printing
- The Orbit edition (19 October 2018, about 390 pages) is the later, more common reissue
- Publisher imprint reads Apex Book Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tade Thompson |
| Publisher | Apex Book Company |
| Year | 2016 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Apex Book Company trade paperback original, published 15 November 2016 (about 287 pages, ISBN 9781937009298); small-press first printing |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US Apex Book Company trade paperback original, published 15 November 2016 (about 287 pages, ISBN 9781937009298); small-press first printing. The Orbit edition (19 October 2018, about 390 pages) is the later, more common reissue.

## Is this the true first?
The Apex Book Company 2016 paperback original is the true first. The Orbit 2018 edition is 'first thus' and accounts for most copies. Winner of the 2019 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the inaugural Nommo Award.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The ubiquitous Orbit 2018 reissue is a reprint, not the true first; it is easy to mistake the common Orbit edition for the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Rosewater* by Tade Thompson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/rosewater
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.