# Is "Shadow and Bone" by Leigh Bardugo a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Henry Holt and Co., 2012) is identified by: US first printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition — 2012" with a complete descending number line beneath it running down to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The census claim that the US Holt edition is the true first does NOT survive on strict chronological precedence and is corrected here.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US first printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition — 2012" with a complete descending number line beneath it running down to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1)
- The decisive check is the number line: the "First Edition" line can persist into later Holt printings while the low digits are stripped from the line, so a copy whose line does not reach 1 is a reprint regardless of what the edition statement says
- Binding is black boards; issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap (unclipped)
- Two independent dealer descriptions transcribe these points identically
- No first-state text error is documented for this title
- Publisher imprint reads Henry Holt and Co.
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Leigh Bardugo |
| Publisher | Henry Holt and Co. |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | US first printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition — 2012" with a complete descending number line beneath it… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
US first printing: the copyright page carries the statement "First Edition — 2012" with a complete descending number line beneath it running down to 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The decisive check is the number line: the "First Edition" line can persist into later Holt printings while the low digits are stripped from the line, so a copy whose line does not reach 1 is a reprint regardless of what the edition statement says. Binding is black boards; issued in a pictorial dust jacket with the price present at the flap (unclipped). Two independent dealer descriptions transcribe these points identically. No first-state text error is documented for this title.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim that the US Holt edition is the true first does NOT survive on strict chronological precedence and is corrected here. The book appeared first in Britain under a different title — "The Gathering Dark" (Indigo, an imprint of Orion Children's Books, London) — as a trade-paperback original, dated 17 May 2012 by contemporaneous UK sources, roughly three weeks ahead of the US Henry Holt hardcover of 5 June 2012. The Indigo issue is therefore the first appearance in book form, though it is a paperback original with no UK hardcover issue. The Holt hardcover is the first edition under the title "Shadow and Bone," the first hardcover anywhere, and the issue chiefly pursued. Both are collected; name both. Caveat on the margin: some databases give the Indigo date as early June rather than mid-May, so the UK lead is narrow — verify the Indigo date independently before relying on it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition is documented for this title. First-thus traps: the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition (ISBN 9781250846914) and the 2021 Netflix tie-in printings are later issues, not firsts; the UK "The Grisha: Shadow and Bone" (Indigo, ISBN 9781780622262) is a later retitled British reissue, not the 2012 UK first. Reprint tell: any number line not reaching 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Shadow and Bone* by Leigh Bardugo a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/shadow-and-bone
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.