# Is "Skellig" by David Almond a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Skellig by David Almond (Hodder Children's Books, 1998) is identified by: UK Hodder Children's Books first printing (London, 1998) with a full number line counting down to 1. The UK Hodder Children's Books edition of 1998 is the true first worldwide; it precedes the US Delacorte edition of 1999.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Hodder Children's Books first printing (London, 1998) with a full number line counting down to 1
- The first-issue dust jacket carries the Fletcher Sibthorp cover artwork and should retain its original printed price on the flap; the true-first jacket bears NO Carnegie Medal or Whitbread award sticker, since those honors came in 1998/1999
- Almond's first novel for children
- Publisher imprint reads Hodder Children's Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | David Almond |
| Publisher | Hodder Children's Books |
| Year | 1998 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | UK Hodder Children's Books first printing (London, 1998) with a full number line counting down to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Hodder Children's Books first printing (London, 1998) with a full number line counting down to 1. The first-issue dust jacket carries the Fletcher Sibthorp cover artwork and should retain its original printed price on the flap; the true-first jacket bears NO Carnegie Medal or Whitbread award sticker, since those honors came in 1998/1999. Almond's first novel for children.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Hodder Children's Books edition of 1998 is the true first worldwide; it precedes the US Delacorte edition of 1999. The book won the 1998 Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year, so award-touting jacket copy or spine stickers indicate a later state or later printing.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The US Delacorte edition is a separate first-American printing, not the true first. Later UK printings and reissues add award stickers or award wording to the Fletcher Sibthorp jacket; the true first is jacket-clean of awards with the number line running to 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Skellig* by David Almond a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/skellig
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.