# Is "Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen" by Roald Dahl a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen by Roald Dahl (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948) is identified by: Scribner's single 'A' on the copyright page below the statement identifies the first printing. The US Scribner edition (1948) precedes the UK Collins edition (1949) by a year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Scribner's single 'A' on the copyright page below the statement identifies the first printing
- Bound in full red cloth, 244 pages, small octavo
- First-issue jacket carries the original printed price on the flap (present, unclipped)
- Only one printing was made in the US
- Publisher imprint reads Charles Scribner's Sons
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roald Dahl |
| Publisher | Charles Scribner's Sons |
| Year | 1948 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | Scribner's single 'A' on the copyright page below the statement identifies the first… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Scribner's single 'A' on the copyright page below the statement identifies the first printing. Bound in full red cloth, 244 pages, small octavo. First-issue jacket carries the original printed price on the flap (present, unclipped). Only one printing was made in the US.

## Is this the true first?
The US Scribner edition (1948) precedes the UK Collins edition (1949) by a year. The US edition is actually titled 'Some Time Never' (three words) while the UK Collins issue is 'Sometime Never'; the UK text revised the final chapter. This was Dahl's first novel (his third book) and an early post-Hiroshima nuclear-war fable in which Gremlins inherit the Earth. Points per Richard Walker's collecting guide.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions lack the Scribner 'A' and the flap price; both US and UK saw only a single printing each.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Sometime Never: A Fable for Supermen* by Roald Dahl a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/sometime-never-a-fable-for-supermen
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.