# Is "Summer" by Ali Smith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Summer by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton, 2020) is identified by: UK Hamish Hamilton first edition (2020, ISBN 9780241207062), cloth-over-boards with gilt spine stamping, 384 pages. UK Hamish Hamilton (2 August 2020) precedes the US Pantheon edition (2020).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Hamish Hamilton first edition (2020, ISBN 9780241207062), cloth-over-boards with gilt spine stamping, 384 pages
- First printings carry the numeral '001' on the copyright page
- As issued, the book came without a conventional dust jacket but wrapped in a printed illustrated belly-band/half-sleeve using David Hockney artwork; complete first copies retain that band
- Concludes the Seasonal Quartet
- Publisher imprint reads Hamish Hamilton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ali Smith |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Year | 2020 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Hamish Hamilton first edition (2020, ISBN 9780241207062), cloth-over-boards with gilt spine stamping, 384 pages |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
UK Hamish Hamilton first edition (2020, ISBN 9780241207062), cloth-over-boards with gilt spine stamping, 384 pages. First printings carry the numeral '001' on the copyright page. As issued, the book came without a conventional dust jacket but wrapped in a printed illustrated belly-band/half-sleeve using David Hockney artwork; complete first copies retain that band. Concludes the Seasonal Quartet.

## Is this the true first?
UK Hamish Hamilton (2 August 2020) precedes the US Pantheon edition (2020).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions raise the copyright-page numeral (002, 003, and so on) rather than showing '001'; a first printing must read '001'. No book-club issue is the identifying first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Summer* by Ali Smith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/summer
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.