# Is "Take Back Plenty" by Colin Greenland a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland (Unwin Hyman, 1990) is identified by: True UK first is the Unwin Hyman (London) 1990 hardcover, with pictorial dust jacket and '1990' Unwin Hyman imprint on the title and copyright pages. The UK Unwin Hyman 1990 hardcover is the true first, preceding the US Avon/AvoNova paperback (1992).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True UK first is the Unwin Hyman (London) 1990 hardcover, with pictorial dust jacket and '1990' Unwin Hyman imprint on the title and copyright pages
- Unwin Hyman was shortly afterward absorbed into HarperCollins, making the imprint short-lived
- An Unwin trade paperback of the same setting also appeared
- Publisher imprint reads Unwin Hyman
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Colin Greenland |
| Publisher | Unwin Hyman |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True UK first is the Unwin Hyman (London) 1990 hardcover, with pictorial dust jacket and '1990' Unwin Hyman imprint on the title and… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True UK first is the Unwin Hyman (London) 1990 hardcover, with pictorial dust jacket and '1990' Unwin Hyman imprint on the title and copyright pages. Unwin Hyman was shortly afterward absorbed into HarperCollins, making the imprint short-lived. An Unwin trade paperback of the same setting also appeared.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Unwin Hyman 1990 hardcover is the true first, preceding the US Avon/AvoNova paperback (1992). Winner of the 1990 BSFA Award and the 1991 Arthur C. Clarke Award.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Voyager/Gollancz reissues are reprints ('first thus'), not the first. The 1992 US Avon/AvoNova paperback original is sometimes mistaken for the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Take Back Plenty* by Colin Greenland a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/take-back-plenty
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.