Is My Copy of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian a First Edition?

The points of issue

• One point on the imprint: the title page reads "LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY / New York Boston" — both cities, not New York alone — under the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers imprint
• The first printing states "First edition: September 2007" on the copyright page and carries a full number code whose lowest number is 1; later printings drop the low numbers, and dealers cite an eighth printing whose code runs only from 8 to 10, so the lowest surviving digit gives the printing
• Copyright notices read "Copyright © 2007 by Sherman Alexie" and "Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Ellen Forney", with design credited to Kirk Benshoff
• Trade hardcover is ISBN 978-0-316-01368-0 (0-316-01368-4)
• Binding is blue paper-covered boards with the spine title stamped in copper/bronze metallic ink; jacket priced at the front flap
• Forney's cartoon illustrations run throughout

How Little, Brown and Company / Little, Brown Books for Young Readers marked a first edition

• From 1940 onward: Little, Brown adopted an explicit statement, printing 'First Edition' OR 'First Printing' on the copyright page of a first printing. Presence of that phrase, with no overriding later-printing line…
• Late 1970s onward: Little, Brown added a descending number line to the copyright page. Per the trade-house standard, the first printing is present only when the line still contains a '1' (e.g., '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1')…

Full Little, Brown and Company / Little, Brown Books for Young Readers first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Check for a number line or dated printing — the lowest number present is the printing; a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the tell.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

US: Little, Brown and Company, published 12 September 2007 — the true first, uncontested. The book won the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature in November 2007, two months after publication. No UK or original-language precedence question arises; the book was written in English and the American edition preceded all others.P-044372

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The National Book Award is the printing tell. The award postdates publication, so a first printing cannot have the citation printed into the jacket artwork — later printings and the current in-print edition carry "National Book Award Winner" as part of the jacket. An applied round gold embossed National Book Award Winner sticker is different: it was stuck onto existing jacket stock and dealers record it on first printings, so a sticker alone does not demote a copy. Also traps: the 2009 paperback (ISBN 0-316-01369-2), which adds a 2009 interview and an Oyate discussion guide, and the 2017 tenth-anniversary edition (ISBN 978-0-316-50404-1) — both "first thus", not first editions.P-044373

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian a first edition?

A first edition of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (illustrated by Ellen Forney) (Little, Brown and Company / Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) is identified by: One point on the imprint: the title page reads "LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY / New York Boston" — both cities, not New York alone — under the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers imprint.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A stated first edition, a number line ending in 1, or a dated first printing with no later printings listed is the key. US: Little, Brown and Company, published 12 September 2007 — the true first, uncontested.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

The National Book Award is the printing tell. The award postdates publication, so a first printing cannot have the citation printed into the jacket artwork — later printings and the current in-print edition carry "National Book Award Winner" as part of the jacket. An applied round gold embossed National Book Award Winner sticker is different: it was stuck onto existing jacket stock and dealers record it on first printings, so a sticker alone does not demote a copy.

I have a first edition of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and decode the printing with the free First Edition Checker. Clearing out books? I take them as a free donation and make sure collectible copies are identified, not discarded: free pickup in the Albuquerque metro (scheduled by route), the 24/7 drop box at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, or donor-paid mail-in from anywhere in the US. Questions? Call or text 505-250-3804.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.