# Is "The Butt: An Exit Strategy" by Will Self a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Butt: An Exit Strategy by Will Self (Bloomsbury, 2008) is identified by: UK Bloomsbury (London) hardcover, 2008, in boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket (ISBN 0-7475-9175-X / 978-0-7475-9175-7). UK Bloomsbury (London) first, published April 2008, is the true first; the US Bloomsbury USA edition (ISBN 978-1-59691-555-8) followed in September 2008.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Bloomsbury (London) hardcover, 2008, in boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket (ISBN 0-7475-9175-X / 978-0-7475-9175-7)
- First printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; a first-state jacket retains the original printed price unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads Bloomsbury
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Will Self |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury |
| Year | 2008 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | UK Bloomsbury (London) hardcover, 2008, in boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket (ISBN 0-7475-9175-X / 978-0-7475-9175-7) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Bloomsbury (London) hardcover, 2008, in boards with gilt-lettered spine and pictorial jacket (ISBN 0-7475-9175-X / 978-0-7475-9175-7). First printing carries a full descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page; a first-state jacket retains the original printed price unclipped.

## Is this the true first?
UK Bloomsbury (London) first, published April 2008, is the true first; the US Bloomsbury USA edition (ISBN 978-1-59691-555-8) followed in September 2008.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings are identified when the lowest number in the line is higher than 1; the US Bloomsbury USA issue is a separate later printing, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Butt: An Exit Strategy* by Will Self a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-butt-an-exit-strategy
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.