# Is "The Emigrants (Die Ausgewanderten)" by W. G. Sebald a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Emigrants (Die Ausgewanderten) by W. G. Sebald (Harvill Press, 1996) is identified by: First English edition, translated by Michael Hulse, published clothbound by The Harvill Press, London, 1996. True first English edition is the UK Harvill Press hardcover of 1996 (Hulse translation), preceding the US New Directions paperback of 1997.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English edition, translated by Michael Hulse, published clothbound by The Harvill Press, London, 1996
- This was the first of Sebald's books to appear in English and includes the integrated black-and-white photographs
- The US edition (New Directions) followed in 1997 as a paperback
- Publisher imprint reads Harvill Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | W. G. Sebald |
| Publisher | Harvill Press |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition, translated by Michael Hulse, published clothbound by The Harvill Press, London, 1996 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First English edition, translated by Michael Hulse, published clothbound by The Harvill Press, London, 1996. This was the first of Sebald's books to appear in English and includes the integrated black-and-white photographs. The US edition (New Directions) followed in 1997 as a paperback.

## Is this the true first?
True first English edition is the UK Harvill Press hardcover of 1996 (Hulse translation), preceding the US New Directions paperback of 1997. German original published as Die Ausgewanderten by Eichborn, 1992.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The US New Directions issue (1997) is a paperback and a later state; the collectible first is the 1996 Harvill clothbound hardcover. Later paperbacks carry ISBNs and reset number lines.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Emigrants (Die Ausgewanderten)* by W. G. Sebald a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-emigrants-die-ausgewanderten
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.