# Is "The Emperor's Soul" by Brandon Sanderson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications, 2012) is identified by: Hugo Award winning novella. The Tachyon trade paperback is the true first trade edition; the Tachyon signed limited hardcover is the premium issue of the same first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Hugo Award winning novella
- US Tachyon Publications trade paperback original, October 2012
- Tachyon simultaneously issued a signed limited hardcover of 1,000 copies, bound in purple cloth with spine stamped on black, signed by Sanderson on the title page
- Publisher imprint reads Tachyon Publications
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Brandon Sanderson |
| Publisher | Tachyon Publications |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Hugo Award winning novella |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Hugo Award winning novella. US Tachyon Publications trade paperback original, October 2012. Tachyon simultaneously issued a signed limited hardcover of 1,000 copies, bound in purple cloth with spine stamped on black, signed by Sanderson on the title page.

## Is this the true first?
The Tachyon trade paperback is the true first trade edition; the Tachyon signed limited hardcover is the premium issue of the same first edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reissues include the Tachyon tenth anniversary special edition; the novella was also collected in Arcanum Unbounded (2016).

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Emperor's Soul* by Brandon Sanderson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-emperors-soul
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.