Skip to main content

First-Edition Identification · Will Self

Is My The Sweet Smell of Psychosis a First Edition?

Bloomsbury, 1996

The points of issue

Novella illustrated throughout by Martin Rowson; issued in slim illustrated/laminated boards without a separate dust jacket as issued; number line ending in 1. ISBN 0747531110.

Decode the printer’s key: paste the number line into the decoder · Bloomsbury first-edition guide.

Is this the true first?

The UK Bloomsbury edition of 1996 is the true first; a US Grove Press edition followed.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition known.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Sweet Smell of Psychosis a first edition?

Look for these first-edition points: Novella illustrated throughout by Martin Rowson; issued in slim illustrated/laminated boards without a separate dust jacket as issued; number line ending in 1. ISBN 0747531110.

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

Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. The UK Bloomsbury edition of 1996 is the true first; a US Grove Press edition followed.

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

No book-club edition known.

I have a first edition of The Sweet Smell of Psychosis — what should I do?

If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.

Keep identifying