# Is "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate, 2009) is identified by: First edition story collection, 2009, issued by Fourth Estate in the UK and Alfred A. Sources indicate the UK Fourth Estate and US Knopf editions were published simultaneously in 2009 (a shared late-May release date), so neither can be reliably asserted as preceding the other.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition story collection, 2009, issued by Fourth Estate in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the US, both dated to the same release in late May 2009
- Boards with dust jacket
- The UK Fourth Estate carries no later-printing statement on the true first; the US Knopf carries a number line ending in 1 on its first printing
- Publisher imprint reads Fourth Estate
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
| Publisher | Fourth Estate |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition story collection, 2009, issued by Fourth Estate in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the US, both dated to the same release in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition story collection, 2009, issued by Fourth Estate in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the US, both dated to the same release in late May 2009. Boards with dust jacket. The UK Fourth Estate carries no later-printing statement on the true first; the US Knopf carries a number line ending in 1 on its first printing.

## Is this the true first?
Sources indicate the UK Fourth Estate and US Knopf editions were published simultaneously in 2009 (a shared late-May release date), so neither can be reliably asserted as preceding the other. Treat both as the 2009 first edition and identify by imprint; do not claim clear UK priority.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Anchor and later trade paperbacks are reprints. The Nigerian Kachifo/Farafina issue is a separate territorial edition, not the overall first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Thing Around Your Neck* by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-thing-around-your-neck
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.