# Is "The Time Ships" by Stephen Baxter a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter (HarperPrism, 1995) is identified by: US HarperPrism paperback, 1995 (early/January 1995); first printing indicated by the publisher number line counting down to 1. Precedence corrected: the US HarperPrism paperback (early 1995) is the true first, appearing ahead of the UK HarperCollins/Voyager hardcover (May/June 1995).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US HarperPrism paperback, 1995 (early/January 1995); first printing indicated by the publisher number line counting down to 1
- This is the authorized sequel to Wells's The Time Machine, issued for the centenary of the original
- Publisher imprint reads HarperPrism
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Baxter |
| Publisher | HarperPrism |
| Year | 1995 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US HarperPrism paperback, 1995 (early/January 1995); first printing indicated by the publisher number line counting down to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US HarperPrism paperback, 1995 (early/January 1995); first printing indicated by the publisher number line counting down to 1. This is the authorized sequel to Wells's The Time Machine, issued for the centenary of the original.

## Is this the true first?
Precedence corrected: the US HarperPrism paperback (early 1995) is the true first, appearing ahead of the UK HarperCollins/Voyager hardcover (May/June 1995). The original record had this reversed. Winner of the British Science Fiction Award (1995), the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (1996), and the Philip K. Dick Award for 1996 (presented 1997).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The UK HarperCollins/Voyager 1995 hardcover is a desirable first hardcover edition and the first UK edition, but it follows the US HarperPrism paperback. A signed/slipcased Easton Press leather edition is a later collectible first thus.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Time Ships* by Stephen Baxter a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-time-ships
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.