# Is "The Whole Story and Other Stories" by Ali Smith a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Whole Story and Other Stories by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton, 2003) is identified by: Story collection, first published by Hamish Hamilton (London) on 24 April 2003. The UK Hamish Hamilton edition of 2003 is the true first and precedes the US Anchor Books edition of 2004.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Story collection, first published by Hamish Hamilton (London) on 24 April 2003
- The first impression carries the "First published 2003 by Hamish Hamilton" statement on the copyright page together with a full descending impression line ending in 1 ("10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1"); later impressions drop the lowest numbers
- Issued in cloth boards with a gilt-stamped spine and a priced first-state dust jacket, the printed cover price appearing on the jacket flap
- Publisher imprint reads Hamish Hamilton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ali Smith |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Year | 2003 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Story collection, first published by Hamish Hamilton (London) on 24 April 2003 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Story collection, first published by Hamish Hamilton (London) on 24 April 2003. The first impression carries the "First published 2003 by Hamish Hamilton" statement on the copyright page together with a full descending impression line ending in 1 ("10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1"); later impressions drop the lowest numbers. Issued in cloth boards with a gilt-stamped spine and a priced first-state dust jacket, the printed cover price appearing on the jacket flap.

## Is this the true first?
The UK Hamish Hamilton edition of 2003 is the true first and precedes the US Anchor Books edition of 2004.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprints and later impressions are shown by the impression line no longer running to 1 (the lowest numbers removed) while the "First published 2003" statement remains; only a line ending in 1 denotes the first impression.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Whole Story and Other Stories* by Ali Smith a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-whole-story-and-other-stories
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.