# Is "Theory of Bastards" by Audrey Schulman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman (Europa Editions, 2018) is identified by: US Europa Editions trade paperback original, New York, April 2018 (ISBN 978-1-60945-437-1), 403 pp. The US Europa Editions 2018 trade paperback original is the true first edition; it is a paperback original with no preceding hardcover, and the UK availability was via Europa Editions rather than a separate earlier hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US Europa Editions trade paperback original, New York, April 2018 (ISBN 978-1-60945-437-1), 403 pp
- This is a paperback original with no preceding hardcover in any market, so the first-printing softcover is itself the first edition; identify it by the Europa Editions imprint and the first-printing number line on the copyright page
- As a wrapper original there is no dust jacket point; the printed cover with the Europa cover design is the issue point
- Publisher imprint reads Europa Editions
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Audrey Schulman |
| Publisher | Europa Editions |
| Year | 2018 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US Europa Editions trade paperback original, New York, April 2018 (ISBN 978-1-60945-437-1), 403 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US Europa Editions trade paperback original, New York, April 2018 (ISBN 978-1-60945-437-1), 403 pp. This is a paperback original with no preceding hardcover in any market, so the first-printing softcover is itself the first edition; identify it by the Europa Editions imprint and the first-printing number line on the copyright page. As a wrapper original there is no dust jacket point; the printed cover with the Europa cover design is the issue point.

## Is this the true first?
The US Europa Editions 2018 trade paperback original is the true first edition; it is a paperback original with no preceding hardcover, and the UK availability was via Europa Editions rather than a separate earlier hardcover. It won the Philip K. Dick Award announced in 2019 and was a Neukom Institute award finalist.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Europa printings and any reissue are reprints, not the first edition; distinguish by the copyright-page printing line. No book-club edition is a factor for this wrapper original.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Theory of Bastards* by Audrey Schulman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/theory-of-bastards
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.