# Is "Thief of Time" by Terry Pratchett a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 2001) is identified by: UK Doubleday, published May 2001; original boards in pictorial dust jacket after Paul Kidby, roughly 240 by 160 mm, 316 pp. Publication was near-simultaneous: per the Colin Smythe chronology the US HarperCollins edition appeared 1 May 2001, two days before the UK Doubleday of 3 May 2001.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Discworld 26
- UK Doubleday, published May 2001; original boards in pictorial dust jacket after Paul Kidby, roughly 240 by 160 mm, 316 pp
- The copyright page states first publication in Great Britain in 2001 by Doubleday and carries the complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
- The jacket should retain its printed price
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Terry Pratchett |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 2001 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Discworld 26 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Discworld 26. UK Doubleday, published May 2001; original boards in pictorial dust jacket after Paul Kidby, roughly 240 by 160 mm, 316 pp. The copyright page states first publication in Great Britain in 2001 by Doubleday and carries the complete number line 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2. The jacket should retain its printed price.

## Is this the true first?
Publication was near-simultaneous: per the Colin Smythe chronology the US HarperCollins edition appeared 1 May 2001, two days before the UK Doubleday of 3 May 2001. The UK Doubleday is customarily collected as the first in the author's home market, but the US edition technically preceded it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings break the complete 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 number line; the US HarperCollins edition and book-club issues differ in imprint and jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Thief of Time* by Terry Pratchett a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/thief-of-time
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.