# Is "Time Shelter" by Georgi Gospodinov (trans. Angela Rodel) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov (trans. Angela Rodel) (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2022) is identified by: First English edition (translation of the Bulgarian 'Vremeubezhishte'): Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, and Liveright, New York, both May 2022. The Bulgarian original (2020) is the true first of the work.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First English edition (translation of the Bulgarian 'Vremeubezhishte'): Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, and Liveright, New York, both May 2022
- Each carries a dated 'first published 2022' verso statement
- Winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize — the first Bulgarian-language work to win
- Rodel translation
- Publisher imprint reads Weidenfeld & Nicolson
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Georgi Gospodinov (trans. Angela Rodel) |
| Publisher | Weidenfeld & Nicolson |
| Year | 2022 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First English edition (translation of the Bulgarian 'Vremeubezhishte'): Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, and Liveright, New York, both May… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First English edition (translation of the Bulgarian 'Vremeubezhishte'): Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, and Liveright, New York, both May 2022. Each carries a dated 'first published 2022' verso statement. Winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize — the first Bulgarian-language work to win; Rodel translation.

## Is this the true first?
The Bulgarian original (2020) is the true first of the work. Both 2022 English editions (W&N UK and Liveright US) are the true firsts in English, published within days of one another in May 2022; exact day-precedence is not reliably established, so neither is asserted here as preceding.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
W&N UK and Liveright US firsts are distinguished by imprint and the dated verso statement. No known book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Time Shelter* by Georgi Gospodinov (trans. Angela Rodel) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/time-shelter
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.