# Is "Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident" by Eoin Colfer a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer (Viking, 2002) is identified by: UK Viking hardcover first, 2002 (ISBN 0-670-89963-1), the copyright page stating 'First published 2002' with a number line ending in 1. The UK Viking hardcover is the true first (2002), preceding or parallel to the US Miramax/Hyperion edition, whose own first American printing carries a number line ending in 1.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- UK Viking hardcover first, 2002 (ISBN 0-670-89963-1), the copyright page stating 'First published 2002' with a number line ending in 1
- Bound in black cloth boards with silver symbols stamped to the spine, and issued in the first-state silver and blue pictorial dust jacket with the printed price present (not clipped)
- Publisher imprint reads Viking
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Eoin Colfer |
| Publisher | Viking |
| Year | 2002 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Children's / illustrated |
| Key point | UK Viking hardcover first, 2002 (ISBN 0-670-89963-1), the copyright page stating 'First published 2002' with a number line ending in 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
UK Viking hardcover first, 2002 (ISBN 0-670-89963-1), the copyright page stating 'First published 2002' with a number line ending in 1. Bound in black cloth boards with silver symbols stamped to the spine, and issued in the first-state silver and blue pictorial dust jacket with the printed price present (not clipped).

## Is this the true first?
The UK Viking hardcover is the true first (2002), preceding or parallel to the US Miramax/Hyperion edition, whose own first American printing carries a number line ending in 1.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The US edition is a separate issue; later UK printings advance the number line. The Puffin paperback is a later, separate format, not the first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident* by Eoin Colfer a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/artemis-fowl-and-the-arctic-incident
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.