Possum Magic

Australian original — the census claim is correct, and there is no competing UK, US, or original-language edition for 1983. Omnibus Books, Adelaide, 1983 is the true first. Mem Fox wrote the first draft in 1978 during a children's literature course at Flinders University; it was rejected by nine publishers over five years before Omnibus accepted it and asked her to cut the text by two-thirds. Overseas editions follow years later and are 'first thus', not firsts; only the Omnibus 1983 is the first edition. Later Omnibus and Omnibus/Scholastic Australia reissues retain the original imprint and are not firsts, which is the main trap on this title.