Pratchett, Terry
Entry updated 23 September 2024. Tagged: Author.
(1948-2015) UK author who began publishing with "The Hades Business" in Science Fantasy in 1963, collected with other (mostly early) stories as A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction (coll 2012). For many years he was in full-time employment, as a journalist until 1980 – contributing many short stories to the Bucks Free Press "Children's Circle" section under the pseudonym "Uncle Jim" – and as a publicity officer for the Central Electricity Generating Board until 1987; as a consequence, his early books were written and published intermittently. Early tales which first appeared in the Bucks Free Press and Western Daily Press 1965-1973 were collected as Dragons at Crumbling Castle and Other Stories (coll 2014); further such stories for the Western Daily Press, chiefly as by Patrick Kearns, were eventually traced and assembled as «A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories» (coll 2023).
His first novel, The Carpet People (1971; rev 1992), is a fantasy for children based on the Great and Small notion of a world of minute beings living among the (to them vast and forest-like) strands of a carpet (see Wainscot Society). The Dark Side of the Sun (1976), sf, makes gentle fun of the Alien-cluttered Known Space books of Larry Niven; further targets, including Ron Goulart, Jack Vance, and favourite sf tropes like Macrostructures, mysterious Forerunners, Living Worlds and a Robot playing barrack-room lawyer with the Laws of Robotics, are also affectionately addressed. Strata (1981) also Parodies Niven in particular and other Hard-SF writers in general, in this case by depicting an artificial flat world embedded within Ptolemaic heavens – it is a Pocket Universe, in fact – seemingly constructed by the ancient Spindle Kings (one of many apparent sets of universe-shaping Forerunners), though in fact Builder Gods were responsible and much more of the galaxy's past has been faked than was suspected even by the most sceptical.
The flat world of Strata is generally regarded as the prototype of Discworld, nominally a fantasy creation borne through space on the back of a huge turtle: an sf world-building premise does unseriously underlie the Discworld books, which made Pratchett famous. The novels themselves are Fantasy, but fantasy to which the usual trappings of Magic become increasingly incidental. The central series comprises The Colour of Magic (1983), The Light Fantastic (1986), Equal Rites (1987), Mort (1987), Sourcery (1988), Wyrd Sisters (1988), Pyramids (1989), Guards! Guards! (1989), Eric (1990) with Josh Kirby (responsible until his death for all the UK Discworld novel covers) given equal billing on the original edition (the text is heavily illustrated; paperback editions, lacking the illustrations, give Pratchett alone as author), Moving Pictures (1990), Reaper Man (1991), Witches Abroad (1991), Small Gods (1992), Lords and Ladies (1992), Men at Arms (1993), Soul Music (1994), Interesting Times (1994), Maskerade (1995), Feet of Clay (1996), Hogfather (1996), Jingo (1997), The Last Continent (1998), Carpe Jugulum (1998) (see Vampires), The Fifth Elephant (1999), The Truth (2000), Thief of Time (2001), The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable (2001) – extensively illustrated by Paul Kidby, who replaced Josh Kirby as default UK cover artist for the series – Night Watch (2002), Monstrous Regiment (2003), Going Postal (2004), Thud! (2005), Making Money (2007), Unseen Academicals (2009), Snuff (2011) and Raising Steam (2013). They make up the finest set of pure comedies the genre has yet seen.
The Discworld sequence as listed above contains several intersecting subseries, ranging from romps featuring the inept wizard Rincewind (introduced at the outset, in The Colour of Magic) to noir humour of considerable power. Of particular sf interest is Pratchett's development of Discworld's chief City, Ankh-Morpork – initially perhaps no more than a nod to Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar – into an intricately sleazy metropolis with all the bustle and stench of Victorian London. This city is subjected to gradual industrial revolution under the watchful eye of its ruthless and Machiavellian yet oddly sympathetic dictator, Lord Vetinari the Patrician. The Ankh-Morpork City Watch police-procedurals confront Captain Vimes of the Watch – an instinctive socialist and anti-Patrician – with threats that move steadily away from fantasy (a dragon in Guards! Guards!) to the high-velocity rifle of Men at Arms; an elaborate poisoning plot complicated by Robot-like Golems in Feet of Clay; a highly popular and potentially disastrous War in Jingo (also featuring a voyage Under the Sea in another new Invention, the submarine); all too familiar problems with restive immigrant communities, here dwarfs and trolls, in The Fifth Elephant and Thud!; and even the dynamics of an internal city revolution in Night Watch, albeit thirty years in the past and visited by Timeslip. Irreversible-seeming Disaster afflicts Discworld in Thief of Time, when a Mad Scientist based in Ankh-Morpork creates the ultimate Time-measuring device and thus brings about the End of Time. The Watch becomes sidelined by the Invention of the printing press and hence of investigative journalism in The Truth, and recedes into the background as a new ex-conman hero is recruited by the Patrician to tackle huge financial frauds involving the continent-wide "clacks" semaphore system (featuring knowingly Internet-like protocols and "c-mail" addresses) and the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork in, respectively, Going Postal and Making Money. Pratchett's serio-comic rephrasing of hard Political questions in the Discworld context is highly effective; Night Watch won the Prometheus Award for Libertarian SF. The final adult novel Raising Steam introduces steam-powered rail Transportation and uses it to help solve an acute political problem; in what seems a conscious farewell to the Discworld sequence, the story features many more references to past novels (including brief character cameos) than Pratchett normally permitted himself.
Of the standalone novels, Pyramids plays entertainingly with Ancient Egyptian mythology and burial customs, with sober as well as comic reflections on a death-obsessed culture. Small Gods (incidentally featuring the Discworld version of ancient Greece, with a plenitude of Mad Scientist philosophers) is Pratchett's angriest novel thanks to its unsparing depiction of an oppressive monotheist Religion that makes routine use of Torture and ritual execution – as seen through the eyes of a young monk who is a kind of holy fool, possessed of eidetic Memory, and who eventually speaks truth not merely to power but to the gods (see Gods and Demons).
Discworld, once described by its author as a "world and mirror of worlds", is full of literary, science-fictional and real-world echoes. When a Golem joins the City Watch to help maintain law and order in Feet of Clay, there are clear resonances with RoboCop (1987); a full-fledged Ankh-Morpork Space Flight programme in The Last Hero, though powered by dragon combustion, slyly imitates the Apollo missions; Hex, the ant-driven Computer of Unseen University, develops from a source of joke slogans ("Anthill Inside") and error messages to a powerfully idiosyncratic AI. Such a list could be extended indefinitely. In The Science of Discworld (1999) with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, and its sequels, the real-world links are deliberately planted for Pratchett's collaborators to expound upon in lively and provocative popular-science commentary. A subsidiary Discworld series about the young witch Tiffany Aching, beginning with The Wee Free Men: A Story of Discworld (2003), is no less successful though written for children and/or Young Adults (Tiffany grows up throughout), but remains firmly planted in fantasy. The fifth volume in the sequence, The Shepherd's Crown (2015), is Pratchett's last completed novel; as in Raising Steam there is some falling-off of coherence, but the outline of his intentions is clear and it won the Locus Award as best young adult book. Once More with Footnotes (coll 2004) assembles, along with other fiction and essays, the few Discworld short stories.
Pratchett's first non-Discworld series, the Book of the Nomes Children's-SF trilogy – about small extraterrestrials stranded for many of their brief lifetimes on Earth, ejected from the comfort of their initial Wainscot-Society existence in an old-fashioned English department store, and eventually attempting escape from Earth – comprises Truckers (1989), Diggers (1990) and Wings (1990), all three being assembled as The Bromeliad (omni 1993). Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (1990; rev 1990) with Neil Gaiman is a comic fantasy about angels, demons, Antichrist and the End of the World. The youthful protagonist of Only You Can Save Mankind (1992), sf for Young Adults, finds himself morally obliged to help the Alien space warriors of a computer Videogame escape further futile combat with human players; the sequels are Johnny and the Dead (1993), Science Fantasy in which Johnny fights on behalf of its dead residents to keep developers from destroying a cemetery; and Johnny and the Bomb (1996) in which Johnny and friends experience the complexities of Time Travel to and from World War Two. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (2001), a standalone Young Adult novel of Discworld whose travelling troupe of Rats led by a scheming Cat (all talking animals granted Intelligence by magical contamination) operates a profitable scam version of the Pied Piper legend, won the Carnegie Medal.
The standalone novel Nation (2008) is set in the Victorian era of an Alternate-World Earth with several slight differences from our familiar geography, including an island chain in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean (South Pacific) which includes the hero's tiny Nation – erased by a tsunami during his absence for an ordeal/ritual of transit into manhood. Rebuilding the shattered community with crucial help from a young, female and highly competent British castaway leads to an effective and tender Bildungsroman narrative, with warm pleas for the importance of retaining or regaining historical and scientific lore – including insights of Astronomy discovered by the Nation in ancient times long before "modern" science.
Pratchett was made an OBE for services to literature in 1998, and knighted in the UK New Year Honours list for 2009. Going Postal was a finalist for the Best Novel Hugo in 2005 until Pratchett chose to withdraw it; how it would have fared will never be known. Making Money won him a 2008 Locus Award; he received the World Fantasy Award for life achievement in 2010 and the 2010 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult fiction (see Nebula) for I Shall Wear Midnight (2010). Though suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease – afflicting the posterior lobe, and therefore primarily visual and motor skills, forcing him to dictate rather than type his final works – he continued to write, publish and appear regularly on UK bestseller lists until 2014, when he announced his enforced withdrawal from public activities. In 2016 he was added to the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. [DRL/JC]
see also: Adventure; BSFA Award; Chess; Comets; Dogs; Games and Sports; Humour; Icons; Leonardo da Vinci; Paradox; Poisons; J B Morton; Poltergeists; Psionics; Psi Powers; Satire; Secret Masters; Skylark Award; Shapeshifters; Space Elevator; Stars; Subliminal; Swearing; Terraforming; Time Police; Worldcon; World Ships.
Sir Terence David John Pratchett
born Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire: 28 April 1948
died near Salisbury, Wiltshire: 12 March 2015
works
series
Discworld
- The Colour of Magic (Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire: Colin Smythe, 1983) [Discworld: hb/Alan Smith]
- The Light Fantastic (Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire: Colin Smythe, 1986) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The First Discworld Novels: The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic (Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire: Colin Smythe, 1999) [omni of the above two titles: Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Equal Rites (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Mort (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Sourcery (London: Victor Gollancz, 1988) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Wyrd Sisters (London: Victor Gollancz, 1988) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Pyramids (The Book of Going Forth) (London: Victor Gollancz, 1989) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Guards! Guards! (London: Victor Gollancz, 1989) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Eric (London: Victor Gollancz, 1990) [cover and title page show
Fauststruck out and Eric written in: Discworld: illus/hb/Josh Kirby]- Eric (London: Victor Gollancz, 1991) [as above without the interior illustrations: Discworld: pb/Josh Kirby]
- Rincewind the Wizzard (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 1999) [omni containing The Color of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Sourcery and the unillustrated Eric: Discworld: hb/Tom Kidd]
- The Illustrated Eric (London: Victor Gollancz, 2010) [vt of the above: illus/hb/Josh Kirby]
- Eric (London: Victor Gollancz, 1991) [as above without the interior illustrations: Discworld: pb/Josh Kirby]
- Moving Pictures (London: Victor Gollancz, 1990) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Reaper Man (London: Victor Gollancz, 1991) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Witches Abroad (London: Victor Gollancz, 1991) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Witches Trilogy (London: Victor Gollancz, 1994) [omni containing Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad: Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Small Gods (London: Victor Gollancz, 1992) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Tales of Discworld (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 2000) [omni containing Pyramids, Moving Pictures and Small Gods: Discworld: hb/Tom Kidd]
- Lords and Ladies (London: Victor Gollancz, 1992) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Men at Arms (London: Victor Gollancz, 1993) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Soul Music (London: Victor Gollancz, 1994) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Death Trilogy (London: Victor Gollancz, 1998) [omni containing Mort, Reaper Man and Soul Music: Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Interesting Times (London: Victor Gollancz, 1994) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Rincewind Trilogy (London: Gollancz, 2001) [omni containing Sourcery, Eric and Interesting Times: Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Maskerade (London: Victor Gollancz, 1995) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Maskarade (London: Book Club Associates, 2007) [vt of the above: title wrongly spelt on cover and within: Discworld: in the publisher's Unseen Library series: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Feet of Clay (London: Victor Gollancz, 1996) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- City Watch Trilogy (London: Victor Gollancz, 1999) [omni containing Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms and Feet of Clay: Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Hogfather (London: Victor Gollancz, 1996) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Gods Trilogy (London: Victor Gollancz, 2000) [omni containing Pyramids, Small Gods and Hogfather: Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Jingo (London: Victor Gollancz, 1997) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Last Continent (London: Doubleday, 1998) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Sea and Little Fishes (London: HarperCollins, 1998) [story: chap: dos: promotional booklet for Legends (anth 1998) edited by Robert Silverberg: Discworld: pb/Josh Kirby]
- Carpe Jugulum (London: Doubleday, 1998) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Fifth Elephant (London: Doubleday, 1999) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Truth (London: Doubleday, 2000) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Thief of Time (London: Doubleday, 2001) [Discworld: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable (London: Gollancz, 2001) [Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Last Hero: A Discworld Fable (London: Gollancz, 2002) [exp of the above with additional artwork: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (London: Doubleday, 2001) [for younger readers: Discworld: hb/David Wyatt]
- Night Watch (London: Doubleday, 2002) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Monstrous Regiment (London: Doubleday, 2003) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Going Postal (London: Doubleday, 2004) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Thud! (London: Doubleday, 2005) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Where's My Cow? (London: Doubleday, 2005) [graph: spinoff from Thud!, based on the children's picture book featured in the novel: Discworld: illus/hb/Melvyn Grant]
- Making Money (London: Doubleday, 2007) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Unseen Academicals (London: Doubleday, 2009) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Snuff (London: Doubleday, 2011) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Snuff (London: Doubleday, 2011) [exp as coll with added story "A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices" original to this "gold edition": Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Miss Felicity Beedle's The World of Poo (London: Doubleday, 2012) with Bernard and Isobel Pearson [spinoff from Snuff, based on the children's nonfiction book featured in the novel: Discworld: illus/hb/Peter Dennis]
- Raising Steam (London: Doubleday, 2013) [Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Raising Steam (London: Doubleday, 2013) [exp as coll with added story "Humphrey Newt's Thunderbolt Carriage" (23 June-7 July 1967 Bucks Free Press as by Uncle Jim): Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Mrs Bradshaw's Handbook: An Illustrated Guide to the Railway (London: Doubleday, 2014) with Bernard Pearson, Isobel Pearson, Ian Mitchell and Rob Voyce [spinoff from Raising Steam, based on the travel journal featured in the novel: Discworld: illus/hb/Peter Dennis]
Discworld: The Science of Discworld
These works each consist of a short Discworld novel or novella written by Pratchett solo, whose chapters alternate with nonfictional scientific exposition of related concepts by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen.
- The Science of Discworld (London: Ebury Press, 1999) with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen [Discworld: Science of Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Science of Discworld (London: Ebury Press, 2002) with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen [exp of the above, with two new chapters: Discworld: Science of Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Science of Discworld II: The Globe (London: Ebury Press, 2002) with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen [Discworld: Science of Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch (London: Ebury Press, 2005) with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen [Discworld: Science of Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day (London: Ebury Press, 2013) with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen [nonfiction: Discworld: Science of Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
Discworld: Tiffany Aching
- The Wee Free Men: A Story of Discworld (London: Doubleday, 2003) [Discworld: Tiffany Aching: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Illustrated Wee Free Men (London: Doubleday, 2008) [vt of the above: Discworld: Tiffany Aching: illus/hb/Stephen Player]
- A Hat Full of Sky: A Story of Discworld (London: Doubleday, 2004) [Discworld: Tiffany Aching: hb/Chris Gall]
- The Wee Free Men: The Beginning (New York: HarperCollins Children's Books, 2010) [omni of the above two titles: Discworld: Tiffany Aching: pb/]
- Wintersmith: A Story of Discworld (London: Doubleday, 2006) [Discworld: Tiffany Aching: hb/Paul Kidby]
- I Shall Wear Midnight (London: Doubleday, 2010) [Discworld: Tiffany Aching: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Shepherd's Crown (London: Doubleday, 2015) [Discworld: Tiffany Aching: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Shepherd's Crown (London: Doubleday, 2015) [exp as coll with added article "Doing as you would bee done by" (10 May 1975 Bath and West Evening Chronicle): Discworld: Tiffany Aching: hb/Paul Kidby]
Discworld graphic novels
- The Colour of Magic (London: Corgi, 1991) adapted by Scott Rockwell [graph: first published as 4-part comic, 1991: Discworld: illus/pb/Steven Ross]
- The Light Fantastic (London: Corgi, 1993) adapted by Scott Rockwell [graph: first published as 4-part comic, 1992: Discworld: illus/Steven Ross and Joe Bennet: pb/Steven Ross]
- The Discworld Graphic Novels: The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic (London: Doubleday, 2008) [omni of the above two titles: graph: Discworld: hb/]
- Mort: A Discworld Big Comic (London: Victor Gollancz, 1994) adapted with Graham Higgins [graph: Discworld: illus/hb/Graham Higgins]
- Guards! Guards! (London: Victor Gollancz, 2000) adapted by Stephen Briggs [graph: hb/Graham Higgins]
- Small Gods (London: Doubleday, 2016) [graph: illus/hb/Ray Friesen]
Discworld plays and screenplays
This list confines itself to mass-market publication; further adaptations by Stephen Briggs have appeared as Samuel French or Methuen acting editions.
- Terry Pratchett's Mort: The Play (London: Corgi, 1996) adapted by Stephen Briggs [play: Discworld: pb/Stephen Player]
- Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters: The Play (London: Corgi, 1996) adapted by Stephen Briggs [play: Discworld: pb/Stephen Player]
- Terry Pratchett's Guards! Guards!: The Play (London: Corgi, 1997) adapted by Stephen Briggs [play: Discworld: pb/Stephen Player]
- Terry Pratchett's Men at Arms: The Play (London: Corgi, 1997) adapted by Stephen Briggs [play: Discworld: pb/Stephen Player]
- Soul Music: The Illustrated Screenplay (London: Corgi, 1997) [screenplay for seven-part Channel 4/Cosgrove Hall animated television adaptation of Soul Music (1997) directed by Jean Flynn: Discworld: illus/pb/series images]
- Wyrd Sisters: The Illustrated Screenplay (London: Corgi, 1998) [screenplay for two-part Channel 4/Cosgrove Hall animated television adaptation of Wyrd Sisters (1997): Discworld: illus/pb/series images]
- The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003) adapted by Stephen Briggs [Discworld: hb/]
- Going Postal: Stage Adaptation (London: Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama, 2005) adapted by Stephen Briggs [Discworld: pb/Paul Kidby]
- Terry Pratchett's Hogfather: The Illustrated Screenplay (London: Gollancz, 2006) with Vadim Jean [screenplay for two-part Sky One live-action adaptation of Hogfather (2006): Discworld: hb/photographic]
- Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic: The Illustrated Screenplay (London: Gollancz, 2008) with Vadim Jean [screenplay for Sky One live-action adaptation based on The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic (2008): Discworld: hb/photographic]
Discworld nonfiction
This listing omits the more ephemeral spinoffs, such as calendars, posters and greetings cards, to which Pratchett made no direct contribution. These are very numerous.
- The Streets of Ankh-Morpork: Being a Concise and Possibly Even Accurate Mapp of the Great City of the Discworld (London: Corgi, 1993) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: chap: fold-out map with booklet: Discworld: illus/pb/Stephen Briggs]
- The Discworld Companion: The Definitive Guide to Terry Pratchett's Discworld (London: Victor Gollancz, 1994) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: illus/Stephen Briggs: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Discworld Companion (London: Victor Gollancz, 1997) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: exp of the above: illus/Stephen Briggs: pb/Josh Kirby]
- The New Discworld Companion (London: Gollancz, 2003) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: exp vt of the above: pb/Paul Kidby]
- Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion ... so far (London: Gollancz, 2012) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: exp vt of the above: hb/Marc Simonetti]
- The Ultimate Discworld Companion (London: Gollancz, 2021) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: exp vt of the above: illus/Paul Kidby: hb/]
- Turtle Recall: The Discworld Companion ... so far (London: Gollancz, 2012) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: exp vt of the above: hb/Marc Simonetti]
- The New Discworld Companion (London: Gollancz, 2003) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: exp vt of the above: pb/Paul Kidby]
- The Discworld Companion (London: Victor Gollancz, 1997) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: exp of the above: illus/Stephen Briggs: pb/Josh Kirby]
- The Discworld Mapp: Being the Onlie True and Mostlie Accurate Mappe of the Fantastyk & Magical Dyscworlde (London: Corgi, 1995) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: chap: fold-out map with booklet: Discworld: illus/Stephen Briggs and Stephen Player: pb/Stephen Player]
- The Pratchett Portfolio (London: Victor Gollancz, 1996) with Paul Kidby [graph: art book (not in portfolio format) with Pratchett commentary: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Discworld's Unseen University Diary 1998 (London: Victor Gollancz, 1997) [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/pb/Paul Kidby]
- A Tourist Guide to Lancre: A Discworld Mapp (London: Corgi, 1998) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: chap: fold-out map with booklet: Discworld: illus/pb/Paul Kidby]
- GURPS Discworld: Adventures on the Back of the Turtle (Austin, Texas: Steve Jackson Games, 1998) with Phil MASTERS [nonfiction: GURPS: Discworld: pb/Paul Kidby]
- Death's Domain: A Discworld Mapp (London: Corgi, 1999) with Paul Kidby [nonfiction: chap: fold-out map with booklet: Discworld: illus/pb/Paul Kidby]
- Nanny Ogg's Cookbook (London: Doubleday, 1999) with Stephen Briggs [nonfiction: humorous recipes and folklore written as though by Pratchett's titular witch character: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Discworld's Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary 1999 (London: Victor Gollancz, 1998) with Stephen Briggs [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Discworld Assassins' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2000 (London: Victor Gollancz, 1999) with Stephen Briggs [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Discworld Fools' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2001 (London: Victor Gollancz, 2000) with Stephen Briggs [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Discworld Thieves' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2002 (London: Gollancz, 2001) with Stephen Briggs [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Discworld (Reformed) Vampyre's Diary 2003 (London: Gollancz, 2002) with Stephen Briggs [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Art of Discworld (London: Gollancz, 2004) with Paul Kidby [graph: art book with Pratchett commentary: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Celebrated Almanak for the Year of the Prawn (London: Doubleday, 2004) with Bernard Pearson [diary: with much additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Ankh-Morpork Post Office Handbook Discworld Diary 2007 (London: Gollancz, 2006) with Stephen Briggs [diary: with additional material: Discworld: hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Unseen University Cut Out Book (London: Doubleday, 2006) with Bernard Pearson [paper engineering project: Discworld: illus/pb/Alan Batley]
- The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld (London: Doubleday, 2007) compiled by Stephen Briggs [quotations: hb/Larry Rostant]
- Lu-Tze's Yearbook of Enlightenment 2008 (London: Gollancz, 2007) with Stephen Briggs [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- The Folklore of Discworld (London: Doubleday, 2008) with Jacqueline Simpson [nonfiction: hb/Paul Kidby]
- Discworld Diary 2015: We R Igors: First and Last Aid (London: Gollancz, 2014) with The Discworld Emporium [diary: with additional material: Discworld: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Seriously Funny: The Endlessly Quotable Terry Pratchett (London: Doubleday, 2016) [quotations: hb/]
- Terry Pratchett's Discworld Imaginarium (London: Gollancz, 2018) [graph: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
Nomes/Bromeliad
- Truckers (London: Doubleday, 1989) [Nomes/Bromeliad: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Truckers (London: Ladybird Books, 1992) [chap: cut version of the above, illustrated with images from the animated television series: Nomes/Bromeliad: hb/]
- Truckers: Picture Book (London: Picture Corgi, 1992) [graph: picture book illustrated with images from the animated television series: Nomes/Bromeliad: pb/]
- Diggers (London: Doubleday, 1990) [Nomes/Bromeliad: hb/Josh Kirby]
- Wings (London: Doubleday, 1990) [Nomes/Bromeliad: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Bromeliad Trilogy (New York: Guild America Books, 1993) [omni containing all three titles: Nomes/Bromeliad: hb/David A Cherry]
- The Bromeliad Trilogy: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings (New York: HarperCollins, 2003) [vt of the above: Nomes/Bromeliad: hb/S Saelig Gallagher]
- The Bromeliad Trilogy (New York: Guild America Books, 1993) [omni containing all three titles: Nomes/Bromeliad: hb/David A Cherry]
Johnny Maxwell
- Only You Can Save Mankind (London: Doubleday, 1992) [Johnny Maxwell: hb/David Scutt]
- Johnny and the Dead (London: Doubleday, 1993) [Johnny Maxwell: hb/John Avon]
- Johnny and the Bomb (London: Doubleday, 1996) [Johnny Maxwell: hb/Larry Rostant]
- The Johnny Maxwell Trilogy (New York: Science Fiction Book Club, 1998) [omni containing all three titles: Johnny Maxwell: hb/Jim Burns]
The Long Earth
- The Long Earth (London: Doubleday, 2012) with Stephen Baxter [special issue of this edition contains "The High Meggas", Pratchett's 1980s draft of first part of the novel: Long Earth: hb/Getty Images]
- The Long War (London: Doubleday, 2013) with Stephen Baxter [Long Earth: hb/R Shailer/TW]
- The Long Mars (London: Doubleday, 2014) with Stephen Baxter [Long Earth: hb/R Shailer/TW]
- The Long Utopia (London: Doubleday, 2015) with Stephen Baxter [Long Earth: hb/R Shailer/TW]
- The Long Cosmos (London: Doubleday, 2016) with Stephen Baxter [Long Earth: hb/NASA/Shutterstock]
individual titles
- The Carpet People (Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire: Colin Smythe, 1971) [illus/hb/Terry Pratchett]
- The Carpet People (London: Doubleday, 1992) [rev of the above: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Carpet People: Illustrated Edition (London: Doubleday Childrens, 2009) [vt of the above: illus/hb/Terry Pratchett]
- The Carpet People (Boston, Massachusetts: Clarion Books, 2013) [exp of the above with additional Carpet People story (1965 Bucks Free Press): illus/hb/Terry Pratchett]
- The Carpet People: Illustrated Edition (London: Doubleday Childrens, 2009) [vt of the above: illus/hb/Terry Pratchett]
- The Carpet People (London: Doubleday, 1992) [rev of the above: hb/Josh Kirby]
- The Dark Side of the Sun (Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire: Colin Smythe, 1976) [hb/Terry Pratchett]
- Strata (Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire: Colin Smythe, 1981) [hb/Tim White]
- The Unadulterated Cat: A Campaign for Real Cats (London: Victor Gollancz, 1989) [associational: comic cat book: illus/pb/Gray Jolliffe]
- Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (London: Victor Gollancz, 1990) with Neil Gaiman [Pratchett is billed first in the UK: hb/Chris Moore]
- Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (New York: Workman Publishing, 1990) with Neil Gaiman [rev of the above title: Gaiman is billed first in the US: hb/David Frampton]
- The Definitive Good Omens (London: Gollancz, 2019) [rev vt of the above: illus/hb/Paul Kidby]
- Once More with Footnotes (Framingham, Massachusetts: NESFA Press, 2004) [coll: edited by Priscilla Olson and Sheila M Perry: essays and stories including Discworld: hb/Omar Rayyan]
- Nation (London: Doubleday, 2008) [illus/hb/Jonny Duddle]
- Nation (London: Corgi, 2009) with Mark Ravenhill [play: adaptation of the above title: pb/]
- Dodger (London: Doubleday, 2012) [hb/Paul Kidby]
- Dodger's Guide to London (London: Doubleday, 2013) [spin-off from Dodger: presented as nonfiction: hb/Paul Kidby]
collections
- A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction (London: Doubleday, 2012) [coll: includes several Discworld stories: hb/Pal Hansen and Josh Kirby]
- Dragons at Crumbling Castle and Other Stories (London: Doubleday, 2014) [coll: stories published in the Bucks Free Press 1965-1973: illus/hb/Mark Beech]
- Dragons at Crumbling Castle and Other Stories (London: Doubleday, 2014) [coll: exp of the above with 2 additional stories and further editorial commentary: illus/hb/Mark Beech]
- Dragons at Crumbling Castle and Other Tales (Boston, Massachusetts: Clarion Books, 2015) [coll: vt of the above: illus/hb/Mark Beech]
- The Witch's Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories (London: Doubleday, 2016) [coll: stories published in the Bucks Free Press: illus/hb/Mark Beech]
- The Witch's Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories (London: Doubleday, 2016) [coll: rev of the above with 1 story extract replaced by 2 other stories: illus/hb/Mark Beech]
- Father Christmas's Fake Beard (London: Doubleday, 2017) [coll: stories published in the Bucks Free Press: illus/hb/Mark Beech]
- The Time-Travelling Caveman and Other Stories (London: Doubleday, 2020) [coll: stories published in the Bucks Free Press 1966-1972 and Western Daily Press 1969-1970: hb/Mark Beech]
- The Time-Travelling Caveman and Other Stories (London: Doubleday, 2020) [coll: exp of the above with 1 additional story: hb/Mark Beech]
nonfiction
- A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction (London: Doubleday, 2014) [nonfiction: coll: introduction by Neil Gaiman: hb/Pal Hansen]
about the author
- Andrew M Butler. The Pocket Essential Terry Pratchett (Harpenden, Hertfordshire: Pocket Essentials, 2001) [nonfiction: chap: pb/photographic]
- Andrew M Butler, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, editors. Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature (Reading, Berkshire: Science Fiction Foundation, 2000) [nonfiction: anth: undated but 2000: pb/Josh Kirby]
- Andrew M Butler, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, editors. Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature: Second Edition (Baltimore, Maryland: Old Earth Books, 2004) [nonfiction: anth: exp rev of the above: hb/photographic]
- Andrew M Butler, editor. An Unofficial Companion to the Novels of Terry Pratchett (Oxford: Greenwood World Publishing, 2007) [encyclopedia: hb/photographic]
- Craig Cabell. Terry Pratchett: The Spirit of Fantasy (London: John Blake, 2011) [nonfiction: biography and critique: hb/]
- Marc Burrows. The Magic of Terry Pratchett (Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen and Sword/White Owl, 2020) [nonfiction: biography: hb/Andrea C White based on photo]
- Rob Wilkins. Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes (London: Doubleday, 2022) [nonfiction: official biography: hb/photographic]
links
- Terry Pratchett
- Terry Pratchett at Colin Smythe Ltd
- Terry Pratchett's Short Stories (fan site: lists the Bucks Free Press stories) (archived)
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Picture Gallery
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