Discworld Monthly - Issue 273 - November 2019

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Books and Stuff.

If all else is lost and you really are stuck there is always a calendar!

The 2020 Discworld calendar is all about Discworld Destinations with sumptuous illustrations by paul Kidby.

Get one from

The Ankh- Morpork Archives Vol 1 have just hit the shops, if you don't know anything about these, they are collaborating the information that was only available in the early Discworld diaries and making it available in a format that is more palatable with illustrations by Paul Kidby. We got ours late today, we will be reviewing it in our next issue.

Available in various places including

Amazon UK - Raising Steam

If the love of your life has been collecting the Discworld Collector's library editions then the latest pair have just been released on the world.

Snuff and Raising Steam cost 12.99GBP each.

Amazon UK - Snuff

Waterstones - Snuff

Waterstones - Raising Steam

The magic question still remains though, are we going to get The Amazing Maurice and the Tiffany books in this format? Only time will tell !

Death and Friends Journal

Essentially this is the 2020 Discworld diary, this time the Discworld Emporium have perused the shelves of Deaths house and stolen some tasty tidbits for the Journal. Go get it!

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If retro is your thing, this vinyl boxset of Discworld radio plays will set your heart on fire. It may also make your bank balance cry, but a thing of beauty is always worth owning.

Terry Pratchett's Vinyl Discworld Collector's Edition, Deluxe Vinyl Box Set

Terry Pratchett's Vinyl Discworld is a 15LP vinyl audio book box set featuring seven BBC radio plays. Mort, Wyrd Sisters, Guards! Guards!, Eric, Small Gods, Night Watch and a bonus non-Discworld story Only You Can Save Mankind.

Each of the seven gatefold albums is stunningly illustrated and features specially commissioned sleeve notes by Stephen Briggs, along with full cast and credits.

Included within the artwork is a recreation of the Discworld map created across the 15 printed inner bags.The episodes 'Night Watch' and 'Only You Can Save Mankind' include themed etchings on Side B.

Also included is an exclusive framable print.

Priced at 179.99GBP, this will be released on the 29th November 2019.

Pre-order yours now.

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↑≡2.3 Troll Bridge - The Final Final Chapter

By Jason Anthony-Rowlands

Troll Bridge's epic journey is very nearly at an end. The guys at Snowgum Films are busy putting the content of the DVD and Blu-Ray together so that it can be pressed to disc and then mailed out to all the backers that backed at a suitable tier.

If your donation included access to the screening are you should have recently been contacted with information about how to access the streaming area.

The ability to back the production has now been terminated. If you haven't already backed the project it is now too late to do it. Finally after 17 years Troll Bridge is complete.

Head over to trollbridge.film for more information.

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↑≡2.4 Llamedos Holiday Camp News - Update

Llamedos Holiday Camp will be happening in Llanelli, South Wales Fri 6th March until Sun 8th March (midnight) .

A very limited number of day and weekend tickets are still available for Llamedos Holiday Camp.

To get yours head over to llamedosholidaycamp.com

Llamedos Holiday Camp have ordered a quantity of pre-order products and many have already taken advantage of the pre-orders. The initial batch of pre-orders have now been sent to those that choose to have their products sent. The Purple Coats will pack the rest and take your products to either Hogswatch or Llamedos depending on which option you choose at the checkout.

Don't delay in getting your Pre-Event merchandise ordered. They have ordered a limited number of extra t-shirts in various sizes so it's vital that you order soon to guarantee you get the size you want. Whatever items are left over will be available to purchase at Llamedos but they may not be able to guarantee a full selection of sizes by then.

Traders wanted!

They have asked me to pass on some information to people interested in trading at the event.

You will need to check out llamedosholidaycamp.com and then email the team.

Auction Items

Llamedos Holiday Camp will be raising money for two charities. Wales Ape & Monkey Sanctuary and R.I.C.E. with all the proceeds from the charity auction being split between the two.

If you have an item you wish to donate to the auction, please email the team at info@llamedosholidaycamp.com with the subject "Auction".

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↑≡2.5 International DW Convention News

International Discworld Convention: 7th-10th August 2020

The International Discworld Convention has announced their date and location for their 2020 event which will be held at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole Hotel from the 7th - 10th August 2020. They have also made their tickets available to purchase.

All the tickets sold out in about eight minutes and so the Convention team are now running a waiting list system. Based on the last Convention it's worth asking to be added to the waiting list as there was quite a large churn of memberships.

If you haven't signed up to their newsletter, we suggest you head over to 2020.dwcon.org and do so right away.

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↑≡2.6 Scheibenwelt Convention 2021

The next Scheibenwelt Convention will take place from the 6th - 9th May 2021 at Jugendburg Ludwigstein, 37214 Witzenhausen, Deutschland and the theme is Genua.

For more information head over to: scheibenwelt-convention.de

↑≡3. DiscTrivia

This month, we've one again let Jason loose on a copy of The Discworld Companion and see what he can come up with!

Q1.	What was Daniel Trooper's nickname?
Q2.	Which pub was Nork the Impaler a regular at?
Q3.	Who was Glwenda romantically linked with?
Q4.	What is Mrs Gogol of Genua's first name?
Q5.	The landlord of the Goblin's Head keeps his truncheon under the bar, what is it made from?

The answers as usual can be found at the end of this issue.

↑≡4. Review: Going Postal, Gemco Players

Review by: Suzie suzie@suzs-space.com

Heading out to Emerald for the Going Postal play by Gemco Players was worth the effort. Walking into the foyer we found the FedEx Man made for the Seventh Australian Discworld Convention in April 2019. His feet were surrounded by the same letters we'd used at the convention.

Walking through the bar we could see more letters! It was really exciting to see a huge mound of letters. I talked to people and explained how my team had made them especially for the convention. They were amazed at the dedication needed to go through the books and write out all those addresses before sewing the envelopes to the sheet.

Walking into the theatre was a wonderful experience. The set was made up of more letters, giant letters. Some of them were used to hide shop signs so that with a quick flip of the fingers we would be able to see they had changed location. But what drew my attention was the Clacks. It

was sitting off the side of the stage and someone was working the levers so the lights worked. I felt that if I knew my letters I would have been able to read the message. It probably should have read '#GNU Terry Pratchett', but that might just be me projecting my feelings.

The cast was well chosen. I was scared by Mr Gryle and amazed at his wings. They looked so good. There were some liberties taken due to the lack of men in the company but it worked fine and I was happy. Watching as some of the cast changed characters was pretty good. some of them played more than two characters. They did a good job. I absolutely adored watching the Postman's Walk!

↑≡5. Review: Johnny and the Dead, Leeds Children's Theatre 9th November 2019

Review by: Tony, Gill & Hann Bunn.

We had enjoyed this company's production of 'The Amazing Maurice' a couple of years ago, so we were ready to enter a strange version of the real world, as we pushed through a German Christmas market in the square outside the Carriageworks Theatre.

The main strength is the way the younger cast members lead the story, with older characters played by adults - rather than the distraction of teens playing wobbly old people.

Johnny (Harrison Mason) immediately relates to the audience by narrating through the fourth wall, and this confident start helps us settle in. His friends are established smoothly with relaxed matey humour. Girls play boys in this production with great attention to detail and no embarrassment (…I'm looking at you, Mr Shakespeare) .

Staging uses traditional smoke-machine effects and spooky up-lights, as well as projected backgrounds to ensure quick scene changes. This allows most of the stage to remain as the realistic run-down graveyard, with front-of-tabs, props and gauze projections creating at least 8 other locations. The scene in Grandma's care home was particularly well staged, as Johnny and the Care Assistant were the only ones who spoke, as the family scene played out right next to them.

The cast of the Dead used the humour of coping with modern times very well, without straying into pantomime. The Alderman was positive and empathetic, whilst the Communist was firmly rooted in Ricky Tomlinson. The irrepressible Suffragette, Italian extrovert and inspired scientists lightened the mood in the right places in a Dad's Army ensemble style, as we found out more about Tommy Atkins. Thoughtful use of WW1 archive images gave a respectful context for those who marched on stage.

The play could have become disjointed as the scenes accelerated after the interval, but attention to detail meant that we were confident in the characters and locations; an excellent example is Mum wearing a genuine garish Sweater Shop jumper. Another is the running gag of the Aussie Soap-opera which crept into many corners of life - and the Dead. The flow was underpinned by the humour of the sound design:

Local radio jingles, mouthy DJs and 1990s music put the action in an identifiable era, as the story relies on the media of the period.

The mood deftly changed in sympathy with plot twists and revelations, particularly around Eric Grimm and Ronald Atterbury.

The cast were fluent, confident and creative - showing a knowledge of giving a message, but to do that most effectively by being entertaining. Leeds Children's Theatre have their 85th anniversary productions next year, so many individuals must have learnt their theatrecraft here. Their strength, versatility and Terry Pratchett give them a great future too.

↑≡6. Birthdays

Everyone has a birthday. If you know someone who would like a mention or if you would like your birthday included in the listings, send us an email the month before your birthday and we will add it to the list! Email rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk Subject: Birthday

Belated November Greetings (to those that have already had November birthdays) to: Chris Gibbs, Jem John Miller, Don "Cohen" Bridges, Lisa Riz Risley, Elizaberh Angua Macmichael, Lizzie Glaiser, Michaela Lilla Bos, Pete Smith, Sarah Spall, Lyn Moger

Happy November Greetings to: Steve Durbin, Danielle Clarke, Tiger Mac Mathuna, Joe Angel, Karen Carr, Ruechenda Herd, Charlie Mitchell, Tim Van Holder, Barbara Durbin, Martin Macey

↑≡7. Readers' Letters

If you have any letters or comments, please email them to info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

We assume any correspondence is eligible for use in the newsletter unless otherwise stated, including the sender's email address. We may edit your letters by randomizing them while watching a spiderman movie. It is vitally important that you don't pass off other people's work as your own. If you use information from other resources please let us know so we can give proper credit.

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* From: "Andrea Denninger" adenning2@tampabay.rr.com

The news article below made me think of Sir PTerry . . . and you might find it of interest, also . . .

nypost.com

(If you google orangutan florida, you'll see several articles on this)

I've lived in Florida for four years and never realized this sanctuary is about an hour from me.

Jason replies: It's nice that Sandra gets to live out the rest of her life in a safe and caring environment. We have a sanctuary near us that looks after retired apes. They don't have any orangutans but they do have several adorable chimp cousins of our Librarian. We like to visit when we can. It's always great to see Nakima and her amazing wardrobe of blankets - and on occasion get to interact with her (I sometimes wonder who is observing who there!) . If you get the chance to visit Sandra please do so and then let us know how she is getting on.

↑≡8. Book/DVD/CD/Vinyl Release News

8.1 English Language Book Releases

UK Vinyl Release

Terry Pratchett's Vinyl Discworld Collector's Edition, Deluxe Vinyl Box Set

The stories are brought to life with music, sound effects and a large cast of actors including Anton Lesser, Sheila Hancock, Martin Jarvis, Melvyn Hayes, Philip Jackson, Alex Jennings, Geoffrey Whitehead, Patrick Barlow and Mark Heap - with Death, as ever, played by himself.

Now this beautifully illustrated, lavishly packaged vinyl box set presents seven thrilling BBC Radio dramatisations, presented on 15 pieces of heavyweight 180g Discswirl vinyl.

Each of the seven gatefold albums is stunningly illustrated and features specially commissioned sleeve notes by Stephen Briggs, along with full cast and credits.

Included within the artwork is a recreation of the Discworld map created across the 15 printed inner bags.The episodes 'Night Watch' and 'Only You Can Save Mankind' include themed etchings on Side B.

Also included is an exclusive framable print.

Priced at 179.99GBP, this will be released on the 29th November 2019.

Pre-order yours now.

UK Book Releases

The Ankh-Morpork Archives Vol 1. Release date : 14th November 2019

The Ankh Morpork Archives got announced last month with a release date of 14th November 2019. R.R.P. is 25GBP and it will be published by Gollancz.

The publisher's blurb ..

"Think you know Ankh-Morpork? Think again.

In this top-secret guide, travellers will receive a first-hand experience of the real city. If you've ever wondered where Unseen University students wet their whistles (while managing to avoid their teachers doing the same) , or just what the Assassins' Guild constitutes a proper means of inhumation - there are standards to be upheld, after all - then this is the book for you.

That's right, have yourselves a peek into the inner workings of city's societies. Cut the chaff, glimpse behind the curtain, see how the sausage gets made . . . err, you get the idea.

Just don't let the Thieves' Guild catch you with this book. They won't appreciate their methods being flogged behind their back. Flogging's their job.

Completely revamped and redesigned, this full-colour book contains material from Discworld Diaries across the decades"

We know it has some additional bits written by Stephen Briggs and better quality images by Paul Kidby.

Order yours from

Amazon UK - Raising Steam

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Discworld Collector's Library Editions.

Snuff with cover by Joe McLaren due for release on the 14th Nov 2019 (Subject to change)

Hardcover

Publisher: Doubleday (14 Nov. 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0857526499

ISBN-13: 978-0857526496

RRP 12.99

Order from

Amazon UK - Snuff

Waterstones - Snuff

Raising Steam with cover by Joe McLaren deu for release on the 14th Nov 2019 (Subject to change)

Hardcover

Publisher: Doubleday (14 Nov. 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0857526502

ISBN-13: 978-0857526502

Order from

Waterstones - Raising Steam

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Coming in 2020

Good Omens Script Book Paperback

The Paperback edition is coming on the 6th February 2020 at 9.99GBP

The paperback edition of The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book contains an introduction by Neil Gaiman about bringing Good Omens to the screen and all the cut scenes.

Pre-order it now