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Discworld Monthly - April 2022 - Issue 290

[Table of Contents]
Issue 290

1. Editorial

Welcome to issue 290. Another month has flown by. Rachel and I are mostly recovered from COVID though we still tire more easily than before. Discworld Monthly was recently involved in the Swansea Coming and Gaming Convention where we provided prizes for the Cosplay area of the event and I was one of the Cosplay judges and Rachel was the Cosplay compere / organiser. It was a really fun event but also very exhausting.

I've had the opportunity to listen to the new audiobook version of Small Gods but haven't yet had the opportunity to listen to Equal Rites (it's queued up to play next).

We also managed to catch up with Ben Aaronovitch on his signing tour for his latest Rivers of London novel Amongst our Weapons when he visited the Waterstones store in Swansea.

I'm a little disappointed that Terry was missed off the Big Jubilee Read. It seems that the establishment feels that fantasy should be ignored (this is a huge contrast to the readers' choices for The Big Read that was announced in 2003). For more information see The Big Jubilee List

I'm writing this on Wednesday 27th April the day before what should have been Terry's Birthday. We will be sure to take a moment to remember Terry on his Birthday. Seven years on and we still miss him. I don't think there is a day that goes by when I don't reference Discworld or Terry in one way or another.

Terry's publishers Penguin Random House are apparently arranging a number of events for Tomorrow but as of yet the information about the events has been sparse. Please keep an eye on our social media outlets and we'll let you know anything as and when we do.

Bless you Terry, mind how you go. #GNUTerryPratchett #SpeakHisName

Jason

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Rachel here - Happy 25th Birthday Discworld Monthly!

We are the longest running online Discworld newsletter and we like to think we are the best ! .

Let us know what you think by emailing us! We love getting your emails.

2. News

2.1 First Annual Terry Pratchett Day Announced

The first annual Terry Pratchett day organised by Transworld will take place on 28th April (Terry's Birthday).

The premiere day will be themed around the Witches series. The day will include a programme of social media activity, online games and quizzes, recipes, extracts and a virtual event run by Transworld (Terry's publishers).

There will be a behind the scenes documentary featuring interviews with Rob from the Terry Pratchett Estate as well as Bill Nighy, Andy Serkis, Indira Varma, Sian Clifford, Colin Morgan and more that will be released on 28th April at 5pm GMT on Youtube (link will get announced on the their facebook event page)

Check out Terry Pratchett Books Facebook Page for more information.

2.2 The Amazing Maurice: The Art of the Film - Book Release

By Ramin Zahed

Hardback - Due for release 20th December 2022
R.R.P. 34.99GBP
Publisher: Titan Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781803361536
Number of pages: 192
Dimensions: 273 x 302 mm

The official art book for the animated movie The Amazing Maurice, based on the Carnegie Medal-winning Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett Maurice is a streetwise talking tomcat who comes up with a money-making scam by befriending a group of talking rats and finding a dumb-looking kid who plays a pipe. When Maurice and company reach the stricken town of Bad Blintz, they meet a bookworm called Malicia and their scheme soon goes down the drain.

The Art of the Film is a coffee table hardback celebration of the creative process of bringing The Amazing Maurice to life, including exclusive concept designs, character sketches, storyboards and production art, alongside insight from the artists, filmmakers and directors.

You can pre-order yourself a copy through any of our affiliate links. Purchasing through them helps us keep Discworld Monthly free to our readers as it helps pay some of our costs.


View our affiliate links to order "The Amazing Maurice : The Art of the Film"

2.3 Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention

It was great to see so many people at Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention. The event was a huge success with over 4000 people through the doors over the weekend.

We thoroughly enjoyed sponsoring the cosplay zone, and Jason was regularly accosted for photos with various fans.

Marc Burrows enjoyed himself immensely having spent his weekend with Jasper Fforde and James Payton in the Guest area. Unfortunately Nigel Planer had to cancel as COVID caused havoc in his household.

The event raised a total of 4239.84 GBP for Hafal

Hopefully we'll be involved again next year!

2.4 Discworld Monthly 25 years Celebration. - Update

As Jason would have officially been writing Discworld Monthly for exactly half his life, we thought we would make a bit of a fuss.

We're still hunting for a venue. We just wish potential venues would answer their emails!

We intend on holding a bit of a celebration hopefully somewhere relatively central ie in or around Reading. It will be a ticketed event with a meal and a bit of sentimental slush thrown into the mix.

Looks like we'll be doing this towards the end of June.

We'd have more information but places really seem to fail to answer telephone calls and emails.

If you would be interested in joining us, fill in this google form to register your interest as we need to have a rough idea of how big a venue to book!

Feedback Form

2.5 Book Releases - New News and Updates

New paperbacks will be released by Penguin books over the next two years with amazing cover illustrations by Leo Nickolls.

The first titles to be released will be The Witches series of books and the stand alone Small Gods. Covers can be seen in our banner image for this issue.

The books will be released in two size formats. The smaller sized "A" format 178 x 110 x 18 mm paperbacks will be priced at 7.99GBP whilst the larger "B" format 198 x 127 x 18 mm will be more widely available and are priced at 9.99GBP

These will be released in all good bookshops on 28th April 2022.

We already have release dates for some of the other titles. Pre-order links for these will appear in our next issue.

They are as follows.

7th July - The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Sourcery, The Last Continent, Interesting Times and Unseen Academicals

27th October - Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music, Hogfather and Thief of Time


View our affiliate links to order "Equal Rites"


View our affiliate links to order "Wyrd Sisters"


View our affiliate links to order "Witches Abroad"


View our affiliate links to order "Lords and Ladies"


View our affiliate links to order "Maskerade"


View our affiliate links to order "Carpe Jugulum"


View our affiliate links to order "Small Gods"

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The Amazing Maurice will get a minimum of 3 NEW editions this year

The Amazing Maurice - Slipcase Edition

First up was the Discworld Collectors Library Slipcased edition currently marked down as being released on the 14th April 2022 R.R.P. 25 GBP - This one has an exclusive print included as part of the package.

Next up will be the Special Edition paperback. This special edition paperback will include an exclusive look at how Terry first imagined the Amazing Maurice! Due for release on 1st September 2022 R.R.P. 7.99 GBP

Lastly The Film tie in paperback edition - The book that inspired the big-hit new film. Read before you see it! With amazing extra content, from scripts to film art.

This edition will also be released on the 1st September and will also have a R.R.P. 7.99 GBP


View our affiliate links to order "The Amazing Maurice (Slipcased Edition)"


View our affiliate links to order "The Amazing Maurice (Special Edition)"


View our affiliate links to order "The Amazing Maurice (Film Tie-in)"

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If you haven't already purchased this…

Bromeliad Cover - Joe McLaren

In April, we see the Bromeliad Trilogy get released in another hardback trilogy edition. As you can see in the image above the cover art has been illustrated by Joe McLaren.

This was published on 14th April 2022.
This edition will be hardback at a R.R.P. of 16.99 GBP


View our affiliate links to order "Bromeliad Trilogy (Hardback)"

2.6 The Amazing Maurice Sky Cinema Film news.

What can I say about the film we've all been waiting for?

We may have to wait a bit longer tbh.

The release date seems to have been pushed back to January 2023. *sigh.

I'll email the press office and see what they say.

2.7 New AudioBooks - Update - now with extracts.

The first batch of new Audiobooks (after Hogfather) will be released on Terry's Birthday (28th April).

You can listen to extracts from both Small Gods and Wyrd Sisters over on Soundcloud.

To listen to extracts of Bill Nighy as the voice of the footnotes, Bill Nighy Extracts

To listen to Peter Serafinowicz as the voice of Death Peter Serafinowicz Extracts

To listen to Indira Varma reading extracts from the Witches Books Indira Varma extracts

To listen to Andy Serkis reading from Small Gods Andy Serkis Extracts

Penguin Audio have been busy bees over the last year as they have started recording 40 of Terry's Discworld books as audiobooks.

They will be released over the next 2 years (see schedule below) and have a variety of well known voices narrating and playing certain parts.

The first to come out on Audible (and other places) was Hogfather back on the 9th December.

Hogfather is now available worldwide (apparently - don't hold me to that!)

Sian Clifford is the narrator of the Death series of books with Peter Serafinowicz lending his voice to Death and Bill Nighy as the voice of the footnotes throughout all the books..

The Watch series, The Tiffany series and some of the stand alone books have yet to have narrators announced. As soon as we know, we'll pass on the information via our social media channels.

2.7.1 Release Schedule

Currently the schedule for releases looks like this (Don't forget some are due out at the end of April - on Terry's Birthday).

9th December 2021

28th April 2022

7th July 2022

6th October 2022

27th October 2022

23rd February 2023

27th April 2023

You can read our review [finally - Ed] later in this issue. We'd love you hear your views on this new audiobook, email us at info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

2.8 New Items from Discworld Emporium

The Discworld Emporium has a couple of new amazing products.

Great A'Tuin:

The new sculptural rendition of Terry Pratchett's Discworld - Their exclusive tribute to our favourite author in celebration of #50YearsOfTerry . . .

The Great A'Tuin Figurine - Anniversary Edition celebrates their unique connection to the marvellous mind of Sir Terry and his incredible literary creations. Created in their 20th year of producing Discworld wares as The Discworld Emporium, and their 30th year since launching the first ever Discworld merchandise - a figurine of Rincewind - as Clarecraft, this milestone model has been released to coincide with the 50th year since the publication of Terry's first book . . .

Sculpted in fantastic detail by artist Rich Kingston and produced in a full bronze Verdigris finish this stunning Star Turtle will soar over your bookshelves bringing a sense of magic and wonder to all who gaze upon it . . .

Measuring 190mm by 120mm our especially 'great' Great A'tuin is cast in bronze resin with a gorgeous green antique patina, and is provided with a clear perspex stand allowing A'Tuin to rest at an angle to convey a sense of movement through the cosmos.

Great A'Tuin Figure at Discworld Emporium - 135.00 GBP

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THE LUGGAGE T-SHIRT

Going on holiday this year? Don't forget your Luggage . . . T-shirt!

Official Discworld T-Shirt featuring everyone's favourite homicidal box on legs, lovingly illustrated by Robert Sienicki, and exclusive to the Discworld Emporium!

Luggage T-Shirt at Discworld Emporium - 18.50 GBP

2.9 New Item from Discworld.com

Want a Great A'Tuin Gold Storm proof Umbrella. Canopy diameter (open) 130cm. Fitted with an ergonomic black pistol grip handle as standard. Made in the UK

A'Tuin Umbrella at Discworld.com - 40.00 GBP

3. Discworld Convention 2022 Update

The juggernaut that is the International Discworld Convention has started its engines. It's only a few short months to go until 800+ Discworld fans meet in Birmingham.

The committee has announced a special pre-order t-shirt that is only available to those going to the convention. See more at Discworld Convention - Pre Order T-Shirt (Note: You must place your order before 15th May 2022)

There seems to be a large amount of movement of tickets at the moment. It appears that some people can no longer make the Convention and are letting others purchase their tickets. If you missed out before do go to the website and register your interest. You may get lucky.

Rachel and I will be running the Charity Auction at the Convention. If you have items you might wish to donate please email auction@dwcon.org with information about what you plan to bring. Our team will evaluate your offer and will let you know if we can accept your items. We have a limited number of lots available (Due to time restrictions) and we want to maximise the quality of the auction.

The committee has also announced its COVID policies. If you have tickets to the event you should read the policy to ensure that a) you feel safe and b) you are willing to follow the rules. If you don't feel comfortable you can ask to have your tickets passed on.

More information is available from the Discworld Convention 2022 website.

4. DiscTrivia

This month Jason has written five more trivia questions - all the questions relate to MORT.

Q1. How many times does the Abbot say he's been reincarnated?

Q2. What did Death find in a decrepit water butt?

Q3. Where does Death take Mort for a curry?

Q4. What nationality is the waiter that brought out the bill for the curry?

Q5. When Mort asks Death where he gets all the coins, what is Death's response?

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

5. 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

Happy Birthday to everyone who has a birthday in May especially Jazmyn Turnbull, Shirley Farnham, Angela Corona, Bernie Heyes, Mark Bicknell, Shaun Rippon, Robert Flach, Sven Harvey, Sharon Henry, Rachel Brown, Favi Thompson, Ashleigh Hopkins, Brendan Bolger, Matt Binding, Dave Northey, Dawn MacCallaugh, Ken Cornhill, Becky Hird, Andy Baker, Richard Degg, Lee Potts-Pointer, Keir Brown, Carole Fletcher, Michael Van, Elizabeth Alway and Susan Offen-James

6. 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. Your letters may have extra characters added for reasons beyond human comprehension or maybe not.

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.

We make an editorial decision on what letters to include. Sometimes the opinions expressed in a letter are not the same as our own but we reserve the right to publish them nevertheless. You might not like the content of the letters we publish and we encourage you to write in your own constructive letters explaining your points of view. We will not shy away from including letters that question our views and expect our readers to be able to accept that not everyone has the same point of view on all subjects.

* * * * *

* From: "Aimee Ford" aimee.ford@hotmail.com

Good evening!

I thought I'd send an update on the Adelaide Relay for Life for the Cancer Council in April.

It was a smaller event than previous ones, for obvious reasons, but we still had a blast and managed to raise 4,664 AUD for the Cancer Council here in South Australia!

There were themed laps including Superhero, Pride and Glow in the Dark, and our team won the prize for best mail box thanks to a giant Luggage our team mates brought in. (The Luggage was very well behaved and hardly ate anyone!). We sold lap bead necklaces where people could buy a necklace for 5 AUD, and add a bead from our table for every lap of the course they complete. It was a hit and helped us raise a few more hundred dollars on the day. We decorated our tent with fairy lights, balloons and red draping and made sure to have the wizard-standard crocodile hanging from the ceiling. Our baton, which we had to keep moving around the track, was a delightfully small Librarian.

Cheers!

Aimee Ford

Jason replies: Well done Aimee for raising so much for such a great cause. I have create a Google Photos' Album of Aimee's Photos from the event.

* * * * *

* From: "Mark Oxley" markcoxley@hotmail.com

My daughter knitted me a great stuffed copy of the Discworld. It took 4 months and she gave it to me as a present. I saw it and was totally blown away as I've been a Pratchett fan for more years than I can remember.

He is now suspended in a flower basket frame in the window.

My wonderful, wonderful daughter.

Jason replies: Mark sent us some photos of his Discworld. I've made them available as a Google Photos Album

7. Productions

We know it's been a while but we've started to see productions pop back up on the schedule (It's a slow process - but it's a sign that productions are coming back).

8. Review: Small Gods Audiobook

Review by Jason Anthony-Rowlands

I've been listening to the new audiobook edition of Small Gods narrated by Andy Serkis. From the start I found it far easier to listen to than the Hogfather audiobook that I reviewed last month.

Andy Serkis' voice can be a bit gravelly but I haven't struggled to hear what he was saying in this book so that's a bonus.

I still can't get on with Bill Nighy. It sounds like he was recorded on a different piece of kit locked up in a cupboard somewhere. We know footnotes can be done well - look at Peter Jones or Stephen Fry doing the voice of the guide in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - that would have been perfect for the footnotes. Bill just seems bored with it all. I like him as an actor, just not in this particular role.

Most of what I said last time works here too. These audiobooks can't seem to make up their mind if they are a drama or an audiobook. From the vast majority of the feedback I've received most people would like Stephen Briggs back.

And the footnote sounds are really annoying. Especially when the footnotes have footnotes. You get the sound four times. Argh!

I hoped that they would settle down but it appears that they have decided to stick to the same formula as Hogfather which is a shame. I've still got Equal Rites to listen to at some point when I can force myself to listen to it.

I know some people love the new audiobooks so you should definitely make up your own mind. For me I'll stick with the good old ones that work as proper audio books rather than this weird fusion of audiobook / play.

9. The End

This month's issue is brought to you by rollercoasters, Verka (#SupportUkraine) and a really bad rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody.

The deadline for submissions to issue 291 of Discworld Monthly is 20th May 2022.

9.1 Supporting Discworld Monthly

Discworld Monthly was created as a totally free newsletter and will continue to remain so for as long as it continues. However, the costs of maintaining the website, postage, travel etc. add up. If you feel you would like to make a small contribution towards these costs please consider doing so via: PayPal

Our account for Paypal is info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

You can also purchase items from our range of licensed Discworld Monthly products from: Discworld Monthly Shop

9.2 eBook Editions

Since issue 166 we have produced a version of Discworld Monthly that is formatted better for the Amazon Kindle eBook reader and since issue 186 we also produce an ePub version for other eBook readers such as the Kobo, Nook and Sony readers.

You can download either version from Discworld Monthly eBooks

Please let us know if you use them!

9.3 Contact Information

We prefer information to be sent via email info@discworldmonthly.co.uk or rachel@discworldmonthly.co.uk but can also accept information via post at the following address: Discworld Monthly, 20 Cambrian Place, Pontarddulais, Swansea, SA4 8RG, United Kingdom

9.4 Latest Book Information

There is a list of books on our website with the cover blurb and direct links to UK, US and Canadian Amazon websites. Terry Pratchett books at Discworld Monthly

You can also find a list of our affiliates at: Discworld Monthly Affiliate Links

We have an extensive Terry Pratchett biography with a tick list you can print out at: Terry Pratchett Biography

9.5 DiscTrivia Answers

Q1. How many times does the Abbot say he's been reincarnated?
A1. Fifty-three times so far. Or fifty-four.

Q2. What did Death find in a decrepit water butt?
A2. A small sack with a brick tied to it. The sack contains the mortal remains of three kittens.

Q3. Where does Death take Mort for a curry?
A3. The Curry Gardens on the corner of God Street and Blood Alley.

Q4. What nationality is the waiter that brought out the bill for the curry?
A4. Klatchian

Q5. When Mort asks Death where he gets all the coins, what is Death's response?
A5. IN PAIRS.

9.6 Subscription Information

To subscribe to Discworld Monthly simply enter your email address in the form on the Discworld Monthly web page. Our web site contains all back issues and links to other Pratchett sites. discworldmonthly.co.uk

To unsubscribe please follow the instructions at the end of this email.

9.7 Small Print

We make every effort we can to ensure the information in this newsletter is accurate and legal. All trademarks are recognized as the property of their respective owners, whoever they may be. Discworld (R) is a registered trademark of the Estate of Sir Terry Pratchett used under licence.

9.8 Thanks

Thanks for reading this issue of 'Discworld Monthly'. We hope you enjoyed it. If you have any comments, complaints or suggestions for the future of this newsletter please email the editor : info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

Thank you Terry Pratchett

9.9 The Final Word

Rachel here: We may not be perfect designers, or award winning journalists but we do our best to keep you all entertained and informed about all things Terry. We do have some ethics though.

We like our news to be current, up to date and factual with a solid source. We don't like posting rumours but occasionally the source it comes from is 98 percent solid so we will tell you it's a rumour and confirm it when we have a 100 percent confirmation.

Our own articles are written by us for us only. You won't find articles from other publications here unless it's a formal press release about an adaptation, book release or event or something we actually wrote for someone else unless they begged us to publish it (OK not begged but some of our lovely friends do ask us occasionally to boost something).

[NB I say we are not award winning but Discworld Monthly did win Website of the Month for Issue 3 back in a different century. It would be nice to win something much more recent, or even just get acknowledged #justsaying]

Whilst you keep reading it, we'll keep on writing it because we love Terry's books just as much as you do.

Keep smiling, Keep washing those hands but most of all, Keep breathing.

See you soon!

GNU Terry Pratchett...

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Table of Contents:

1. Editorial
2. News
2.1 First Annual Terry Pratchett Day Announced
2.2 The Amazing Maurice: The Art of the Film - Book Release
2.3 Swansea Comic and Gaming Convention
2.4 Discworld Monthly 25 years Celebration. - Update
2.5 Book Releases - New News and Updates
2.6 The Amazing Maurice Sky Cinema Film news.
2.7 New AudioBooks - Update - now with extracts.
2.7.1 Release Schedule
2.8 New Items from Discworld Emporium
2.9 New Item from Discworld.com
3. Discworld Convention 2022 Update
4. DiscTrivia
5. Birthdays
6. Readers' Letters
7. Productions
8. Review: Small Gods Audiobook
9. The End
9.1 Supporting Discworld Monthly
9.2 eBook Editions
9.3 Contact Information
9.4 Latest Book Information
9.5 DiscTrivia Answers
9.6 Subscription Information
9.7 Small Print
9.8 Thanks
9.9 The Final Word
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