Podcasts about pratchett

Join us for the Lair of Secrets' annual summer reading list! We run down a few of the books on our respective lists, but we're always looking for more! Featured in this episode are: Red Sonja Consumed by Gail Simone When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente Infinite Archive (The Midsolar Murders #3) by Mur Lafferty Vicious by V.E. Schwab As well as side quests to talk about Iain Banks' The Culture series, Terry Prachett's Discworld, and Neal Stephenson's Seveneves. Suggest your own book ideas in the comments! Chapters 0:00 Intro & Rocket Misfires0:40 Red Sonja: Sword & Sorcery Revival1:45 Moon Cheese Madness: Scalzi's Absurd Apocalypse3:10 Seveneves vs. Moon Made of Cheese4:20 Ghosts in Cryo: Cold Eternity Breakdown5:35 Space Opera and the Glam-paign Idea6:50 Infinite Archive: Murder, She Wrote in Space8:00 Vicious by V.E. Schwab: Superpowered Rivalry9:10 The Overflowing To-Read Pile10:20 Pratchett's Final Discworld Reflections11:20 Saying Goodbye to The Culture Series12:00 More Books, More Time: Summer Reading Goals13:10 Share Your Book Picks!14:00 Outro & Call to Action Listen to the Episode Watch to the Episode Watch Summer Reading List 2025 (S4E24) on YouTube. Show Notes Red Sonja Consumed by Gail Simone (Ken) - I got this as a Christmas present, and I'm looking forward to Gail's take on Red Sonja in novel form (I already read the comic book series she wrote; it was great). From the book blurb: The gutsy, wild, tortured free spirit, forged in pain yet unafraid of life or death, Red Sonja, the famous, fiery She-Devil and barbarian of Hyrkania has never concerned herself with the consequences of her actions. She's taken what she wanted, from treasure to drink to the companionship of bedfellows. She's fought who deserved it (and sometimes those who didn't). And she's never looked back. But when rumors start bubbling up from her homeland—rumors of unknown horrors emerging from the ground and pulling their unsuspecting victims to their deaths—and a strange voice begins whispering to her in her sleep, she realizes she may have to return to the country that abandoned her. And finally do the only thing that has ever scared her: confront her past. When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (David) - I've been a fan of most of Scalzi's books. This is one of his more humorous books like Starter Villain and Kaiju Preservation Society. I'm looking forward to it. It's also going to hold me over until the next Old Man's War book comes out. The moon has turned into cheese. Now humanity has to deal with it. For some it's an opportunity. For others it's a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible. Astronauts and billionaires, comedians and bank executives, professors and presidents, teenagers and terminal patients at the end of their lives -- over the length of an entire lunar cycle, each get their moment in the moonlight. To panic, to plan, to wonder and to pray, to laugh and to grieve. All in a kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you'd expect, and then to so many places you wouldn't. It's a wild moonage daydream. Ride this rocket. Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes (Ken) – Barnes' third sci-fi/horror/ghost story novel is out. I loved the creepy atmosphere of the first two, which makes this one an easy pick. Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth's most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago… The cryo program,

Tænk hvis du kunne træde ind i en alternativ udgave af Jorden – en verden næsten ligesom vores, bare uden mennesker. Og hvad hvis der var ikke én, men tusindvis – nej, millioner! – af sådanne verdener? I The Long Earth har Pratchett og Baxter kastet sig ud i en original og næsten uendelig udforskning af multiverset, hvor en simpel "stepper"-maskine – drevet af en kartoffel, selvfølgelig – åbner porten til det hele.

Liz and Ben delve deep into the archives and come back with some highlights from the collected Discworld Diaries from Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs' The Ankh-Morpork Archives Volumes I (2019) and II (2020), plus Terry's 2004 collaboration with Bernard Pearson, The Discworld Alamak. Between 1998 and 2003, Discworld fans got an extra little treat: an in-universe diary themed around one of the Guilds or other major institutions of the Disc, full of new Discworld history and gags penned by Pratchett with the assistance of Stephen Briggs, and illustrations by Paul Kidby. In 2004, they got something a little different: a Roundworld version of the Celebrated Discworld Almanak, a publication famed for its wisdom, length and absorbency, co-authored by Pratchett and Bernard Pearson. After a brief break, two more diaries with new gags and Discworld lore appeared in 2007 and 2008, but any subsequent diaries or journals were just compilations of quotes and existing material. Like all diaries, these were smaller print runs and never reprinted, so for most fans these extra tidbits were lost to time. But then, in 2019 and 2020, Stephen Briggs and Paul Kidby brought all that weirdness back in two new books: The Ankh-Morpork Archives Volume I, and Volume II, each collecting the original content from four of those diaries and presenting them in a coffee-table style larger format, with new layout, updated or new art, and all the charm of the originals. Did you ever have one of the diaries? Did you write in it? What do you think of the new presentation of all these gags? Do the more unusual diaries have the same charm, or does it feel a bit like the best themes had already been used? And if you were to see new books based on any of this stuff, what would you want to see? Note your answer in your diary, then send it to us using the hashtag #Pratchat84. You can find episode notes and errata on our web site. Next month we knock off one of our few remaining Discworld novels: Sam Vimes' detective's holiday in the country, Snuff! Get your questions in via email (chat@pratchatpodcast.com), or social media using the hashtag #Pratchat86. (Our numbering got a bit messed up due to the delay of this episode, but trust us: the next one is 86!)

Writer/comic/musician MARC BURROWS gives us the five tracks he will meet in Hell!Marc talked us through his Terry Pratchett biography and the accompanying stand up show; his experiences moderating comments for The Guardian and curating feeds for Twitter; how we should define a 'guilty pleasure' AND he drops some bars to one of the biggest rap hits of the 90s...Book tickets to Marc's Pratchett and Britpop shows hereOrder Marc's books herePatreon subscribers get an extra 45 MINUTES with this one, so if you've been waiting for an excuse to subscribe, this is the week to do it. Head to https://www.patreon.com/hellishpod to access episodes early and ad free, where you will find out which artists our guests will meet in Hell. You'll also get our two pilot episodes, a bunch of advent calendar extras, and some other stuff depending which tier you pick - including the chance to come and work for Hell's H.R. department!Find us on Spotify to hear the songs on Marc's Infernal Playlist in full, as well as the Ultimate Infernal Playlist which combines the choices of every damned soul we've met so far.BUY US A COFFEE! If you just want to be nice/bribe your way out of Hell then you can also tip us over at https://www.ko-fi.com/hellishpodHellish has a bookshop! Order from https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/hellish to help us out!You can find us/beg for absolution on social media...Instagram: www.instagram.com/hellish_podBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/hellishpod.comThreads: https://www.threads.net/@hellish_podFacebook: www.facebook.com/hellishpodcastTwitter: www.twitter.com/hellishpod (we're still there, half-heartedly.)TikTok: www.tiktok.com/hellishpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You asked for it, now here it is. It's time to crack open The Colour of Magic and prepare to be whisked (or should I say…Disc'd?) away, because this week we're talking to podcaster, performer and practicing witch, Brett Seivwright (he/him), about his lifelong love for TERRY PRATCHETT. We talk about Pratchett's unique approach to writing, the setting of Discworld, his legendary hat, fakes news predictions, Death's Twitter account and how to conclude your forty-one book series in style. Plus, the time he absolutely schooled J.K. Rowling and some needed context on his (now controversial) collaboration with (very bad man) Neil Gaiman. The Fandom Show Podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts and you can also watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@FandomShowPod! Want to learn more about this as well as all our episodes, and get access to even more fandom? Check us out at Patreon.com/TheFandomShow Produced by Andrew Ivimey as part of The From Superheroes

To mark ten years since Terry Pratchett's death, Liz, Ben and guest Myfanwy Coghill discuss his 2010 Richard Dimbleby lecture, “Shaking Hands with Death”. Please note that this episode includes discussions of death, terminal illness, assisted dying and suicide. Pratchett was the first novelist to give the Richard Dimbleby Lecture, an annual talk broadcast on the BBC in memory of Dimbleby, a BBC broadcaster who died in 1965. His subject was a turning point in his activism: from raising awareness (and money) for Alzheimer's Disease, to talking openly about the inevitability of death, and the importance of being able to choose a good one, safely and legally. The speech was collected in A Slip of the Keyboard in 2014, and published in a standalone volume with an introduction by Rob Wilkins in 2015. The televised version is also (currently) on YouTube. We hope we've done Pratchett justice in carrying on this discussion. We are lucky to live in Australia, where citizens in most states have access to assisted dying - even if under more narrow circumstances than Pratchett might have liked. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill provides similar access, and was introduced in the UK parliament by backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater in November 2024. It's currently at the committee stage. (See our episode notes for more details.) Guest Myfanwy Coghill (she/her) has been many things, including an opera singer, a teacher, a funeral director, and a Dungeon Master (of the Dungeons & Dragons variety). She previously appeared to discuss Maskerade in #Pratchat23, “The Music of the Nitt”, in September 2019. GNU Elspeth Sutherland; Kat Muscat; Stella Young; Cal Wilson; DJ Ian; and Terry Pratchett. We'd love you to consider supporting the Kat Muscat Fellowship, which provides support and development for a young Australian writer or editor each year; or helping to fund a new documentary about Stella Young, I Am Not Your Inspiration (which coincidentally launched in between us recording and publishing this episode). You can find episode notes and errata on our web site. Next month is our rescheduled discussion about both volumes of the Ankh-Morpork Archives, which collect material from the Discworld diaries, and their sibling publication The Discworld Almanack! There's still time for a few more questions; send them in via email (chat@pratchatpodcast.com), or social media using the hashtag #Pratchat84.

rWotD Episode 2833: Discworld Diary Welcome to Random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia’s vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Tuesday, 4 February 2025 is Discworld Diary.The Discworld Diaries are a series of themed diaries based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Each one (except the 2008 diary) is based on an Ankh-Morpork institution, and has an opening section containing information about that institution written by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs.The diaries feature a great deal of background information, far more than could reasonably be put into the novels. However, some of this occasionally finds its way into the series proper - the concept of female assassins, the introduction of Black Widow House, and the characters of Miss Alice Band and Mme les Deux-Épées were notable ideas that first appeared in the Assassins' Guild Yearbook, and later in the Discworld short story "Minutes of the Meeting to Form the Proposed Ankh-Morpork Federation of Scouts" in A Blink of the Screen, to then becoming characters and a playable Assassins' Guild House in Discworld MUD.The early diaries are illustrated by Paul Kidby.Those for 2015 and 2016 were by Pratchett aided and abetted by the Discworld Emporium, with additional illustrations by Peter DennisThe diaries are:Discworld's Unseen University Diary 1998 (1997); the cover art features the character Death, possibly the character who appeared in the greatest number of Discworld novels.Discworld's Ankh-Morpork City Watch Diary 1999 (1998); the cover art features the character Commander Samuel Vimes of the Watch, His Grace the Duke of Ankh, in his beloved street uniform, in other words, battered Watchman armor.Discworld Assassins' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2000 (1999); the cover art features the character Lord Downey, the Assassins' Guild leader, with his specialty peppermint (rumored poisoned).Discworld Fools' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2001 (2000); the cover art features Dr Whiteface, the Fools' Guild leader, bursting through a paper hoop.Discworld Thieves' Guild Yearbook and Diary 2002 (2001); the cover art features a "photofit" of Mr Boggis, the Thieves' Guild leader.Discworld (Reformed) Vampyre's Diary 2003 (2002); the cover art features Mr John Not-A-Vampire-At-All Smith, head of the Ankh-Morpork Mission of the Black Ribboners with a cup of steaming brown liquid, likely coffee or hot cocoa.Ankh-Morpork Post Office Handbook Diary 2007 (2006); the cover art features Moist von Lipwig, the Postmaster of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office, wearing his token golden suit and wingèd hat, with Lipwigzers on either side of him.Lu Tze's Yearbook of Enlightenment 2008 (2007); the cover art features Lu-Tze in the lotus position, with his broom in front of him, against a square with the phrase "It won't get better if you pick it" (from the Way of Mrs Cosmopolite).2015 Discworld Diary. First & Last Aid. We R Igors (2014); cover art features Igor.2016 Discworld Diary: A Practical Manual for the Modern Witch (2015); the cover art depicts Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax drawn by Peter DennisThe Terry Pratchett Diary. Terry Pratchett & Friends (2016), aided & abetted by the Discworld Emporium. Illustrations by Peter Dennis. Introduction by Rhianna Pratchett and contributions by Neil Gaiman, Dr Pat Harkin, A. S. Byatt, Professor David Lloyd, Roger Peyton, Colin Smythe, Bernard Pearson, Paul Kidby, Stephen Baxter, Sandra Kidby, Amy Anderson, Jennifer Brehl, Philippa Dickinson, Maddy Prior, Ian Stewart, Malcolm Edwards, Stephen Briggs and Rob Wilkins. Only the dates are given, not the days of the week, so it is suitable for use in any year.The Ankh-Morpork Archives Vol. 1 (2019) and Vol. 2 (2020); anthologies of material written for the Discworld Diaries.There were no diaries published for the years 2004-2006, and 2009-2015; The Discworld Almanak by Pratchett and Bernard Pearson was published in 2004.Due to their limited edition nature, Discworld Diaries become increasingly valuable as they grow older. As of 2016, the 1998 Discworld's Unseen University Diary was available for around £90.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:27 UTC on Tuesday, 4 February 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Discworld Diary on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm long-form Patrick.

Sometimes you didn't mean to write a religious text, you just wanted to keep your barrel furnished. We discuss Pratchett's big work about religion, belief, philosophy and kindness against all odds. With examples of How To Be and a variety of tangents along the way. No one expects the simultaneous inquisition. You can find the Podcast on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/DiningTableDiscworld BlueSky: dtdiscworld.bsky.social E-Mail: diningtablediscworld@gmail.com Our intro and outro music is Beyond Infinity by user BlenderTimer on Pixabay.

In this episode, we go back to the Discworld to discuss the book “Wyrd Sisters”, by Terry Pratchett. The second book in the Witches series, “Wyrd Sisters” parodies and satires “Macbeth, by William Shakespeare” (which we discuss in the episode after this one). We discuss which character would be the only human in the muppets adaptation, critique on theatre, as well as discussing our favourite metaphor of the book (feat. “the fool jingled miserably across the floor”) If you're a fan of all things Discworld, Terry Pratchett, or Cats perceiving ghosts, then this episode is for you. Book Blurb:“Three witches on a lonely heath. A king cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. A child heir and the royal crown, both missing.Witches don't have these kinds of leadership problems themselves – in fact, they don't have leaders.Granny Weatherwax is the most highly regarded of the leaders they don't have. But even she finds that meddling in royal politics is a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe. Particularly when the blood on your hands just won't wash off . . .”Content WarningsNASupport the showRecommend us a Book!If there's a book you want to recommend to us to read, just send us a message/email and we'll pop it on our long list (but please read our review policy on our website first for the books we accept).Social MediaWebsite: https://teachingmycattoread.wordpress.com/Email: teachingmycattoread@gmail.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/teachmycat2read/Tumblr: https://teachingmycattoread.tumblr.comYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXi9LNQv8SBQt8ilgTZXtQListener Surveyhttps://forms.gle/TBZUBH4SK8dez8RP9

Liz and Ben are joined by guest Dr Tansy Rayner Roberts PhD (Classics) to chat about fashion, faith, food...oh, and football. Yes, join us for an episode that goes well into extra time (i.e. it's over 3 hours long) as we discuss Terry Pratchett's 37th Discworld novel, Unseen Academicals. The Wizards of Unseen University are still recovering from the Dean's defection to become Archchancellor of rival Brazeneck College, but they have a bigger problem: if they don't field a foot-the-ball team, they'll lose the bequest that supplies most of their dinners. But the sport has become lawless and violent - a game of the streets in which matches last long into the night and players die. And then there's the fans... But something's in the air. The game's about to change, and at the centre of it are an unlikely quartet of junior University staff: Glenda the sensible baker; beautiful and fashion-conscious Juliet; Trev, son of the game's greatest player; and Mr Nutt, a goblin who's good at everything - except explaining who and what he is... The last of the Discworld books to “star” the wizards, and the longest in the series by a fair margin, Unseen Academicals repeatedly says that it isn't really about football. And, indeed, there's a lot else going on: new ways for both dwarfs and trolls to express their femininity; the internal voices which hold us back from reaching our potential; the struggle between progress and fairness, of power and the people. And at the heart of it, four brand new characters who represent a side of Ankh-Morpork we don't usually see in our protagonists: the regular people, caught up in the Shove. What did you think of Unseen Academicals? Does it have enough football in it, or too much? What are your favourite takes on orcs? What other sports would you like to see come to the Discworld? And do you know where we can get a megapode? Shout out from the Shove using the hashtag #Pratchat83! Guest Dr Tansy Rayner Roberts PhD (Classics) (she/her) is a Tasmanian author of sci-fi, fantasy and cosy crime. Her essay series Pratchett's Women was collected into a book, and her follow up series on Pratchett's men can be found at the online magazine Speculative Insight. Tansy recently reprinted her “Teacup Magic” series of cosy mysteries, and her newest novel is the time travel comedy Time of the Cat. You can find Tansy online at tansyrr.com and as @tansyrr on social media; you'll also find her in our previous live episodes: “A Troll New World” (from Nullus Anxietas 7 in 2019) and “Unalive from Überwald” (from Nullus Anxietas IX in 2024). You can find episode notes and errata on our web site. Next month we're looking at a stack of Discworld ephemera - namely both volumes of the Ankh-Morpork Archives, which collect material from the Discworld diaries, and their sibling publication The Discworld Almanack! If you've read any of those, please send us your questions via email (chat@pratchatpodcast.com), or social media. Use the hashtag #Pratchat84.

"HO HO HO." PJ and Andy meet to celebrate Hogswatch with gerbils, eggnog, and a fine festive Pratchett, with more mergings of sociology and fantasy. Albert and Death have frank discussions about childhood and income inequality amongst celebrations on fiction and belief, as f-frightening Teatime stalks the disc. An extra special episode and a happy Hogswatch to you all. Have you enjoyed Hogfather or Jingo for the first time? Send us a 4 minute clip talking about your experience and we'll publish it next episode. I've Never Read Discworld is available on Bluesky, Facebook and YouTube @discworldgnu And be sure to check out check out some more of our wares: PJ Hart's 'Country Rogues' (BBC iPlayer) feat. James Martin https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022d39 PJ Hart's 'The Divil's Own' (BBC Sounds/Illumination podcast) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001yhg4 Andy's Coastlines After Dark https://books2read.com/coastlinesafterdark And youtube channel @andrewluke

Puzzlers and previous guests Nicholas J Johnson and Lawrence Leung return to play and discuss Leonard Boyd and David Brashaw's 2015 board game Clacks, based on Terry Pratchett's 33rd Discworld novel, Going Postal. Postmaster General Moist von Lipwig has come up with a plan to prove the Ankh-Morpork postal service is still relevant - a race against the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company! The Grand Trunk has a monopoly on the “Clacks”, a system of optical telegraph towers which transmit messages using patterns formed by a grid of six lights - surely they can beat a man on a horse? But the Grand Trunk knows Moist has something up his sleeve, and they're taking no chances - the fastest and best new Clacks operators will have to prove they're worthy of the job by racing each other first... The fifth (and so far final) Discworld board game, Clacks is the second Discworld design by Boyd and Brashaw's BackSpindle games (following Guards! Guards!). Clacks turns the race at the climax of Going Postal into a logic puzzle where up to four players must use punch cards to turn patterns of lights on and off in a grid, hoping to form another pattern which equates to a letter in Clacks code. It's a race to finish your word (or words) first, either against each other, or as a team against Moist von Lipwig - but sharing the same grid of lights makes this puzzle very unpredictable. Is it Discworldy enough? Does it feel like the Clacks technology of the books? Do you find it fun or funny, and do you prefer it collaborative or cooperative? And what else would you play to get your logic puzzle fix? Join the discussion using the hashtag #Pratchat82. Guest Nicholas J Johnson is an author, magician, educator and expert in deception, who goes by the nickname "Australia's Honest Con-Man". You can find details of Nick's shows and workshops, including his upcoming magic show for children at the 2025 Melbourne Comedy Festival, at conman.com.au, or follow him on Bluesky, Instagram or Facebook as @honestconman. Guest Lawrence Leung is a comedian, screenwriter and actor, known to Australian audiences for live and screen comedy, including the 2015 feature film Sucker, and more recently appearances in My Life is Murder, Aunty Donna's Comedy Cafe and Time Bandits. For all the latest about Lawrence, including his upcoming research into seances and mediums in Victorian Melbourne, visit lawrenceleung.com, or follow him on Instagram at @mrlawrenceleung. You can find episode notes and errata on our web site. We'll be kicking off the new year with one of the few Discworld novels we have left - and why not go large with the longest Pratchett novel of all, Unseen Academicals? We'll be lacing up our football boots and dusting off our mortarboards alongside returning guest Tansy Rayner Roberts! Send us your questions via email (chat@pratchatpodcast.com), or social media. Use the hashtag #Pratchat83.

Author and poet* Dr Laura Jean McKay joins Liz and Ben for two of Terry Pratchett's short stories about intelligent animals: “Hollywood Chickens” (1990) and “From the Horse's Mouth” (1972). In 1973 Hollywood, a truck full of chickens overturned on a busy highway, depositing a population of chickens on the verge. A decade and a half later, scientists try to piece together the story of how they developed and evolved in pursuit of a very specific goal... In the town of Blackbury, rag and bone man Ron is amazed to discover that his carthorse, Johnno, can talk. Will their relationship be forever changed by the adventure they share together? These stories don't share too much in common beyond being about animals, but they are a nice sample of Pratchett's writing from two interesting points in his career: towards the end of his early phase of children's stories for newspapers, not long after his first novel was published; and at the height of his early fame - the year, in fact, that he published five novels. You can find “Hollywood Chickens” most readily in A Blink of the Screen, and “From the Horse's Mouth” in A Stroke of the Pen. Do you have a favourite Pratchett short story? What do you think of the way he writes animals? Should we have inserted an ad for Maggi noodles into this episode? What are your best horse pun names, and how would you get to the other side? We'd love to hear from you whether you're a horse, chicken, human or have mutant powers: join the conversation for this episode via email, or by using the hashtag #Pratchat81 on social media. Dr Laura Jean McKay (she/her) is an author, poet* and an Adjunct Lecturer in Creative Writing at Massey University. Her novel The Animals in That Country - “like Thelma and Louise with a woman and a dingo” - has won multiple awards, including the Arthur C Clarke Award. Her latest book is the short fiction collection Gunflower, published in 2023. You can find Laura as @laurajeanmckay on Twitter and Instagram, and find out more about her books on her website, laurajeanmckay.com.au. * Even if she doesn't know it. You'll find full notes and errata for this episode on our website, and you can hopefully still get tickets for Guards! Guards! at the Roleystone Theatre in Perth, which opens on 22 November 2024. Next episode we're back on track to crack the Clacks in the most recent Discworld board game: Clacks! If you have questions about this game recreating the race between Moist and the Grand Trunk company, get them in to us ASAP by tagging us or using the hashtag #Pratchat82 on social media, or emailing us at chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret is a podcast in which your hosts, Joanna Hagan and Francine Carrel, read and recap every book from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series in chronological order. This week, Part 2 of our recap of “Raising Steam”. Peril! Punch-ups! Puns!Find us on the internet:Twitter: @MakeYeFretPodInstagram: @TheTruthShallMakeYeFretFacebook: @TheTruthShallMakeYeFretEmail: thetruthshallmakeyefretpod@gmail.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/thetruthshallmakeyefretDiscord: https://discord.gg/29wMyuDHGP Want to follow your hosts and their internet doings? Follow Joanna on twitter @joannahagan and follow Francine @francibambi Things we blathered on about:Raising Steam: the Marquis de Aix-en-Pains? - /r/Discworld Aeolipile | Steam Turbine, Invention & Usage - Britannica No Such Thing As A Teaspoon Of Coal - (No Such Thing as a Fish) BBC Sounds Cockney Rovers - Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner sing along - YouTubeSwindon: the heritage of a railway town - Google Arts & Culture Brief Encounter (1945) - IMDb Change of Gauge (Entry 206.LV2733) - Omnibus List of rail accidents (before 1880) - Wikipedia Caution! Railway safety since 1913 - Railway Museum175 years making Britain's railways safer - Office of Rail and RoadThe railway traveller's handy book of hints, suggestions, and advice - WikiMedia Commons   ---Music: Chris Collins, indiemusicbox.com  

“The Opening of the Heart” by Allister Nelson Manawaker Patreon: https://patreon.com/manawaker/ Manawaker store: https://payhip.com/Manawaker More info / Contact CB Droege: https://cbdroege.taplink.ws The Flash Fiction Podcast Theme Song is by Kevin McCleod The Producer, Editor, and Narrator of the podcast is CB Droege Author Bio: Allister Nelson is a writer of the fantabulous and darkest corners of the imagination. A psychonaut of the human mind, she loves imaginal realms and grew up with too much Tamora Pierce and Pratchett. She has been published by Apex Magazine, the British Fantasy Society, Eternal Haunted Summer, Luna Station Quarterly, and more. Find selected works at her site: allisternelson.com.

Who needs that Harry Potter jerk?!? Terry Pratchett dipped his toe into the "YA series about a kid learning magic" pool a few years later in his Discworld series about teen witch Tiffany Aching. We're joined once again by pal Ing to dissect this series, which includes Pratchett's final novel. Support us on Patreon and listen to the show a week early! Adam's Patreon Phil's Patreon What Mad Universe?!? on Bluesky What Mad Universe?!? on Twitter Philip's Bluesky Philip's Twitter Adam's Bluesky Adam's Twitter What Mad Universe on Facebook What Mad Universe on Instagram What Mad Universe RSS Feed Engineer/Producer: Alex Ross Theme song by Jack Feerick Additional music: "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens (c) 2024 Adam Prosser and Philip Rice. Music (c) its respective creators. Used under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution 3.0 International License.

On this episode's celebration of board games, we acted like One and promptly disagreed over Discworld Ankh Morpork, plus we talk Rome in a Day, Resist! Confident and a little more on Journeys in Middle Earth. Join our Discord or follow us on Instagram to keep track of what we're up to.

Unfortunately some scheduling issues pushed back our recording of #Pratchat80, and unfortunately we aren't going to be able to bring you that discussion of Making Money until until October. But it has been a very long time since we talked about Going Postal, so Ben thought you might like a recap to tide you over - plus a discussion of some of his favourite Discworld book covers, prompted by subscriber Ian! We'd love to hear about your favourite covers, from any of the various editions of Pratchett's works! Let us know about them using the hashtag #Pratchat79A on social media, or get in touch via email or our subscriber Discord. You can find various covers of the Discworld books via the L-Space wiki, or via the Internet Speculative Fiction Database at isfdb.org. For the isfdb, make sure you choose “Fiction Titles” below the search box when searching for a specific book, then scroll down to the bottom of the list of editions and click the link which says “View all covers for [Book Title]”. Note that not all the covers Ben mentions are at those two sources; we've linked to other sources below where necessary. Ben mentions these favourite covers: The original cover for The Colour of Magic by Alan Smith Pratchett's own original cover for The Carpet People (the image isn't as small as Ben remembered) The new Penguin paperback designs by Leo Nickolls, incorporating Paul Kidby's artwork, especially Moving Pictures. (The link is to the L-Space page Ben put together for these editions, which also gives you handy links to all the books in the wiki.) Paul Kidby's covers for the first UK editions, in particular Night Watch, Going Postal and The Science of Discworld, plus the back cover of the original hardcover edition of The Last Hero Josh Kirby's covers for Eric (the original large format edition), Small Gods, and especially Reaper Man The cover for the graphic novel adaptation of Small Gods by Ray Friesen The Penguin 25th Anniversary edition of Hogfather, with art by BoomArtwork The American hardcover edition of Raising Steam, with art by Justin Gerard The Mai Més Catalan editions with covers by Marina Vidal, especially Equal Rites and The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents We discussed Going Postal way back in 2020, in #Pratchat38, “Moisten to Steal”, with guests Nicholas J Johnson and Lawrence Leung. We'll be back in October with #Pratchat80 discussing Making Money with guest Stephanie Convery.

Recorded live at the Australian Discworld Convention in Adelaide, Karen J Carlisle and Tansy Rayner Roberts join us on stage to discuss short fiction, Death and the last of Terry Pratchett's Discworld short stories, 2004's “Death and What Comes Next”. Somewhere in time and space, a philosopher lies on his deathbed...and Death has come to collect. Only the philosopher isn't convinced he's real, or that any of this is even happening. Will “quantum” and cats in boxes be enough of an argument to dissuade Death from his job? Created for the now defunct Time Hunt puzzle website, “Death and What Comes Next” was written somewhere between 2002 and 2004. At under 1,000 words it's one of Pratchett's shorter pieces of fiction, and contains several jokes he'd go on to re-use elsewhere, as well as a word puzzle which provided a code word for Time Hunt site. You can read the story for free at the L-Space Web, which also hosts fan translations in many languages. Despite its placement in A Blink of the Screen, is this truly a Discworld story? Have you tried to solve the puzzle? How would you challenge Death to delay the time of your passing - and have you thought about what an encounter with the Discworld Death might be like for you? And is Death at his funniest here, or do you have other favourite Death moments? Join the conversation by using the hashtag #Pratchat79 on social media. Guest Tansy Rayner Roberts (she/her) is a Tasmanian author of sci-fi, fantasy, cosy crime and much, much more. Her essay series Pratchett's Women was collected into a book, and her follow up series on Pratchett's men, “Men Who Respect Witches”, can be found at the online magazine Speculative Insight. Her latest novel is a time travel comedy called Time of the Cat, and you can find Tansy online at tansyrr.com and as @tansyrr on social media. Tansy was also a guest on our previous live episode, “A Troll New World”, recorded at Nullus Anxietas 7 in 2019. Guest Karen J Carlisle (he/him) is a writer and illustrator based in Adelaide whose work spans Victorian mystery, steampunk, fantasy and yes, even (mostly) cosy murders. She has some new writing in the works, but her recent “Jack the Ripper thing” is Blood Ties, which you can find via her website, karenjcarlisle.com. You can also find her on Instagram, Twitter and various other social platforms as @karenjcarlisle. As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website. Next month it's back to the books as we rejoin Moist von Lipwig for Making Money! Send us your questions about the book ASAP using the hashtag #Pratchat80.

It's the final leg of the Long Journey as Joel Martin and Deanne Sheldon-Collins answer our Invitation! Both previous Long Earth guests return to discuss the fifth and final of Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter's collaborations, the 2016 novel The Long Cosmos. It's 2070, and a message has been received across the Long Earth: “JOIN US.” Joshua Valienté hears it and gets one of his headaches, but he's still mourning the death of his ex-wife Helen, so he rejects the call to adventure. He goes off alone into the High Meggers, despite multiple warnings that he's too old for this shit. Meanwhile Nelson Azikiwe finds and loses a new family, and goes in search of Lobsang for help. And the Next find that the Invitation is more than two words long, and put into action far-reaching plans to bring everyone together to follow its instructions... The last of Pratchett's novels to be published, The Long Cosmos brings the series to a close. (If you need a recap, see our “The Longer Footnote” bonus episode.) Like the previous book, The Long Utopia, this one also takes place on a relatively small number of Earths - but it has its gaze fairly firmly fixed on the stars above, and wears its influences (especially Carl Sagan's Contact) on its sleeve. Who got their epic first contact novel in our weird parallel worlds travelogue? Is this where you thought the story would go? What would your friends be able to predict about you if they kept a detailed spreadsheet? After five books, is this a satisfying conclusion? Join the conversation by using the hashtag #Pratchat78 on social media. Guest Joel Martin (he/him) is a writer, editor and podcaster now based in the UK. He previously hosted the writing podcast The Morning Bell, and produced The Dementia Podcast for Hammond Care. Joel's previously been on the show to discuss The Long Earth, The Long Mars, The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic, making him our most frequent guest. He recommended the 1989 novel Hyperion by Dan Simmons, along with its sequel The Fall of Hyperion. (There are also two more novels in the Hyperion Cantos series.) Guest Deanne Sheldon-Collins (she/her) is an editor and writer in Australia's speculative fiction scene, working for Aurealis magazine, Writer's Victoria, the National Young Writer's Festival, and as co-director of the Speculate festival. Deanne previously joined us for The Long War and The Long Utopia. She once again recommended Pratchat listener favourite, Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries, which consists of seven novels and novellas. The first is 2017's All Systems Red. As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website. We're off to Adelaide to be guests at the Australian Discworld Convention, where on Friday 12 July we'll be recording a live episode with authors Tansy Rayner Roberts and Karen J Carlisle! We'll be discussing Pratchett's Discworld short fiction “Death and What Comes Next”, and probably more broadly how Pratchett writes about Death (and death). The story is available online at the L-Space Web. We'll mostly be taking questions from the live audience, but you can also share yours via social media (if you're quick!) using the hashtag #Pratchat79.

When we say the word “novel,” most of us think of a book written in prose, split into chapters and possibly parts. But every now and again, we come across novels that defy our expectations. Pratchett's early work not only eschewed chapters – instead presenting the reader with continuous prose divided by section breaks – […] The post The poetry of space – with Oliver K. Langmead first appeared on Breaking the Glass Slipper.

Writer, filmmaker and creative director Lucas Testro joins Liz and Ben on a trip down under to the Other Place as we discuss Terry Pratchett's first ever published short story, 1963's “The Hades Business”. Shady advertising man Crucible arrives home to find none other than old Nicholas Lucifer waiting for him in his study. But he hasn't come to take him to eternal damnation. Instead, the Devil has a business proposition for Crucible: he want to make the public conscious, Hell-wise... At age thirteen (actually fourteen), the young Pratchett scored full marks for this story as a school assignment, encouraging him to try his luck with the editor of his three favourite spec fic magazines. And it worked! As the legend goes, he used the whopping £14 he was paid for the story to buy his first typewriter, and the rest is history...with a few bumps and detours along the way, of course. Was the young Pratchett a genius? Do you know any fourteen-year-olds who've been published alongside Michael Moorcock and Harry Harrison? Are we way too harsh on a story written by a teenager, or is it fair game as an exercise in working where the author of Night Watch and Nation got his start? And what afterlife would you sell - and with what slogan? Get down with this episode's conversation using the infernal hashtag #Pratchat77. Lucas Testro (he/him) is writer, filmmaker and creative director based in Melbourne. He's worked in theatre, television and short film, including the time travel farce I'm You, Dickhead and superhero comedy Capes. He's worked in a variety of capacities with youth creative writing centre 100 Story Building. In 2022 he founded Social Storylab, a media production house that seeks to use persuasive marketing techniques for social good. (He's kind of the anti-Crucible.) You can find Lucas online at manwithajetpack.com, and his excellent three-part audio documentary about mysterious Doctor Who writer Donald Cotton is available via donaldcotton.com or to stream on Soundcloud. As usual you'll find comprehensive notes and errata for this episode on our website. Next episode we finish a long-term goal: the end of the Long Earth series, with the fifth and final novel, The Long Cosmos! We'll be joined by previous Steppers Joel Martin and Deanne Sheldon-Collins. Get your questions in by ASAP using the hashtag #Pratchat78 on social media, or email us at chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

It's the 25th of May, which can only mean one thing: Geek Pride Day! Or Towel Day. Or the Glorious 25th of May and the Battle of Treacle Mine Road...okay, that's three things. Why not add one more? This is the Pratchat Eeek Club: a bonus episode discussing Terry Pratchett-related topics selected by our "Eeek" tier subscribers. This year, the topics are: So it's been a few years of the Podcast. How are you guys holding up? How could one Discworld character use their skills and influence to change the patriarchal nature of the Disc? What is an unwritten Discworld story for you, e.g. maybe a head canon of a specific character, or a general arc of how things came into being or changed on the Disc? Why no gays? (On the Discworld.) Like learning how to not use magic is the whole point of magic, what have you had to learn not to do to make your life easier/better? What other storylines - other than The Watch - would you like to see turned into a television show? A big thank you to all our subscribers for making Pratchat possible, but especially to this year's Eeek Club contributors: Graham, Karl, Jing, the Caths, Jess and Ellie, Stephanie, Nathan and those we didn't hear from. You'll find notes and errata for this episode on our website. Want to make sure we get through every Pratchett book - or even choose a topic for next year's Eeek Club? You can support Pratchat by subscribing for as little as $2 a month and get access to bonus stuff, including the exclusive supporter podcast Ook Club! Click here to find out more.

The scheduling goblins got us this month, and we've had to delay our planned short story episode. But while we get that sorted out, Ben's embracing the chaos - and the theme of Terry Pratchett Day 2024, “Start in the Wrong Place”! Join him as he shares some of your stories of unusual places to start reading Pratchett. If you'd like to honour Terry, you can find a list of his preferred charities (and a recipe for banana daiquiris) at the Terry Pratchett Day page at terrypratchettbooks.com. If you'd like to hear us discuss any of the Terry Pratchett books mentioned this episode, you can find our episodes in our handy list, or this list by book. Or use the Guild of Recappers and Podcasters, where you'll also find Dining Table Discworld, and the “Starting in the Wrong Place” episode of The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret, which Ben can't believe he forgot to mention during this episode. You can find the threads of responses at the links below, and add to them by replying, or using the hashtag #PratchatDay2024. Use #TerryPratchettDay as well to really get into the spirit of things! (Note that on several of these platforms you'll need to be logged in to see some of the responses. Reddit and Twitter had the most if you don't want to visit them all.) Our Reddit post on r/discworld The Twitter thread (yes, we still refuse to call it “X”) Our Instagram post Our Facebook post The Bluesky thread The Mastodon post We'll be back next month on the 7Ath; keep an eye on our social media for confirmation of the next book or story, though also listen out in the feed for something before then!

Episode Notes We return from our unannounced hiatus to explore the horrors of war and take down the real enemy: our friends and peers. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whowatchesthewatch Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/rZzbbQp

I had an amazing time connecting with these wonderful women at our recent Tom Lake Book Club gathering. Ann Pratchett's novel, "Tom Lake," has garnered immense popularity, topping numerous bestseller lists and amassing a dedicated following. Our inaugural book club session, hosted by Agnes Wolfe, the podcast host of Authors' Alcove, brought together a diverse panel including Rebecca Maeve Hartwell, author of "Heart of Flame" and esteemed editor, Marie Manning, an aspiring author, and Amber Letters, a passionate bookworm. Together, we delved into the intricacies of Pratchett's work, sparking lively discussions and sharing our insights. If you are interested in being a guest on my podcast, you may fill out the form on my website: http://authorsalcove.com/be-a-guest You can also follow me on: Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorsalcove Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorsalcovepodcast/ Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agnes-wolfe-20bb47288/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EQYPBl1LtZh08qCdIRHTy?si=aa56d7a9565a49fa YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWVCbL470bDCgeg23kziYAg (possible affiliate links above) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/authorsalcove/message

Kiwi writer and poet Freya Daly Sadgrove joins Liz and Ben from Sydney as we adjust our uniforms and march into the horrible realities of war (class, gender and literal) to discuss Terry Pratchett's thirty-first Discworld novel, 2003's Monstrous Regiment. Polly Perks has cut off her hair, put on some trousers and joined the army under the name of Oliver, all so she can find her strong but gentle-minded brother, Paul. Is soon turns out that her regiment, led by the infamous Sergeant Jackrum who swears to look after “his little lads”, is quite possibly the last one left in all of Borogravia. In her search for Paul, Polly will have to deal with the enemy, the free press, a vampire who might kill for a coffee, Sam Vimes, and The Secret: she might not be the only impostor in the ranks... Coming in between the first two Tiffany Aching novels, Monstrous Regiment - which is also monstrous in size, possibly Pratchett's second longest novel - is the last truly standalone Discworld story. It introduces a wonderful cast of characters who, sadly, we'll never see again. Not only that, but it gives major supporting roles to old favourites Sam Vimes and William de Worde, with a side order of Otto von Chriek! Critics at the time compared it to Evelyn Waugh, Jonathan Swift and All Quiet on the Western Front, and it remains one of Pratchett's most beloved and celebrated novels - both for what it says about war, and about gender. Did you know The Secret before you read Monstrous Regiment? What's it like re-reading it when you do know? How do you feel about the ending(s)? How does Pratchett's handling of gender hold up against our modern understanding? What would you prohibit, in Nugganite fashion? And would you rather have a type of food or clothing named after you? Get on board the conversation for this episode with the hashtag #Pratchat76. Freya Daly Sadgrove (she/her) is a pākehā writer and performance poet from New Zealand, currently living in Sydney. Her first book of poetry, Head Girl, was published in 2020 by Te Herenga Waka University Press, and she is one of the creators of New Zealand live poetry showcase Show Ponies, which presents poets like they're pop stars. Her first full-length live show, 2023's Whole New Woman, blended poetry with live rock music. Freya has a website at freyadalysad.com (though it might not be available at the moment), and you can also find her as @FreyaDalySad on Twitter. As usual you'll find comprehensive notes and errata for this episode on our website, including lots of photos of the components we discuss. Next episode we're discussing two short stories about animals: “Hollywood Chickens” (found in A Blink of the Screen) and “From the Horse's Mouth” (from A Stroke of the Pen). Our guest will be the author of The Animals in That Country, Laura Jean McKay. Get your questions in by mid-April 2024 by replying to us or using the hashtag #Pratchat77 on social media, or email us at chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

Our Monstrous Regiment episode still isn't quite ready, so we've had to push it to April. In the meantime, Ben gets nerdy about some recent Discworld and Pratchett news about books and roleplaying games. A few brief notes: “50 Years of Terry Pratchett” was actually announced in November 2021, marking fifty years since the publication of The Carpet People in 1971. (In Ben's defence, those early pandemic years all blur into one.) It kicked off with a new print and audiobook edition of that book; the new audio version was read by David Tennant! The new Discworld audiobooks and paperbacks from Penguin were published between 2022 and 2023, though the audiobook of Hogfather was released early for Christmas 2021, using the same artwork as the 25th anniversary paperback edition. For more on the books released as part of 50th anniversary celebrations, see the L-Space wiki “50 Years of Terry” article. You can check out the cover design for the new edition of The Last Hero on the Gollancz website. The new paperback edition of Eric was published on 23 February 2023. The new audiobook, read by Colin Morgan, had been previously released with the other Wizards books on 7 July 2022. The Collector's Library edition of Dodger can be seen in the terrypratchett.com announcement. You can see the “Forty Years of Discworld” logo at terrypratchett.com. The “Year of Discworld” was announced on the day of the fortieth anniversary, promising “more on that soon”. Both the terrypratchett.com announcement and Modiphius announcement for Terry Pratchett's Discworld: Adventure in Ankh-Morpork include links to Modiphius' fan survey (it's a Google form). Modiphius also has a mailing list you can sign up to for more news. Ben forgot to mention this, but Modiphius' license is for Discworld “tabletop games”, including board games. No news on those yet, though! We'll be back with #Pratchat76, our proper Monstrous Regiment episode on 8 April. Then in May we'll be reading “Hollywood Chickens” (which you can find in A Blink of the Screen) and “From the Horse's Mouth” (from A Stroke of the Pen, or in earlier form as “Johnno, The Talking Horse” in The Time Traveling Caveman and Other Stories) with guest Laura Jean McKay. Send in your questions about those stories via email, or using the hashtag #Pratchat77 on social media.

www.patreon.com/DestinyComix   www.destinycomix.weebly.com   The Bookeis podcast is NOT ABOUT SPORTS BETTING!!! we are a group of friends who get together each month to discuses a different paperback drawn at random. We discuses children literature, horror, action, any paper back we know to be of quality writing. We have been recording our book club as a podcast since the end of 2016. I hope you enjoy this months discussion.   Nation by Terry Pratchett is a magical work of art. Every Terry Pratchett book is a gift, that should be re read and then given to someone who's never read one of his books. Grow the cult of Pratchett. Join the books as we a review and discus in depth Nation.

Our Monstrous Regiment episode won't be ready until later in the month, but we didn't want to let International Women's Day pass without some kind of comment. So here's a mini episode in your feed recommending some other Pratchett and Discworld podcasts hosted by women and non-binary folks. Here's a list of the Discworld podcasts Ben mentioned: The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret, hosted by Francine Carrel and Joanna Hagan. They covered Monstrous Regiment over three episodes in April 2023: “[REDACTED]”, “The Implication of Hippo” and “Gender is a Fake Drug”. You can support them on Patreon. Disc Coverers, hosted by Iris Jay, Grace Lovelace, Balina Mahigan, and Juniper Theory. Nanny Ogg's Book Club, hosted by Tessa Swelha and Nigel. Their Monstrous Regiment episode was in September 2023. Teaching My Cat to Read, hosted by Eli, M, Ro and Lotti. You can support them on Ko-Fi. Fiction Fans, hosted by Sara and Lily. You can support them on Patreon. Other links from this episode: Our wiki indexing Discworld podcasts is the Guild of Recappers and Podcasters. There's a page for Monstrous Regiment listing all the episodes discussing it. The Melbourne-based charity is independent feminist organisation the Victorian Women's Trust. They've produced their own podcasts, including Money Power Freedom, which was co-hosted by Cal Wilson. We won't link to it, but don't go to internationalwomensday.com; instead you want the official UN Women site, unwomen.org. Our April episode, #Pratchat77, will be with guest Laura Jean McKay, author of The Animals in That Country. We'll be discussing the short stories “Hollywood Chickens” from A Blink of the Screen, and “From the Horse's Mouth” from A Stroke of the Pen. An earlier version of “From the Horse's Mouth” is “Johnno, the Talking Horse”, which was collected in The Time-Travelling Caveman and Other Stories, and in deluxe editions of The Witch's Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories.

Episode Notes We were all so sick during this recording and therefore aren't liable for anything we admitted to doing as teenagers. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whowatchesthewatch Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/rZzbbQp

The Folklore Podcast Christmas Special for 2023.In an interview recorded live at the science fiction and fantasy convention Armadacon, we chat with Pat and Jan Harkin, the husband and wife team responsible for rediscovering all of the Terry Pratchett short stories published together for the first time in the new anthology 'A Stroke of the Pen'.The episode closes with a reading of one of these stories, 'How it all Began' by actor David Tennant.To support The Folklore Podcast on Patreon and help us to keep producing content for the next season, please visit www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast

In this very special Christmas episode, Liz and Ben fly without a guest as they turn the seasonal silliness up to maximum and discuss all eleven stories in Terry Pratchett's 2017 collection of short Christmas stories, Father Christmas's Fake Beard. It's not always easy being Father Christmas. You might be forced out of home by a rogue submarine or the harsh reality of a job where you only work one day a year; you might be sent fifty thousand identical letters by a computer or put on trial for three thousand counts of breaking and entering. But at least you don't live in Blackbury, where giant pies explode, the snow falls so thick you have to dig tunnels to see your granny, and where weird creatures show up every other day. And you won't believe the true stories behind some of your favourite Christmas songs... While he later claimed short stories “cost me blood”, Pratchett wrote scores of stories every year while working in his first newspaper jobs between 1965 and 1979, and continued to sell them to his old papers even after he went to work for the Central Electricity Governing Board. These included plenty of Christmas stories - and eleven of them (well...eight plus three wintery ring-ins) from between 1967 and 1992 are collected in this third volume of his early work for children. Have you read Father Christmas's Fake Beard? Is “Father Christmas” more British than Santa Claus? Do you prefer these (close to) original versions of the stories, or some of the later re-written versions unearthed for A Stroke of the Pen? Have you ever seen one of these stories in their original habitat, the Southwestern British Newspaper? And what should we name our Prod-Ye-A'Diddle Oh team? Join in the conversation on social media using the hashtag #Pratchat73! “Guest” Elizabeth Flux is a freelance writer and editor, and also currently Arts Editor for The Age newspaper in Melbourne. You can find out where Liz's short fiction has been published via her website, elizabethflux.com. “Guest” Ben McKenzie is a writer, game designer and educator who doesn't usually work in short fiction. But you can find a few short Twine games on his website, benmckenzie.com.au. As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website. Next episode we have two actual very special guests: Rhianna Pratchett and Gabrielle Kent! They're joining us for a chat about their new book, Tiffany Aching's Guide to Being a Witch. This will be more an interview than an in-depth discussion about the book (which, we feel we should warn you, include spoilers for some key events and characters for The Shepherd's Crown, but we'll try to keep those spoilers to a minimum). As well as asking our own questions, we want to ask them yours! So send them in using the hashtag #Pratchat74 or via email to chat@pratchatpodcast.com, but be quick: we'll be recording on the 15th of December!

Your hosts discuss the first Young Adult novel on the Discworld, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. They takes a trip down memory lane to a brand new place, and talk about the various YA tropes that Pratchett plays with. Sara also takes us to the pet peeve corner where they try to come up with better alternatives to "male" and "female" as used in A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas.Find us on discord: https://discord.gg/dpNHTWVu6b or support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fictionfanspodThanks to the following musicians for the use of their songs:- Amarià for the use of “Sérénade à Notre Dame de Paris”- Josh Woodward for the use of “Electric Sunrise”Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Episode Notes Our brains aren't well. Idk Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whowatchesthewatch Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/rZzbbQp

Join us on the island for a giant-sized series finale, as guest host Marc Burrows turns the tables on Al Kennedy to talk about formative fandom, anoraks, and the 41st Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown.

24 November 2023 marks forty years since Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic was first published. That's right - it's Discworld's fortieth birthday! To celebrate, join Pratchat producer and co-host Ben McKenzie as he - and a bunch of special guests - try to figure out why that book, and moreso the Discworld series it started, have endured for so long. This episode is something of an experiment for Pratchat, and as Ben says during the episode, this can't possibly cover all the reasons why the series is so beloved. We want to hear about your favourite Discworld books, and what it means to you. And we'd love to know what you thought of this episode, and whether you'd like to hear more like it in the future! Tell us via the hashtag #PratchatRuby on social media, or get in touch via email or our subscriber Discord. Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to this episode: Rachel and Jason of the newsletter Better Than a Poke in the Eye (previous known as Discworld Monthly) Marc Burrows, author of The Magic of Terry Pratchett and creator of the one-man stage show of the same name Adam Ford, poet; find his zines and other gear in his Gumroad shop Danny (aka Molokov) from Nullus Anxietas, the Australian Discworld Convention, coming to Adelaide in July 2024 (hopefully we'll be there!) Ian Banks Aaron from The Compleat Discography podcast Pratchat's own Elizabeth Flux Francine Carrel and Joanna Hagan of The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret Our original discussion of The Colour of Magic can be found in #Pratchat14, “City-State Lampoon's Disc-Wide Vacation”, from December 2018. Our December episode will be #Pratchat73, discussing the stories of Father Christmas's Fake Beard. But we are hoping to bring you one more little extra before the year is out. Want to help us get to every Pratchett book? You can subscribe for as little as $2 a month - and that's cuttin' our own throats! (Sorry.) Check out our Support Us page for details.

Unlike some DJs, Liz and Ben do take requests - like this month's short story! They're joined by comedian and DJ Andrew McClelland to spin discs with the soul collector, as they discuss Terry Pratchett's 1989 short story “Turntables of the Night”. John, one half of the “Hellfire Disco” mobile DJ business, is helping the police with their enquiries. His latest gig, a fairly sedate Halloween party, did not go smoothly - and it all revolves around a mysterious visitor to the dancefloor, who had an unusual request for DJ Wayne... Written for Diana Wynne Jones' 1989 collection of original fiction Hidden Turnings, “Turntables of the Night” came to Pratchett title first. It's a spooky tale of obsession, records, music and death - or rather Death, appearing outside the Discworld for perhaps the first time in Pratchett's writing. Is this fantasy or horror? Did Pratchett really know who Ian Curtis was? Who did he call up to get insight into the DJ trade? What would Death ask you to curate for him? Who would be the crown jewel in his collection now? And which of Pratchett's other short stories do you want us to devote an entire episode to? Join in the conversation using the hashtag #Pratchat72 on social media. Guest Andrew McClelland (he/him) is a writer, comedian and DJ who has often mixed in his other loves, like history, music, DJing and Gilbert & Sullivan, to create the “niche” nerdy and gentlemanly comedy for which he's known. Andy has also frequently collaborated with #Pratchat38 guest Lawrence Leung. As a DJ, Andy works constantly in Melbourne and did indeed open for Cher during her 2018 Australia and New Zealand tour. His club night Andrew McClelland's Finishing School doesn't run as regularly as it used to, but as of this episode it has a 15th anniversary night on 10 November, and an annual 90s night on 24 November. Find Andy on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (if you must) or at his website djandrewmcclelland.com. Finishing School is on Facebook. As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website. Next episode we get into the Hogswatch spirit by opening an entire book of season stories, as we discuss the 2017 collection of Pratchett's children's fiction, Father Christmas's Fake Beard. You can send us questions about any of the stories (which we'll list on our website for reference), or about the book in general, using the hashtag #Pratchat72 on social media. Or send them in via email to chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

Episode Notes World's most sincere podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whowatchesthewatch Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/rZzbbQp

The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret is a podcast in which your hosts, Joanna Hagan and Francine Carrel, read and recap every book from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series in chronological order. This week, Part 1 of our recap of “Thud!”. Burglereah! Murdearh! Trickereah! Find us on the internet:Twitter: @MakeYeFretPodInstagram: @TheTruthShallMakeYeFretFacebook: @TheTruthShallMakeYeFretEmail: thetruthshallmakeyefretpod@gmail.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/thetruthshallmakeyefretWant to follow your hosts and their internet doings? Follow Joanna on twitter @joannahagan and follow Francine @francibambi Things we blathered on about:Black Shuck - Wikipedia The Not-So-Great Bake-Along - Week 1 - Two-Hats TelevisionJanet Jackson had the power to crash laptop computers - The Old New Thing Terry Pratchett interview - Thud! & Where's My Cow? - YouTube Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes - PenguinThe Spectacle of the Panorama - British Library Cyclorama - WikipediaMy Bed - Wikipedia #Pratchat62 Notes and Errata - PratchatFrancis Quarles. Excerpt from "A Feast for Worms."    Music: Chris Collins, indiemusicbox.com 

Liz and Ben are blessed by two returning guests, the Rev Dr Avril Hannah-Jones and Dr Charlotte Pezaro, as they go on one last visit to Roundworld - this time as clerics, wizards and librarians clash over who should take ownership. It's Terry Pratchett's fourth and final collaboration with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, 2013's The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day. Ponder Stibbons has just activated Unseen University's latest “Great Big Thing”, the culmination of six years' research (and spending) into the frontiers of magical knowledge. It summons a side effect: improbably-named librarian Marjorie Daw, from the even less probable universe in a bottle, Roundworld. Marjorie decides to stick around when she discovers her entire universe is under threat: the Church of the Latter-Day Omnians, who believe the Disc is round, think Roundworld should be theirs. After surviving elves and Auditors, will it be lawyers and priests who decide Roundworld's fate? This time in the (really short!) fiction chapters, the wizards barely visit Roundworld at all; Ridcully spends most of his time talking to Marjorie, before the last few chapters detail the trial - sorry, hearing - of the century. In the non-fiction chapters, Jack and Ian do talk about science...but mostly about religion. Their big idea this time revolves around Gregory Benford's ideas of human- and universe-centred thinking. As the fiction pits priests against wizards, you can probably see where this is going. We certainly could, and we'll be blunt: we didn't like it. Is this really a book about science? How do the authors' ideas of “religion” gel with yours - or even Pratchett's previous books and writing on the subject? What did you think of Marjorie Daw? Do you want us to do a special episode with Avril about Scott Morrison's book? And were we too harsh on this book? Join in the conversation using the hashtag #Pratchat71 on social media. Guest Rev Dr Avril Hannh-Jones (she/her) is a Minister in the Uniting Church. While she should be known for her tireless activism for marginalised communities, most people know her for the Church of the Latter Day Geek: an occasional service where science fiction and fantasy stories serve as parables, and cosplay is allowed in the pews. Avril previously appeared on Pratchat back in 2019 to discuss Small Gods in #Pratchat16. Avril posts weekly Reflections on her blog, Rev Doc Geek, tweets as @DocAvvers, and would love to see you at a Sunday service at North Balwyn Uniting Church. Guest Dr Charlotte Pezaro (she/her) is an educator with a PhD in pedagogy and years of experience communicating science and technology, and shaping how it is taught in Australian schools. She last joined us in 2021 for #Pratchat41 to discuss Nation, which is both Charlotte's and Pratchett's favourite Pratchett book. You can find out more about Charlotte at charlottepezaro.com, or her education work at dialogic.com.au. As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website. Next episode it's time for another short story: this time a young adult one Pratchett wrote for Diana Wynn Jones in 1989, “Turntables of the Night”. It was originally published in the anthology Hidden Turnings, but you'll most easily find it in Pratchett's short fiction collection A Blink of the Screen. We'll be discussing this tale of record collectors and DJs with superstar DJ and comedian, Andrew McClelland! Have a read and send us your questions using the hashtag #Pratchat72, or via email to chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret is a podcast in which your hosts, Joanna Hagan and Francine Carrel, usually read and recap every book from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld series in chronological order. This week, an interview with Drs Pat and Jan Harkin! We sat down to talk newspaper archives, A Stroke of The Pen, and all things Pratchett. Find us on the internet:Discord: https://discord.gg/KuVPK2JE5V Twitter: @MakeYeFretPodInstagram: @TheTruthShallMakeYeFretFacebook: @TheTruthShallMakeYeFretEmail: thetruthshallmakeyefretpod@gmail.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/thetruthshallmakeyefretWant to follow your hosts and their internet doings? Follow Joanna on twitter @joannahagan and follow Francine @francibambi Pre-Order A Stroke of the Pen here:Discworld EmporiumWaterstonesThings we blathered on about:A Stroke of the Pen: Terry Pratchett's Lost Stories - British Library event [buy streaming tickets here!] Good Omens bookshop burning/antique sink thread Music: Chris Collins, indiemusicbox.com 

Tolkein, Pratchett, Gaiman ... there have been many great writers who use folklore to underpin their narratives.In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, author, musician and poet Ceallaigh MacCath-Moran joins us to discuss the creative application of folklore in writing. Ceallaigh is the creator of the newsletter, dispatch and podcast 'Folklore and Fiction' which examines folklore scholarship aimed at storytellers and writers. Learn more on Ceallaigh's website at https://csmaccath.com/folkloreandfictionTo support The Folklore Podcast and our portfolio of folklore work and content, please visit our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast where you can also access extra content.

Liz and Ben are joined by guest author Caimh “C. K.” McDonnell as they read a very early and very short chapter in the history of the Watch: Terry Pratchett's 1993 short Discworld story, “Theatre of Cruelty”. When the Watch discover a murdered entertainer with pockets full of change, a string of sausages round his neck, and no witnesses to the crime, the Clues are very unhelpful. But Corporal Carrot is on the case - and when it comes to solving the crime, he knows the way to do it... Written for W H Smith's free Bookcase magazine - a pristine copy of which now fetches a few hundred dollars - “Theatre of Cruelty” was published not long before the second Watch novel, Men at Arms. It packs more jokes into 1,000 words than most people write in a lifetime, and is also a delightful extra outing with the original officers of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. But don't take our word for it: you can read it yourself at the L-Space web. Is it a satisfying murder mystery? Why does Pratchett seem to have a thing for Punch and Judy? And how on Earth did we talk for nearly two hours about such a short piece of writing? Join the conversation - and send us your favourite short stories and cruel bits of theatre - using the hashtag #Pratchat70. Guest Caimh McDonnell is a comedian, writer and author best known for two series of books. The first is the “Dublin Trilogy” comic thrillers, starring Bunny McGarry and a cast of loveable rogues, beginning with A Man With One of Those Faces in 2016 (though see the reading order on his website). The other - as C. K. McDonnell - is the comic urban fantasy series The Stranger Times, about a weird newspaper called The Stranger Times, and beginning with the novel titled...er...The Stranger Times in 2021. Aside from his books you can hear his writing on two podcasts: The Bunnycast for further crime stories, and The Stranger Times Podcast for more Stranger Times. You might also catch him live this Halloween via his Facebook or YouTube accounts! Caimh is on Twitter at @caimh, and his website is whitehairedirishman.com. The Stranger Times series has its own site at thestrangertimes.co.uk. You'll find notes and errata for this episode on our web site. For our October episode, we're going on one last trip to Roundworld as we read and discuss The Science of Discworld IV: Judgement Day with two special guests, including our old friend and Uniting Church minister, the Reverend Doctor Avril Hannah-Jones. We're recording around the 25th of September, so don't delay - get your questions about the book (or the Science series as a whole!) in ASAP via email to chat@pratchatpodcast.com, or on social media using the hashtag #Pratchat71.

At its height, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series accounted for fully 2% of all book sales in the United Kingdom. Over the course of his life he wrote 59 books, achieved knighthood, and created a beloved and hilarious franchise.   What was Pratchett's worldview, and what motivated him to crack jokes about Death and wizards?   Guest Marc Burrows wrote the first authorized biography of Pratchett, and just wrapped up a show about him at the Edinburgh Fringe.   REFERENCED BOOKS AT: www.mightyheaton.com/goodscifi   SUPPORT THE SHOW! www.patreon.com/alienating 

We engage the matrix drive and set course for the Discworld that might have been, as EJ Mann joins us to discuss Terry Pratchett's first attempt at writing a flat Earth, 1981's Strata. 200-year-old human Kin Arad works for the Company building planets - the traditional, oblate spheroid kind. So when deep space pioneer Jago Jalo shows up wearing an invisibility cloak, and says he's discovered a flat Earth full of advanced technology, she can't resist. She's joined by Marco, a four-armed paranoid Kung pilot who thinks he's human; and Silver, a huge, gentle, bear-like and potentially ravenous Shand linguist. But the expedition soon goes wrong: betrayed by Jalo, their ship destroyed, the trio are stranded on a bizarre Disc-world full of dragons, demons and humans with strange beliefs. It's also a duplicate of medieval Europe - but the world is breaking down. It's a race against time as they journey to the centre of the Disc looking for a means of escape - and something is watching them all the way... Pratchett's third novel, the last before The Colour of Magic changed his life forever, Strata is a direct parody of Larry Niven's 1970 sci-fi classic Ringworld. Many of Pratchett's favourite ideas, jokes and themes appear here for the first time. You'll find talking ravens, magic mixed with technology, characters who TALK LIKE THIS and an author taking the fantastic seriously to the point of absurdity. There are even a few bright young things who'll later make it big on the Discworld, like the Broken Drum and Mrs Widgery's Lodger. Did you know this was a parody of Ringworld? Does it stands on its own, or is it doomed to live in the shadow of it's more successful younger sibling? Could Pratchett have made it as a science fiction writer if he hadn't switched to fantasy? And what standalone novel do you wish would inspire a series of 41 similar-but-different novels? Let us know! Use the hashtag #Pratchat68 to join the conversation. Though not on Bluesky, if you're joining us there, because apparently they're too good for hashtags? Guest EJ Mann (they/them) is spec fic fan, occasional spec fic writer (as E. H. Mann), nature nerd and long-time participant and organiser on the Australian convention scene. You can read some of their short fiction at their website, ehmannwrites.com. As mentioned at the top of the episode, EJ currently works for conservation charity Bush Heritage Australia, who work to preserve Australian wildlife by buying and caring for bushland in consultation with traditional owners. You can find out more about them at bushheritage.org.au. As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website. Next month we get back to the actual, honest-to-Glod Discworld with the short story “Theatre of Cruelty”, which we'll be discussing with Irish author Caimh McDonnell! You can most easily find the story in Pratchett's fiction anthology A Blink of the Screen. Get your questions in via social media using the hashtag #Pratchat70 (again, not on Bluesky), or send us an email at chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

We travel from Victorian London to the ends of an Earth as Deanne Sheldon-Collins returns to the podcast to face the consequences of three books' worth of bad decisions in the fourth Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter Long Earth novel, The Long Utopia. It's 2052. Datum Earth is dying a slow death in the wake of the Yellowstone eruption. The Earths next door are building space elevators, while a new way of living emerges in the high meggers. Lobsang has died, Maggie Kaufman has retired, Sally Linsay is off helping settlers, and the Next are covertly recruiting more of their kind to join them in their “utopia”. Joshua Valienté - now fifty and further estranged from his ex-wife and son - says yes when Nelson Azikiwe offers to track down the father he never knew. But Joshua is also having another one of his headaches, which can only mean trouble is brewing in the Long Earth. Sure enough, in the high meggers settlement of New Springfield, fresh pioneers “George” and Agnes discover something is deeply wrong with their new planet. The solution might have long-reaching consequences for all of humanity - and especially for Sally... The first of Pratchett's novels to be published after his death, The Long Utopia feels different to the ones that came before it. (If you need a recap, see “The Long Footnote” bonus episode.) The action takes place mostly on just a few worlds - there's no picaresque travelogue of weird new Earths. One plot thread goes further back in time than we've been before to fill in backstory for one of our main characters, while another stars someone we've never met (and won't meet again). The biggest plot starts like a horror film, but shifts gears into old-school big concept science fiction. Was this what you came to the Long Earth for? Did it feel like a fitting end for...certain characters? Was Pratchett's voice in there for you, or was something perhaps lost as he moved on quickly to other work he wanted to finish? And if stepping could join up different universes, which of Pratchett's fictional worlds would you like to talk to one another - and how would stepping change the Disc? Let us know! You can use the hashtag #Pratchat69 on social media. Guest Deanne Sheldon-Collins (she/her) is an editor, writer and a fixture in Australia's speculative fiction scene, working for Aurealis magazine, Writer's Victoria, the National Young Writer's Festival, and co-directing Speculate, the Victorian Speculative Fiction Writers Festival. Deanne didn't have anything to spruik, but she did recommend - as have many of you! - Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries, which begin with the 2017 novella All Systems Red. The seventh book, System Collapse, will be published this year. As usual, you can find notes and errata for this episode on our website. We're getting back on track in August with #Pratchat68, our delayed episode discussing Pratchett's proto-Discworld novel, Strata, with guest EJ Mann. In September we return to the Disc proper with the short story “Theatre of Cruelty”, which we'll discuss with UK author C. K. McDonnell. Get your questions in for “Theatre of Cruelty" via social media using the hashtag #Pratchat70, or send us an email at chat@pratchatpodcast.com.

Our July episode about The Long Utopia, fourth of the Long Earth series, is going to be late! To tide you over for the next week or so, here's a long footnote of a bonus episode presenting a quick recap of the Long Earth so far. Was this helpful? Would you like a recap like this for any of the other series we cover? Do you dare us to do this for the Discworld series as whole? (Please don't...) Let us know what you think, using the hashtag #PratchatPreviously on social media, or get in touch via email or our subscriber Discord. As mentioned by Ben at the top of this footnote, Liz and Ben appeared alongside hosts from The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret and Who Watches the Watch on the June 18th episode of Al Kennedy's Pratchett interview podcast Desert Island Discworld, “7A.1 Discworld Podcasters and Eric”. Our own discussion of Eric is #Pratchat7, “All the Fingle Ladies”, from May 2018. Our next episode is still #Pratchat69, with Deanne Sheldon-Collins discussing The Long Utopia. Watch out for it in mid July. Want to make sure we get through every Pratchett book (etc)? You can support Pratchat for as little as $2 a month and get access to bonus stuff, including the exclusive supporter podcast Ook Club! Click here to find out more.

We had very little wriggle room this month, so when we couldn't record at the scheduled time, we had to postpone our episode about Strata. That's still coming for the 25th of June, but to make sure you're not left hanging, Ben has conjured up this bonus episode on his own! He'll discuss the latest news in the world of Terry Pratchett - and there's surprisingly a lot - and also have a quick chat with Danny Sag, Vice-Chair of Nullus Anxietas, the Australian Discworld Convention, to talk about what makes fan conventions - and Nullus Anxietas - tick. Which of the upcoming Pratchett projects has you most excited? Are there any specific short stories you think we should have on our list for a whole episode? Have you read any of Gabrielle Kent's books? Are you keen to go to a Discworld convention? Do you really want to hear a bonus episode about how the sausage...sorry, the podcast gets made? And why is this last-minute bonus episode still nearly an hour long??? Use the hashtag #PratchatElsewhere on social media to answer these questions, or get in touch via email or our subscriber Discord. Big thanks to Danny Sag for making time for this episode at the last minute - and for dropping so many hints that he wants us to be guests for Nullus Anxietas 9... We hope we can! That website again is ausdwcon.org. We also mentioned the Pratchett podcasts The Compleat Discography; Radio Morpork; The Death of Podcasts; Wyrd Sisters; I've Never Read Discworld; Desert Island Discworld; The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret; and Who Watches the Watch. Plus two others edited by Ben: Kate and Adele's Bridgerton podcast What Would Danbury Do?, and Brock Wilbur's big weird heart of a show, Caring Into the Void. Next episode is the rescheduled #Pratchat68 discussing Strata with someone who's no stranger to fan conventions, EJ Mann! Then in July, Deanne Sheldon-Collins returns for the fourth Long Earth novel, The Long Utopia, in #Pratchat69. Send in questions using those hashtags on social media, or send us an email at chat@pratchatpodcast.com. You'll find the full notes and errata for this episode on our web site.

Discworld might be the most popular fantasy series you've never heard of. The late Terry Pratchett wrote 41 novels in the Discworld universe. To honor the 75th anniversary of his birth, we look at what fueled his satire, how he put himself into his characters, and why so many Discworld fans find solace and inspiration in his worldview. I talk with Pratchett's former assistant and biographer Rob Wilkins, dramatist Stephen Briggs who adapted many Discworld novels to the stage, cultural critic Emmet Asher-Perrin and Professor Jacob Held, author of Philosophy and Terry Pratchett. Also featuring readings by Pavel Douglas. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp and ExpressVPN. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you're interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here or email us at sponsors@multitude.productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices