A few of our most-used reference tools: Discworld-specific, Discworld-adjacent, and fascinating miscellany.
A work in progress!
Discworld & Pratchett resources
Official resources
Publisher sites
Official merchandise etc.
- The Discworld Emporium – very long-running association with Pratchett. See Terry Pratchett and the Discworld Emporium. Both an online emporium and physical shop (Wincanton, Somerset, UK). Founded by the inestimable Bernard Pearson.
- Discworld.com – run by Sandra and Jo Kidby. Originally focused on Paul Kidby’s art, now sells lots of other (official!) stuff.
The Cunning Artificer
- And He Said To Me – a podcast of conversations between Bernard Pearson, the Cunning Artificer (sculptor of Discworld models, great friend of Sir Terry’s) and his equally delightful wife Isobel. Full of rememberings.
- The Cunning Artificer blog – Bernard’s site, dedicated to the memory of Terry Pratchett.
Pratchett’s own words
A Slip of the Keyboard
An anthology of Terry Pratchett’s essays, articles, speeches and other non-fiction. Includes advice for writers (well, a bit), amusing anecdotes, genre musings, raging against the dying of the light etc.
Terry Pratchett’s forum comments on alt.fan.pratchett
Sir Terry’s comments on the alt.fan.pratchett forum/newsgroup. The comments span from the early 90s to 2008.
In 1999, Pratchett wrote an editorial saying he had been forced to “very publicly log off” newsgroups devoted to his work, as he feared accusations of plagiarism from speculative commenters or writers of fan fiction (A Slip of the Keyboard, Wyrd Ideas – originally published in The Author).
Despite this, there are 3,352 comments of Pratchett’s to peruse. If you want to narrow it down, add a keyword after the author search term (e.g. authorname:”terry pratchett” “good omens”).
Compiled & created by fans
See also: L-Space Wiki’s Fandom page
L-Space Wiki
A Wiki with thousands of articles on everything Discworld and Pratchett.
Places to start:
- Annotations
- Browse by character
- Incomplete articles (if you reckon you can help out)
- L-Space
- Multiple Exclamation Marks
- Random page
- Reading suggestions (non-Pratchett)
The Annotated Pratchett File
Annotations for each Discworld novel (and some other Pratchett works) – including input from Sir Terry himself. Collected and edited by Leo Breetbart.
I particularly enjoy Words From the Master – a collection of miscellaneous answers from Terry Pratchett. – F
Chris Jones – Terry Pratchett Quotes
A comprehensive, well-archived collection of Terry Pratchett quotes. Organised by subject, book and character. Put together with love and care – a cut above Goodreads et al.
Discworld Podcasts
The Truth Shall Make Ye Fret (obviously)
Who Watches the Watch: A Discworld Podcast
Miscellany
Books
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
Originally published in 1870 by Dr Ebenezer Cobham Brewer.
Brewer’s is the place to start when you need to know the origins of a literary allusion, folklore, or obscure axiom. It was one of Pratchett’s favourites. As he said,
. . . you might not find what you’re looking for, but you will find three completely unexpected things that are probably more interesting.
Brewer’s Boy, Foreword to Brewer’s Edition of Phrase and Fable Millennium Edition (1999) – also in A Slip of the Keyboard
Dr Brewer compiled the Dictionary with help from readers of his earlier works. This correspondence allowed the book to become truly eclectic. Flipping through a copy just now, we learned that:
- Orange blossom is the conventional decoration for a bride at a wedding (a custom that came to Britain from France in around 1820)
- Medieval scientists believed that the hare was a melancholy creature that tried to cheer itself up by eating chicory
- The word ‘Slughorn’, as in ‘battle trumpet’, is a result of 18th Century poet Thomas Chatterton misreading ‘Slogan’ and giving the word a definition that suited his verse (‘Some caught a slughorne and an onsett wounde’, The Battle of Hastings, 1770).
There are now 20 editions of Brewer’s to choose from. Our readers might like the Millennium edition, as it includes a foreword from Pratchett. It’s a bloody massive book, so we recommend keeping your copy on your desk rather than carting it around in your handbag. Trust us on this.