Part 2:

They will be performing the play, which has been adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs, from May 16 to 19 at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall at 7.30pm.

Guards! Guards! is a fantasy comedy based on Terry Pratchett’s best selling Discworld novel of the same name.

It tells the story of the slightly inept Night Watch of the great city of Ankh-Morpork as they attempt to unravel the mystery surrounding the appearance of a fire breathing dragon, hell bent on taking the city for itself.

Read the full article on the This Bristol website  or visit the Sodbury Players website to book tickets.

Terry picked the winners himself and has been fully involved in the creative processes in bringing these books to readers.

About ‘Half Sick of Shadows’

On the eve of Granny Hazel’s burial in the back garden, a stranger in his time machine – a machine that bears an uncanny resemblance to a Morris Minor – visits five year-old Edward with a strange request. And Edward agrees to be his friend.

But Edward is not alone in the world. His twin sister Sophia is about to bring future tragedy upon herself through an all-too-literal misunderstanding of a promise she’s made to their father.

So while Sophia stays at home, seemingly condemned to spend the rest of her days in The Manse – a world untouched by modern trappings – Edward is sent to boarding school. There he encounters the kind and the not-so-kind, and meets the strangest child. His name is Alf, and Alf is a boy whose very existence would seem to hint at universes of unlimited possibilities…and who might one day help Edward liberate Sophia.

With its Gothic backdrop, Half-Sick of Shadows is a novel of many parts: at once a comical tragedy, a dark and dazzlingly told tale of childhood wonder and dismay, of familial dysfunction, of poetry, the imagination and theoretical physics.

About ‘Apocalypse Cow’

When scientists with warped imaginations accidentally unleash an experimental bioweapon that transforms Britain’s animals into sneezing, bloodthirsty zombies with a penchant for pre-dinner sex with their victims, three misfits become the unlikely hope for salvation.

Abattoir worker Terry Borders’ love life is crippled by the stench of death that clings to his skin from his days spent slaughtering cows; teenage vegan Geldof ‘Scabby’ Peters alternates between scratching furiously at his rash and baiting his overbearing New Age mother; and inept journalist Lesley McBrien struggles forlornly in the shadow of her famous war correspondent father and the star journalist at the Glasgow Tribune.

When Britain begins a rapid descent into chaos and ministers cynically attempt to blame al-Qaeda, Lesley stumbles upon proof that the government is behind the outbreak. During her bumbling quest to unveil the truth, she crosses paths with Terry and Geldof, and together they set out to escape a quarantined Britain with the evidence and vital data that could unlock a cure for the virus.

Standing in the way are rampaging hordes of animals, a ruthless security agent and an army ready to shoot anybody with a case of the sniffles on the off-chance the virus has mutated.

Three losers. Overwhelming odds. A single outcome: the world is screwed.

Available from all good physical and ebook retailers.

The Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company is proud to announce that it shall be performing a rendition of Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company for fans and newcomers alike between the 23rd and 26th May.

For those that loved the original novel, watch your favourite characters come to life by some of the greatest amateur talent on the Roundworld.

Tickets are priced at £8/£10, and can be bought online at:  www.boxmoorplayhouse.co.uk

The majority of Pratchett’s literary output focuses on the fictitious world of DiscWorld, a flat planet held up by four elephants which stand on a giant turtle which is slowly travelling through space. One could describe his work as fantasy meets fairytale, folklore, quantum physics and philosophy, but they also tellus a lot about psychology .

Read the full article on The British Psychological Society website

The first five Discworld titles—The Colour of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Equal Rites, Mort and Sourcery—will all be published as £7.99 paperbacks on 21st June with stripped-down covers, each focusing on one element from the original cover’s illustration. Also in June comes the hardback release of the first novel in Pratchett’s collaboration with sci-fi author Stephen Baxter, The Long Earth (21st, £18.99), set in 1915 and 2015.

The paperback of the last year’s bestselling Snuff will also be published on 7th June, priced £7.99, as will The World of Poo (£12.99, hardback), a spin-off title from Snuff penned by Discworld’s premier children’s author, Miss Felicity Beedle. It features line-drawings, and is produced in the style of a Victorian children’s book as a gift-sized hardback.

In the autumn comes Dodger (13th September, hb, £18.99), a new Pratchett title published by Random House Children’s Books, and inspired by Dickens’ Artful Dodger character in Oliver Twist. Set in Victorian London, it features characters including Dickens, Disraeli and Queen Victoria.

Read the rest of the article on The Bookseller website.

Tickets are £11.50, concessions £10.50 and all Saturday matinee tickets are £9.50.

Buy 10 and get the 11^th free!

Tickets can be booked over the phone on 01483 44789 or online on The Electric Theatre website  (a small booking charge does apply).

Are you an avid Discworld Fan? Then have your picture taken with your favourite character after the show!

I Shall Wear Midnight is the fourth book in a Discworld plot sub-arc featuring the young witch Tiffany Aching, but that doesn’t mean you should pass it by if you haven’t read the first three. I hadn’t! It always adds a little something if you’re familiar with the recurring Discworld characters like Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and the Watch, but the books are written so that you can pick any of them up at any point and still be in for a wonderful journey. Pratchett’s style is just descriptive enough that, even without having read the three preceding Tiffany Aching stories, I didn’t feel like I missed out on any of the necessary details, and certainly never felt lost. I only every felt perfectly in tune with the characters and plot, and entirely absorbed into Tiffany Aching’s world.

Read the full review on the Nikki/Brewer website.

The pair of Mallards – nicknamed Peter and Paul by carers – were found paddling in a stream in Vivary Park, Taunton, this week.

Luckily they were scooped up by two animal lovers and taken to Secret World Wildlife Rescue, in nearby East Huntspill.

After being cared for they will be released back into the wild. Secret World staff are busy meeting visitors on their four-day Easter Open Weekend – which they hope will raise cash for their £4.4 million Call of the Wild Appeal.

The project, launched by Sir Terry Pratchett, aims to build a new wildlife teaching hospital and education centre.

Read the full article on the  Taunton People website.