Why Collect Terry Pratchett First Editions?

Terry Pratchett’s books have an enduring appeal which shows little sign of abating despite his untimely death in March 2015. His books largely combine fantasy and science fiction with a mischievous humour. His first published book was The Carpet People, a comic fantasy published in 1971 by Colin Smythe Ltd. He moved on to publish The Dark Side of the Sun in 1976 and Strata in 1981, both within the science fiction genre and both published by Colin Smythe.

The books and ephemera we currently stock fall within 5 main categories:

• Discworld collection : Arguably one of the best known science fiction / fantasy series, and especially adored within the UK. Terry Pratchett started the series in 1983 and it proliferated into not just over 40 books, 19 plays (many written in collaboration with Stephen Briggs), and 4 Science of Discworld books, but also a multitude of guides, yearbooks, calendars and diaries etc within the Discworld Companion Series., as well as books such as The Folklore of Discworld by Jacqueline Simpson and Terry Pratchett... whilst not exhaustive this list also includes the "Story of Discworld" series such as Wintersmith aimed at younger readers.

• Signed Terry Pratchett books: Terry Pratchett signed books are not uncommon, but there’s much debate in forums on the authenticity of Terry Pratchett signatures in books, especially as his signature changed as time went on. The safest way to be certain of the authenticity of books signed by Terry Pratchett is when there’s a holographic stamp - however, as far as we know he only started using these in the 2010s. Doubleday also started using a stamp with the “Official Signature” of Sir Terry Pratchett OBE which may be with or without the holographic stamp. Given that Terry Pratchett became Sir Terry in 2009 be sure the stamp is in a book published from 2010 onwards! Limited editions often carry a signature page as well. If the book you’re interested in doesn’t have any of these then check with the seller for the provenance / how they are confident of the authenticity of the signature.

• Terry Pratchett Special Edition books:Doubleday produced special editions for example I Shall Wear Midnight, with a special fan’s cover, featuring photos of over 2,000 fans. Some of these editions are also signed. Many of the special edition books are also limited editions.

• Graphic Novels: We’ve stocked several of Terry Pratchett’s graphic novels at various times, including Mort and Guards! Guards!

• Terry Pratchett First Editions: Terry Pratchett wrote 24 books that are not set in the Discworld universe. Within this category of books there’s another much smaller series:
• The Long Earth : There are 5 books within this series, written with Stephen Baxter. Unlike Discworld it’s grounded in planet earth - viewed, of course, through the creative lenses of Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. The series includes: The Long Earth; The Long War; The Long Mars; The Long Utopia; and The Long Cosmos
• Good Omens is a notable book within this category, written in collaboration with Neil Gaiman, and turned into a series starring David Tenant and Michael Sheen. Please note this list is by no means exhaustive!

We hope you enjoy browsing our current collection. We’re constantly acquiring books and updating our online stock and send a monthly email listing our latest acquisitions which you can subscribe to here.