Friday, May 25, 2007

Terry Pratchett News Update for May 25, 2007

As part of an effort to encourage reading in teenage boys, Education Secretary Alan Johnson of the UK released a list of the top books for boys to read May 16. Secondary schools have the chance to choose 20 books free from the 160-book list. At 103 on the list is Terry Pratchett’s A Hat Full of Sky, second in the Tiffany Aching series.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Terry Pratchett News Update for May 24, 2007

A chat transcript with Terry Pratchett on the Douglas Adams Continuum is online now (scroll down to the first post), where Pratchett (amidst complaints about the font) answers questions about everything – from the movies to the books to his meeting with Douglas Adams. The concise statements include:

I met DNA [note: DNA is Douglas Adams] only once, at a crowded party, where it as almost impossible to be heard, and I think we were almost immediately dragged in opposite directions by people who wanted us to meet interesting people. I have no idea if we would have got on. I was in a hotel in Chicago when I read that he had died, and I sang the Betelgeusian Death Anthem, all by myself. It was a shame.

I don't have a secret desire to write somthing else--if I did, I'd do it. There eill [sic] be a Y/A book that's non-DW next year, though. One book a year is not punishing, but life seems to fill up with other things, [sic]

To judge by the biographies [Douglas Adams] thought writing got in the way of having a good time. For me, it’s the other way round. I get a kick out of it, is the simple answer. When a book is going well, I’m on a high.

Among the interesting bits of news we get what seems to be a confirmation that The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are being adapted together by Sky after the tremendous success of Hogfather. Additionally, an illustrated Wee Free Men (of the YA Tiffany Aching series) is in the works, possibly in the style of The Last Hero.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Terry Pratchett News Update for May 23, 2007

At the BAFTA Television awards three days ago, the Hogfather team was honored with a second prestigious award. Beating out Dispatches – War Torn: Stories of Separation, Meltdown and the Big Climate Change Experiment, and The Secret Policeman’s Ball, the Terry Pratchett adaptation won the Best Interactivity BAFTA award. Aidan Conway, Giles Pooley, Rod Brown, and Ian Sharples were recognized especially. Congrats to them and the entire Hogfather team!