Terry Pratchett’s Truckers is alive! Again! Maybe!

31 March 2009 (21:18) 3 Comments

An animated adaptation of Truckers, Terry Pratchett’s children’s novel about tiny nomes whose entire world (that is, a department store) is ending, has apparently found a new writer: Slumdog Millionaire’s Simon Beaufoy.

This comes after a flurry of rumors in the past couple of days that Beaufoy would be writing a Wolverine sequel.

Are we right in assuming this means the animated adaptation of Truckers is once again alive? Hopefully. The film has been in development since at least 2001, but has suffered some false starts–Frank Cotrell Boyce’s name has previously been attached to the project as writer.

This January, planned director Danny Boyle (also of Slumdog Millionaire fame) seemingly definitively said the Truckers adaptation was dead: “It’s fallen apart. Frank Cotrell Boyce (Millions) and I were going to do it for DreamWorks but sadly no longer.”

But after Slumdog Millionaire’s awards sweep this year, Boyle and Beaufoy have chosen to start working on an animated Truckers, for Dreamworks.

Links:
Ready2Beat
AceShowBiz
The Playlist
Slash Film

Terry Pratchett commemorative stamps available on eBay

27 March 2009 (17:58) Comment!

Two fans and artists of Terry Pratchett’s writings have created a set of commemorative stamps celebrating Pratchett’s life. The stampsheets are available now on eBay (or by emailing sirterry@stampsmyth.com). Here is the info, straight from the artists’ mouths:

We are Alan Batley and Colin Edwards, two fans of Terry Pratchett and his books from the UK, and two of the artists who worked with Terry on the very first Discworld stamps which you may know from the inside cover of the Going Postal hardback.

We thought it would be a fitting tribute to produce a set of commemorative stamps that celebrated Terry’s great achievements, and were thrilled that after receiving permission (and a lot of assistance with the details) from Terry’s agent Colin Smythe, he suggested that a framed copy of our work should be presented to Sir Terry at the lunch that followed his knighthood.

The 3 stamps celebrate:
40 Years of Published Writing
25 Years of Discworld novels
and his 60th Year, culminating in his Knighthood at Buckingham Palace.

In order to give Terry the very best quality of printing, Alan and I had to buy a small print run of the stampsheets and we are now trying to sell the remaining sheets of stamps to help pay for the printing and perforation of the stamps. A proportion of the royalties from the sales will be donated to Alzheimers charities in the East Anglia region; Alan’s mother had the disease.

We do not have a shop or website so we are selling these on eBay. The item details are at… http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250376103054&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=015

The artwork features an illustration of a very young Terry, based on Colin Smythe’s archive photographs of Terry at the launch of The Carpet People at the very start of his commissioned writing career; and Terry’s early signature from those days.

The central image is of Great Atuin, and the Discworld flying through space, celebrating the 25 years of Discworld novels.

The third stamp in the sequence is of Sir Terry as we all know him today in his trademark black hat and carries the modern signature we are more familiar with today.

Each stamp minisheet is presented with a numbered, certificate of authenticity dated on the day of Terry’s knighthood, signed by both of us, and hand stamped with a silver Great Atuin.

We hope you will take time to have a look at the listing, and might support a couple of fans who wanted to celebrate Sir Terry’s knighthood in an appropriate way, if you do not have an eBay account you can contact us at sirterry@stampsmyth.com for further details.

Thank you and congratulations again SIR Terry! Your recognition for services to literature has been long overdue.

Pictures!
http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/stampsmyth/?action=view&current=triptychcloseupRGB.jpg
http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/stampsmyth/?action=view&current=1minisheetcard2lores.jpg
http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv125/stampsmyth/?action=view&current=1lotsofminisheets.jpg]

Good Omens is Audible.co.uk’s Audiobook Download Of The Year

26 March 2009 (21:51) 1 Comment

Nearly twenty years after it was first published, which book is still a phenomenon? Good Omens, of course. The Neil Gaiman-Terry Pratchett collaboration, narrated by Stephen Briggs, was voted the 2008 winner of the annual Audible.co.uk Audiobook Download Of The Year awards. Sir Terry received his award at a The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, London at a luncheon just after being formally knighted by Her Majesty.

This news is a bit late, but I thought it was still newsworthy all the same.

Thanks to Colin Smythe for the information.

Nation audiobook wins Odyssey Honor Award

15 February 2009 (23:08) Comment!

Announced at the same time as Nation’s Printz honor was the Odyssey Honor Award For Excellence In Audiobook Production for the audio version of Nation, read by Stephen Briggs for HarperChildren’s Audio.

Thanks to Colin Smythe for the heads-up!

Discworld plays roundup

14 February 2009 (20:28) Comment!

There are, as always, many many plays adapted from Discworld novels being performed in the coming months. Here’s some of the newest information:

• Monstrous Regiment
  • Preliminary dates: June 17-20
  • Adapted by Stephen Briggs, directed by Mel Walker and Tim Williams
  • Auditions (for acting and backstage work) at Scout Hut, in Gatting Way, Uxbridge on February 22, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rehearsals every Sunday.
  • URL: http://www.purpletheatre.org.uk
• The Truth
  • March 3-7, in Oxford.
  • Performed by OFS Theatre Group
  • URL: http://www.discworldmonthly.co.uk?redir=OFS2009021
• Wyrd Sisters
  • March 11-14
  • Performed by Leicester University Theatre Society
  • URL: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lutheatre/LUT_entrance.htm
• Wyrd Sisters
  • 7:45 p.m., March 24-28, at Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire
  • Tickets: 9 GBP to 11 GBP, available from Sharnbrook Post Office or Bedford Central Box Office (01234 269519)
• Maskerade
  • 7:30 p.m., March 26-28, at Studio Theatre at The Garage
  • Tickets: 7 GBP, available from Theatre Royal Box Office (01603630000) or online
  • Performed by Norwich Theatre Royal Youth Theatre Company
  • URL: http://www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

Thanks to the Discworld Monthly for information used in compiling this article.

Colour Of Magic theatrical run in New York

2 February 2009 (13:54) 1 Comment

As reported by the New York Times, the Colour Of Magic adaptation is being screened in New York at the Quad Cinema on 13th Street until February 5.

The screening opened January 30. To quote the review:

Originally broadcast on British television and now receiving a limited theatrical run here, “The Color of Magic” mashes together a pair of comedic fantasy novels by Terry Pratchett into one long, rambling saga. Directed by Vadim Jean, who adapted the books with help from Mr. Pratchett, it is by and large a droll, ingratiating affair, albeit one whose rickety effects and lackadaisical pacing are decidedly more suited to the small screen than to the large.

What’s refreshing here (aside from the inimitably British mock-epic tone) is precisely this sense of an immense fantasy played out in a diminished scale. Where even the quietest moments of the “Harry Potter” films bludgeon the viewer with the immensity and expense of their production, “Magic” has a charmingly modest, artisanal feel about it.

Reminder: Nominate Nation

31 January 2009 (13:21) Comment!

Terry Pratchett’s latest book, Nation, is on the Children’s Book Council list of nominations for their 2009 Teen Choice Book Award.

Anybody can participate in this nomination round by filling out a form at TeenReads.com. Titles published in 2008 are eligible, and the five most nominated books will move on finalist status.

The winner will be announced May 2009.

The nominating period ends today, January 31, 2009, so make sure to help out Nation soon!

Terry Pratchett interview in Times

31 January 2009 (12:44) Comment!

An interview with Terry Pratchett published January 25 on TimesOnline.co.uk discusses his experience with Alzheimer’s in the past year and his recently awarded knighthood. To quote the article:

Sir Terry Pratchett cannot help wondering why it was this year - after 30 years as a bestselling writer - that he was honoured with a knighthood: ‘All I know is that on the citation it says ‘for services to literature’, and it would be nice to think that that got me the knighthood - though it may have been for what I stood up for and what I’ve done for Alzheimer’s.’ All in all, Pratchett is treating his recent knighthood with modesty: ‘I am 60. I know exactly who I am,’ he says. ‘I am just me - which is why it’s slightly amusing to be addressed by the postman as ‘Sir Terry”….

When he describes living with Alzheimer’s as ‘a minor flaw in a good, though complicated, year - without it, it would have been a fairly anodyne one’, you can’t help feeling he is underselling his recent literary achievements. Nation, his new book, was an instant bestseller; his Discworld series celebrated its 25th anniversary; and he was at work on two new titles: Unseen Academicals and I Shall Wear Midnight….

“As a science-fiction writer, [knighthood] is an achievement. Despite its popularity, sci-fi is still a ghetto genre. So when a hand of welcome comes from the Establishment, you can do nothing but shake it.”

Nation is an ALA Notable Children’s Book, on Best Books For Young Adults Top Ten

31 January 2009 (12:32) Comment!

In addition to the Printz Honor Award, Nation has been made an American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children’s Book and put on the Best Books For Young Adults Top Ten list.

Nation is the only book this year to be on the Top Ten list and honored by the Printz Committee.

This is the first time a novel by Terry Pratchett made the top ten of the Best Books For Young Adults.

(Thanks to Colin Smythe for the info.)

Pratchett helps launch Science: So What? campaign

28 January 2009 (9:41) Comment!

U.K. science minister Lord Drayson invited Terry Pratchett and other celebrities to meet ministers in Downing Street today to launch the new Science: So What? So Everything campaign.

The campaign wants to promote science as relevant to citizens’ everyday lives and dispel the notion that science is too difficult or only for elitists.

“Continued success in science and technology is vital to our future,” said Lord Drayson, and yet there is still a perception among many of our people that science is too clever for them or elitist in some way.”

Other celebrities invited along with Pratchett are writer Bill Bryson and celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.

Nation awarded Printz Honor

27 January 2009 (17:14) Comment!

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) awarded yesterday one of the four prestigious Michael L. Printz Honor Awards for 2009 to Nation for “excellence in young adult literature.” The honor awards are runners-up to the Printz Award, which this year is Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.

Nation shares the honor award with The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M. T. Anderson, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, and Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan.

The American Library Association (ALA) also announced the Caldecott and Newbery awards yesterday. Neil Gaiman, who has collaborated with Terry Pratchett on Good Omens, had his Graveyard Book receive the Newbery “for the most distinguished contribution to children’s literature.”

Wyrd Sisters play in Southport March 11-14

27 January 2009 (0:21) Comment!

The Sefton Theatre Company presents the stage adaptation of Wyrd Sisters this March 11-14 at the Southport Art Centre Studio.

Evening performances start at 7:45 p.m. GMT. For tickets, which cost £5.50 and £7.00, call 01704 540011.

(Thanks to WOSSNAME for the info.)

Nominate Nation for Children’s Choice Book Awards

25 January 2009 (16:54) Comment!

Terry Pratchett’s latest book, Nation, is on the Children’s Book Council list of nominations for their 2009 Teen Choice Book Award.

Anybody can participate in this nomination round by filling out a form at TeenReads.com. Titles published in 2008 are eligible, and the five most nominated books will move on finalist status.

The winner will be announced May 2009.

The nominating period ends January 31, 2009, so make sure to help out Nation soon!

Carpe Jugulum play in Colsterworth March 6-7

24 January 2009 (18:08) Comment!

Newton’s Players presents a stage adaptation of Carpe Jugulum March 6-7, 2009 at the Colsterworth Village Hall.

The group has previously put on Wyrd Sisters, to great success, in Grantham and Colsterworth.

Tickets are available by emailing mark.wesson@southwitham.net or calling 01476 862039.

(Thanks to WOSSNAME for the info.)

Nation number 10 according to MacLeans

23 January 2009 (19:52) Comment!

Maclean’s magazine posted an updated list of the top ten hardcover fiction books list for Canada on January 22. Terry Pratchett’s latest novel, Nation, received number ten billing.

Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden topped the list, followed by A Mercy by Toni Morrison, and 2666 by Roberto Bolano.

From Rim To Hub Podcast 03: Moist Noodles

23 January 2009 (2:02) Comment!

The third episode of this site’s companion podcast is now live!

Listen as Shoshana tells you all about the latest news relevant to fans everywhere, reads a funny quote from Going Postal, and talks about a former classmate of Rincewind’s.

Wyrd Sisters play in Liverpool January 24-27

23 January 2009 (0:00) Comment!

The Wavertree Garden Suburb Institute (Liverpool) presents Stephen Briggs’ stage adaptation of Wyrd Sisters beginning this Saturday, January 24.

The doors of The Little Theatre of the Wavertree Garden Suburb Institute (149 Thingwall Road, Liverpool, L15 7XJ) open at 7:15 and the performance begins half an hour later. Tickets cost £5, and are available to callers to 0151 220 5909 and 0151 427 5842.

The run will end Tuesday, January 27.

(Thanks to WOSSNAME for the info.)

Living With Alzheimer’s airs early February

21 January 2009 (20:13) Comment!

The official airing dates for the TV documentary Living With Alzheimer’s have been finalized. Part 1 will air on BBC2 on Wednesday, February 4 at 21:00 GMT, and Part 2 will air exactly a week later on Wednesday, February 11 at 21:00 GMT.

Both parts of the documentary, which follows Terry Pratchett for the better part of 2008 as he deals with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, are an hour long.

The documentary is produced by IWC Media and BBC2, and will air as part of a documentary series about mental health and mental health related issues.

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