January 2008

Barnes & Noble interviews Terry Pratchett

26 January 2008 (15:01) Comment!

On Barnes & Noble’s Meet the Writers Podcast, an episode devoted to Terry Pratchett released last month is available on the podcast feed. Terry Pratchett gets asked all the usual: working at a nuclear power plant, working as a journalist, and his writing process and inspirations.

The Origin of the Species, by “old Charlie”: “Charles Darwin could write a book. It really was a great popular science book. I suppose you could say it was the first popular science book, and it was deservedly popular.”

Being a press officer: “You get home and you’ve been taking all the weird stuff the world can throw at you and just sitting and banging away at a keyboard was how I got through it.”

Becoming a full-time writer: “I can remember the day when I realized that I’d never need do an honest day’s work as long as I lived, if I was careful. It was a bit of a Disney moment. You know, the little tweety birds went round and round my head.”

Satire in the books: “Someone said you can pretty much tell what kind of things were in the news six months ago by reading a Discworld book, because there are kind of shadows of real world events. I don’t think this is entirely true. I mean, people said of the book Thud! that ‘Ah, yes, that’s based on the current situation in the Middle East, isn’t it?’ and I said ‘No,’ because … the current situation in the Middle East has been the current situation in the Middle East for years and years.”

For more on Neil Gaiman and Good Omens, journalism, “draft zero”, and gardening, take a listen to the fifteen minute podcast.

Pratchett: 38th Most Borrowed Author

21 January 2008 (17:49) Comment!

On the site of Public Lending Right, an organization which promotes “the right for authors to receive payment … for the loans of their books by public libraries,” the 2005-2006 list of the top authors whose books are borrowed from public libraries was released. On the July 2005-June 2006 Most Borrowed Authors List (pdf), Terry Pratchett is ranked at 37, beating J.K. Rowling at 38.  Other authors on the list include Jacqueline Wilson, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith, and Roald Dahl.  On the previous year’s list (pdf), which used records from July 2004 to June 2005, Terry Pratchett’s rank was 28.

New Terry Pratchett interview

20 January 2008 (12:02) Comment!

A new interview with Terry Pratchett was released recently on the French website ActuSF. To quote some parts of the interview:

Actusf: There are many characters who return throughout the Discworld. Authors often have peculiar relationship with their heroes. How do you consider these characters? Old friends?

Terry Pratchett: In a way. You can’t live with them for as long as I have without liking them. I respect the integrity of their characters — that is, I cannot change them beyond their natures as they have appeared in the books — but I know that they are not…real.

Actusf: You write mainly inside the Discworld. Don’t you feel somehow locked into it?

Terry Pratchett: Not at all. It gives me immense freedoms. And even the restrictions aid creativity.

Actusf: Until when will you pursue Discworld ? What could put an end to it?

Terry Pratchett: Me dying. I don’t intend to write the official Last Discworld Book, but I may slow down.

Actusf: What inspires you the most: Books or events? Why? Which event of this last year would you like to grant a role in a future plot?

Terry Pratchett: Events inspire me the most. As for recent news, well, we’ll wait and see…

Please keep in mind that the interview was probably translated from French.

The top 7a events of 2007

18 January 2008 (12:04) 4 Comments

Not only have we redesigned FromRimToHub.com in celebration of the new year, but we’ve also decided to look back at all the excitement of last year. Not only did FromRimToHub.com officially launch, but we’ve compiled a top 7a list of the most interesting, exciting, and popular news stories of the year 2007.

• The announcement that a film adaptation of The Colour of Magic would begin production after the enormous success of Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather was huge news. Amid hopes that this film, too, would win awards, break records, and be as popular as the previous were fears that plot changes, casting, and direction would ruin Discworld forever. The results are yet to be seen, but hopes are high. We’ve seen the poster, a long cast list full of big-name actors, and seen the launch of the Colour of Magic’s production site. The questions on everybody’s mind, though, are “How will the film turn out?” and “Just who is playing the Patrician?”
• Terry Pratchett, in celebration of the release of Making Money, has toured countries on both sides of the Atlantic, giving new and old fans alike the chance to meet their favorite author. Though sad news about Terry Prachett’s health mean his touring schedule will be much lighter from now on, Discworld readers all relished this chance.
• Terry Pratchett took part in the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. in September. His invitation shows Discworld’s growing popularity in the United States he entertained his large audience with witty anecdotes as well as some heartfelt statements, garnering him a good review in the official National Book Festival newsletter.
• Though U.K. fans had already seen the TV adaptation of Hogfather (complete title Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather), American fans finally got the chance to see the mini-series air on Ion TV this November and December, as Hogfather aired at least three times during the “holiday season.” Also, the announcement of the American DVD wide release date of March 4, 2008 left this fan, at least, jumping for joy.
• The sad news of Terry Pratchett’s diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s left the fandom in a sad mood, and the news continues to spread through the internet community. Terry Pratchett took it with characteristic humor, however, saying, “I know it’s a very human thing to say “Is there anything I can do”, but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.”
• The next book in the Discworld sub-series featuring Moist, Terry Pratchett announced, would be called Raising Taxes, which will show Moist’s attempts to, well, raise taxes in Ankh-Morpork.
• With the sequel to Going Postal, Making Money, readers found the return of Moist as a recurring character in the series. Favorites Adora Belle Dearheart and the golems also made an appearance in the September release of Making Money
• Another book to look forward to in the next few years is one which will continue to follow Tiffany Aching in her witchy adventures, to be titled I Shall Wear Midnight. Younger readers of the Discworld series hailed the news with delight, but took the vinegar with the sugar as they learned that I Shall Wear Midnight would be the last Tiffany Aching young adult book.

So all that’s left is to wish everyone a very happy (and very belated) 2008, the 25th anniversary of our beloved Discworld series!

Wyrd Sisters radio broadcast on BBC7

12 January 2008 (13:02) 2 Comments

BBC7 broadcast a 4-part radio version of Wyrd Sisters last Monday through Thursday at 6:00 p.m. (GMT). If you missed it, the site offers the audio files as part of the “listen again” program (First, navigate to the day of the broadcast you want, then scroll down to the evening broadcasts to 18:00-18:30). Last Monday’s broadcast will be available until Sunday (tomorrow), last Tuesday’s until next Monday, and so on.