We are delighted to announce that Night Watch, widely considered a cornerstone of Sir Terry Pratchett’s work, is being published as a Penguin Classic in April 2025, to coincide with Terry Pratchett Day.
The Penguin Classics series includes the best of world literature, across genres, countries and centuries. Terry Pratchett joins a long and illustrious line of literature’s greats – a hugely welcome acknowledgement of the brilliance of Sir Terry’s literary canon.
Despite his commercial success – and the critical acclaim that came with it – Terry found his work and readers often looked down upon by subsections of the literary establishment during his lifetime, such as:
What they missed out on was the sheer wonder, imagination, humanness and joy to be found in Sir Terry’s words, characters and stories. It’s something millions of readers have embraced over the decades, and comes full circle with this new edition.
Night Watch exemplifies Terry at his finest – with Commander Sam Vimes facing bloody revolutions and corruption, the novel satirises political power, while proving profoundly empathetic, encompassing the importance of community, connection, and the tenacity of the human spirit.
This edition of Night Watch – written at the height of Terry’s imaginative powers – includes a new foreword by Rob Wilkins and an introduction and annotations by Dr David Lloyd and Dr Darryl Jones, contextualising the novel and Pratchett’s far-reaching legacy for new readers and current fans alike.
On the Penguin Classic, Rob Wilkins says, “It’s a gratifying experience to see Terry’s greatest Discworld novel take its well-deserved seat amongst other classic titles of the modern age. For so long, Terry worked against a backdrop of snobbery uniquely targeted at genre writers, it’s heartening to see him once again recognised as the great wordsmith, commentator and thinker that he was.”
We couldn’t be more thrilled by this acknowledgement of Terry’s literary legacy. We can only hope that, alongside us many familiar readers who will celebrate such news, this marks a new chapter for readers to discover Discworld anew, and embark on the incredible journey that awaits.