'Painstakingly selected' Discworld illustrations to Gollancz

Gollancz has acquired Terry Pratchett's Discworld Imaginarium, a portfolio of illustrations from Discworld artist Paul Kidby.

Orion Group Publisher, Jon Wood, and Gollancz digital publisher, Darren Nash, acquired the rights from Rob Wilkins at Dunmanifestin Ltd, which controls the copyright to all Sir Terry Pratchett’s works, including his Discworld characters and creations. The 272-page full-colour volume will publish on 23rd November and retail at £35.

Kidby - whom Sir Terry once said came "the closest anyone's got to how I see the characters" - provided the illustrations for The Last Hero (Gollancz), designed the covers for the Discworld novels since 2002 and is the author of the bestseller The Art of the Discworld (Gollancz) and Terry Pratchett's Discworld Colouring Book (Gollancz).

The book will comprise his favourite Discworld illustrations in what Gollancz is calling a "definitive" volume of his work. It includes 40 pieces of never-before-seen art, 30 pieces that have only appeared in foreign editions, limited editions and Book Club editions, and 17 book cover illustrations since 2004 that have never been seen without cover text.

Publishing simultaneously there will also be a £75 Special Edition of the book featuring: a variant cover, a new piece of art produced exclusively for the edition and signed by Kidby, metallic page edging, a marker ribbon and a specially-designed slipcase. 

Artist Kidby said: "I am delighted to present the Discworld Imaginarium: a comprehensive collection of my favourite illustrations painstakingly selected after many weeks spent rummaging through my portfolios. The resulting pages of this book not only look back at works past, they also look forward – with newly created artworks in celebration of the amazing ongoing legacy that Sir Terry Pratchett created for us all."

Last week, photos from Pratchett's personal collection set to form part of an exhibition at Salisbury Museum were revealed.

The much-loved author died in March 2015 aged 66 after suffering from posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), a type of Alzheimer’s.