Transworld to publish lost Terry Pratchett story featuring fan artwork

A new lost story by the late Sir Terry Pratchett, “Arnold, the Bominable Snowman”, has been discovered and will be published by Transworld in September 2024 as part of a new paperback story collection.  

A free version of the story will be made available online, while a competition is being launched in search of fan artwork to feature in the paperback. 

A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories, published by Transworld last year, collected 20 rediscovered tales the 1970s and 1980s, when Pratchett wrote under a pseudonym. At the time, they were believed to be the last stories by Pratchett.  

“Arnold, the Bominable Snowman” has since been discovered and will appear in the paperback edition of A Stroke of the Pen, which will publish in September 2024. Transworld said it will also make the story available online for free so “that those who bought the hardback do not miss out on this tale”. 

The publisher added: “In celebration of the unexpected turn of events, Penguin Books [is] running a contest for fans to have their illustration printed in this new edition of A Stroke of the Pen, asking readers to submit a black and white drawing of what they think Arnold, the Bominable Snowman looks like. There are two age groups: Children (age four to 15); and Adult (16 plus). Full details, terms and prizes can be found at the Terry Pratchett Books website. 

A preview from the story, provided for competition hopefuls to work from, reads: “Once upon a time there was a snowman. He wasn’t an abominable one, like the ones that grunt and sneeze up on distant Tibetan mountains, but quite English and completely bominable...”. The deadline for entries is 31st May 2024. 

Rob Wilkins, manager of the Terry Pratchett Estate, said: “I remember being en route to Taunton Literary Festival to talk about A Stroke of the Pen and how there would definitely, never, ever be any more new Terry Pratchett stories, then receiving the call that there had been one final discovery.  

“I previously said that Terry would be tickled to see the prior found stories celebrated in one volume; I think he’d be just as tickled to know that he has surprised us yet again, and that we have been given one further look into his work before he became the Terry Pratchett we know and love.”  

Rose Green, commissioning editor at Doubleday, added: “Bominable snowmen, like their abominable cousins, are famously hard to find, so it seems only fitting that this final story eluded us until now. We’re delighted to be able to unite this lost short story with its companions and to share it with fans.”