Discworld

Discworld

Cover of an early edition of The Colour of Magic; art by Josh Kirby
List of books
Author	Terry Pratchett
Cover artist	Josh Kirby (1983–2001) Paul Kidby (2001–2015)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Comic fantasy
Publisher	Corgi Victor Gollancz Doubleday Colin Smythe Random House
Published	1983–2015
Media type	Print: Hardback, paperback
No. of books	41 novels
Website	discworld.com

Discworld is a comic fantasy book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett (1948–2015), set on the fictional Discworld, a flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, Charles Dickens, and William Shakespeare, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, often using them for satirical parallels with current cultural, political and scientific issues. The series is popular, with more than 80 million books sold in 37 languages.

Forty-one Discworld novels have been published. Pratchett, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, said that he would be happy for his daughter Rhianna to continue the series when he is no longer able to do so. However, Rhianna has stated she will only be involved in spin-offs, adaptations and tie-ins, and that there will be no more novels. The original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to Thief of Time (2001), had distinctive cover art by Josh Kirby. The American editions, published by Harper Collins, used their own cover art. Since Kirby's death in October 2001, the covers have been designed by Paul Kidby. Companion publications include eleven short stories (some only loosely related to the Discworld), four popular science books, and a number of supplementary books and reference guides. In addition, the series has been adapted for graphic novels, for the theatre, as computer and board games, as music inspired by the series, and repeatedly for television.