Penguin Modern Classics is Due to Publish an Annotated Edition of  Terry Pratchett’s Night Watch

Publishing Date Will Coincide With Terry Pratchett’s Day
28th April – The Year of Terry’s Decennial

Penguin Modern Classics will publish an annotated edition of Night Watch, the 29th novel in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, in April 2025, to coincide with Terry Pratchett Day on 28th April, in the year of his decennial.

This edition of Night Watch 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. The novel follows Sam Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, whose pursuit of a serial killer accidentally throws him back into the city’s – and his own – past. It is a keen satire about the true nature of political power, and the sacrifices made in the name of the greater good; but also a profoundly empathetic novel about community, connection and the tenacity of the human spirit.

Sir Terry Pratchett OBE was the acclaimed creator of the beloved Discworld series, which began in 1983. In all, he was the author of over 70 bestselling books, selling over 100 million copies in more than 40 languages worldwide. His novels have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes. He was awarded a knighthood for services to literature in 2009, although he always wryly maintained that his greatest service to literature was to avoid writing any.

Rob Wilkins, Managing Director of Terry Pratchett’s estate, 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.”

Ka Bradley, Editorial Director at Penguin Press, says: “It is an unmitigated joy to be able to publish Sir Terry Pratchett – one of the most influential British writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – as a Penguin Modern Classic. I am thrilled to be able to celebrate his literary achievements and the immensely high esteem he is held in by readers and other writers with this edition of Night Watch, his finest novel.”