Midnight opening and first reading of Shepherd’s Crown

Friday, 7th August , 2015

Waterstones Piccadilly marks final Discworld novel with midnight opening and first UK reading.

7th August 2015 – London

The publication of THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN, the final Discworld novel by beloved author Terry Pratchett, will be celebrated with a midnight opening and first UK reading at Waterstones’ flagship shop in Piccadilly, London on Wednesday 26th August.

A limited number of tickets will be available to Pratchett fans, enabling them to be part of a special in-store event and one of the first people in the world to get their hands on a copy of THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN on the day of publication. Commemorative tickets will be sent out on purchase which will give the holder access to a magical in-store evening.

Doors will open at 10:30pm whereby ticketholders will be admitted entry. Fans will be entertained in-store throughout the course of the evening leading up till midnight. All books on the night will be exclusively stamped to mark the occasion.

At 11:15pm fans will be treated to the first UK reading of THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN, from Terry’s close friend Rob Wilkins. They will then be able to get their hands on a coveted copy of the highly anticipated novel at the stroke of midnight.

Those who are unlucky in gaining a ticket are invited to join the queue from 11:30pm in order to get their hands on a book after midnight. They will then be able to gain access to the shop and join in with the first of the publication day celebrations.

Tickets go on sale on Monday 10th August at 12 noon. 200 tickets in total will be available to buy online from Waterstones.com/events. A maximum of 2 tickets is permitted per person. The link to purchase tickets is here. Tickets will be priced at either £10.00 or £35.00 and will include a copy of either THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN hardback or THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN exclusive

Waterstones slipcase edition plus a goody bag. Ticket holders will receive their book and goody bag at the event.

ABOUT THE BOOK

THE SHEPHERD’S CROWN is the fifth Discworld novel featuring young witch Tiffany Aching. Previous titles in the Tiffany Aching sequence include: THE WEE FREE MEN, A HAT FULL OF SKY, WINTERSMITH and I SHALL WEAR MIDNIGHT. Terry completed THE SHEPHERD’S CROW N in the summer of 2014. It will be published in hardback, ebook and audio formats on August 27th 2015, and is now available for pre- order.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which, THE COLOUR OF MAGIC, was published in 1983. His fortieth Discworld novel, RAISING STEAM, was published in 2013. His books have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for services to literature. He died in March 2015.