A truly unmissable set of unearthed stories from the pen of Sir Terry Pratchett: award-winning and bestselling author, and creator of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.

An exclusive collection of twenty early short stories by one of the world’s best loved authors, these are rediscovered tales that Pratchett wrote under a pseudonym for newspapers during the 1970s and 1980s.

Whilst none of the stories are set in the Discworld, they hint towards the world he would go on to create in his award-winning and globally bestselling series, containing all of his trademark wit, satirical wisdom and fantastic imagination. These are tales which entertain, enlighten and, most importantly, make you laugh.

Meet Og the inventor, the first caveman to cultivate fire, as he discovers the highs and lows of progress; haunt the Council with the defiant evicted ghosts of Pilgarlic Towers; visit Blackbury, a small market town with weird weather and an otherworldly visitor; and travel millions of years back in time to The Old Red Sandstone Lion pub.

The final ever ‘new’ writing to be published from the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett, A STROKE OF THE PEN is a must-have collection of fantastic short stories for fans, old and new.

‘Pratchett is a master storyteller’ – A. S. Byatt, Guardian

‘The Discworld novels have always been among the most serious of comedies, the most relevant and real of fantasies’ – Independent

‘Compulsively readable, fantastically inventive, surprisingly serious exploration in story form of just about any aspect of our world . . . There’s never been anything quite like it’ – Evening Standard

‘Like most true originals, Pratchett defies categorisation’ – The Times

‘Pratchett found something better than literature’ – Frank Cottrell Boyce, Guardian