Terry Pratchett‘s final novel, The Shepherd’s Crown, is on track to be published posthumously later this year.
Last month, Discworld illustrator Paul Kidby wrote that he was “currently enjoying drawing the art for Terry Pratchett’s next Discworld novel, The Shepherd’s Crown, which will be published in the autumn.” Kidby has since confirmed to io9 that Pratchett finished the book last year, meaning it will be published as planned.
The Shepherd’s Crown is a continuation of the Tiffany Aching series, Pratchett’s young-adult offshoot from the Discworld novels. It will be the 41st Discworld book, with interior illustrations by Kidby, who has been creating cover art for Pratchett’s novels since the mid-1990s.
Pratchett’s daughter Rhianna inherited the Discworld series from her father in an arrangement that was agreed upon several years ago. Although Rhianna Pratchett’s career has mostly focused on video-game writing, she has long been involved in the Discworld series behind the scenes.
Rhianna Pratchett is also the co-director of Narrativia, a production company established to manage any future on-screen adaptations of Discworld novels. So while The Shepherd’s Crown will be the last official novel in the series, the Discworld‘s future is in safe hands.
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