It rather tickled our favourite author to have a shop dedicated to his books; a little literary haven where his readers could meet like-minded folk and revel in the wonder and silliness of it all, often in the presence of the author himself. Now closed to the public, the Emporium exists exclusively online but our bricks and mortar headquarters remains a hallowed place where cunning plans are still hatched and sparks of magic made .
Not only did we have the rare honour of collaborating with Terry on the creation of Discworld products, but also the rarer privilege of calling him a friend. Terry would visit the Emporium many times to work on projects, spend time with fans and feast with us around the kitchen table. Bernard is a proud member of the Order of the Honeybee; an exclusive group of trusted friends and associates chosen by Terry to protect his legacy and work after his death.
Throughout Terry Pratchett’s career Discworld merchandise remained a cottage industry. Terry entrusted his merchandising only to a select few trusted makers, and although Terry’s priority was writing books he maintained an active role in the creation of Discworld wares, overseeing our designs, nipping, tucking, or adding a sprinkle of magic where he saw fit. If Terry wanted something made or had an idea for a product, then we would create it to his exacting standards, and every item we produced in Terry’s lifetime received his personal approval. Many of the items you’ll encounter on our website and hold in your hands were designed or commissioned by the author himself.
“Usually when people have a really big series they franchise it, which I thought is a bit of a no-no, so I thought what I’d do is I’d franchise it to myself.”
– Terry Pratchett, interview for Gamespot Magazine.
For twenty years the Emporium was not only at the heart of the Discworld fandom but also our local community, and with Terry’s encouragement we celebrated many civic moments that blurred the edges of fantasy and reality. In 2002 Wincanton was officially twinned with Ankh-Morpork in the world’s first ever town twinning with a fictional place, and in 2007 Discworld was put on the map, quite literally, when Terry opened a new housing development in the town bearing Discworld street names including Treacle Mine Road and Peach Pie Street. Terry also established the Emporium as the official Ankh-Morpork Consulate and branch of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office!
In 2020 Bernard and Isobel made the difficult decision to step down from Emporium duties to enjoy well-earned retirements, and after 20 years of welcoming Discworld fans our bricks and mortar shop in Wincanton closed its doors to the public. Headed by Ian Mitchell and Reb Voyce our little Discworld shop has now been transformed into a fantastically frantic mailroom and headquarters for our thriving online mail-order store, serving Discworld books and merchandise to Terry Pratchett fans all over Roundworld.
Under the command of brand guardians Narrativia and Dunmanifestin, and with the blessing of Terry Pratchett’s Estate we hope to continue reaching Discworld fans new and old with the word of Sir Terry Pratchett and creating little mementos of Discworld long into the future – the Turtle Moves!
Our Publications…
All the wonderful Discworld spinoffs and companions created in his lifetime were masterminded by Terry, and he would entrust close friends to aid and abet the production of all manner of maps, guides and companions.
Over the years we enjoyed the privilege of collaborating with Terry on an array of Discworld books, providing editorial, illustration, art direction and production services. Our publications include The Unseen University Cut-Out Book, The Discworld Almanak, The Compleat Ankh-Morpork, The World of Poo, Mrs Bradshaw’s Handbook, The Compleat Discworld Atlas, the Discworld Diaries 2015 – 2017 and the City Watch and Death & Friends Discworld Journals. Our most recent publication is The Nac Mac Feegles’ Big Wee Alphabet Book – A Discworld ABC book for Big Jobs and Wee Scunners Alike!
Terry also enlisted us to create everything from film props to exclusive gifts and ephemera for book releases and DVD’s, including banknotes for Making Money, stamps for Going Postal, and even traditional cigarette cards for Unseen Academicals.
We also provided artistic assistance and direction for the Discworld App from Transworld publishers, and the Ankh-Morpork and The Witches board games, as well as releasing the first ever Discworld Board game with Thud!, devised by Professor Trevor Truran and named by Terry Pratchett himself.
