Dave Rudden Says Terry Pratchett Feels More Like Family Than a Favorite

For Irish author Dave Rudden, Terry Pratchett isn’t just a literary hero. He’s family. “I read Terry Pratchett so much as a teenager that he’s more like an uncle I know than an author I love,” Rudden told the Irish Independent, as he gears up to publish his first adult novel, Sister Wake, on January 15 with Hodderscape.

Rudden, best known for his award‑winning children’s fantasy Knights of the Borrowed Dark, has spent the last decade visiting schools and festivals to talk about writing, monsters and mental health. But in this new phase of his career, it’s Pratchett’s blend of humor, empathy and sharp social observation that he keeps returning to—both as a reader and as a roadmap.

Pratchett as a guide for growing up—and for writing

Rudden describes rereading Discworld as a kind of emotional education: comedy first, then the queasy sense that the jokes are hiding something truer and darker underneath. That journey mirrors what’s happening in the wider Pratchett ecosystem right now, as the author’s work is being re‑introduced to a new generation in more ambitious, adult‑facing formats.

In April 2025, Penguin Classics will publish a definitive annotated edition of Night Watch, often cited as one of Pratchett’s greatest and most politically resonant novels. The new volume will include commentary from Pratchett’s longtime assistant and biographer Rob Wilkins alongside scholars who place the book—and Discworld itself—firmly in the modern literary canon. The Pratchett estate calls it a landmark recognition of his status as a classic author, not just a cult favorite.

At the same time, Discworld is expanding into new media. The estate has launched a full Discworld graphic novel universe, with adaptations of books such as Thief of Time and The Wee Free Men planned through the late 2020s. Early details, reported by Polygon, suggest a line that leans into the series’ visual chaos and layered worldbuilding—exactly the qualities Rudden and other fantasy writers cite as formative.

Those projects build on a wave of recent Pratchett activity, from tabletop expansions covered in our look at new Discworld board games and RPG campaigns to Rhianna Pratchett’s teasers about an upcoming screen adaptation of one of her father’s favorite novels in our recent Discworld adaptation report.

Discworld’s living legacy for writers like Rudden

Rudden’s affection for Pratchett arrives as the fandom itself enters a milestone year. The 2026 International Discworld Convention will mark 30 years of organized Discworld celebrations, underscoring just how long readers have been treating the series less like a franchise and more like a shared hometown. Organizers say the convention will spotlight creators influenced by Pratchett as much as the man himself.

On stage, the tribute continues too. Live shows such as The Magic of Terry Pratchett keep drawing international audiences, blending biography, criticism and comedy into something that feels distinctly Pratchettian—funny until it suddenly isn’t, and then heartbreakingly sincere.

Behind the scenes, 2024’s Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld by longtime illustrator Paul Kidby has given fans and aspiring writers a glimpse into how jokes, maps and character designs evolved in tandem. For authors like Rudden, who move between middle‑grade adventure and darker adult fantasy, that kind of process‑level look is pure instruction manual.

Rudden’s throwaway line about Pratchett feeling like an uncle is funny, but it also captures why Discworld continues to loom over contemporary fantasy: these aren’t just books people like, they’re relationships they grow up inside. As new editions, graphic novels, conventions and stage shows roll out over the next few years, that relationship is only getting easier for the next wave of writers—and readers—to inherit.