[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Royal Mail Celebrates Terry Pratchett’s Fantasy Discworld Series with Special Stamps

Issue date: 10 August

• The eight stamps also mark the 40th anniversary of the publication of the first Discworld book, The Colour of Magic
• The stamps include characters Rincewind, The Librarian, Granny Weatherwax, Sam Vimes, and Great A’Tuin, as well as specially commissioned artworks of Death and Mort, Tiffany Aching and Moist von Lipwig
• The stamps are available at www.royalmail.com/discworld, by telephone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK

Royal Mail has revealed images of a set of eight Special Stamps being issued to celebrate Terry Pratchett’s globally popular, fantasy Discworld series, and the 40th anniversary of the first book in the series, The Colour of Magic.

The stamps include characters Rincewind, The Librarian, Granny Weatherwax, Sam Vimes, and Great A’Tuin (left), as well as specially commissioned artworks of Death and Mort, Tiffany Aching and Moist von Lipwig by Terry Pratchett’s illustrator of choice, Paul Kidby.

Sir Terry Pratchett, OBE (1948–2015) is regarded as one of the UK’s greatest fantasy writers. His defining work is the Discworld series, which spans 41 novels that have been translated into over 40 languages, with more than a hundred million copies sold worldwide.

Discworld is a flat, circular planet revolving on the shoulders of four giant elephants who stand atop a vast star turtle called the Great A’Tuin. This turtle is 10,000 miles long and of the species Chelys galactica. Its shell is scarred with meteor craters, and its eyes are as big as seas.

David Gold, Director of External Affairs and Policy said: “These striking stamps will be loved by generations both young and old. Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels remain as popular as ever and it is fitting that in the 40th anniversary year of The Colour of Magic, we celebrate with a set of stamps that honour the work of an iconic and globally admired writer.”

Royal Mail worked closely with Terry Pratchett’s estate, as well as Paul Kidby, who has been illustrating Discworld for 30 years.

Paul began working with Terry Pratchett in 1993 and has designed the Discworld book jackets since 2002. He has illustrated many Discworld publications including ‘The Art of Discworld’, best-selling ‘The Last Hero’ and the 2017 publication ‘Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Imaginarium’. In 2019 he illustrated ‘Good Omens’ written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

Illustrator, Paul Kidby said: “It has been a huge honour to illustrate this set of stamps to commemorate 40 years of Discworld. I am delighted to finally be able to tell people about it as it has been a big secret to keep! It’s a wonderful celebration of Terry’s ongoing legacy and continued popularity.”

The stamps are available at www.royalmail.com/discworld, by telephone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK. A Presentation Pack including all eight stamps in the set is priced at £13.50. The stamps go on general sale on 10 August.

[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New Stamps Celebrate the Wildlife of the UK’s Rivers

• Issue date: 13 July
• The stamp images celebrate many of the birds, mammals, insects and fish that inhabit the UK’s rivers and streams
• Featured on the stamps are the: Beaver; Atlantic Salmon; Kingfisher; Beautiful Demoiselle; Water Vole; Grey Wagtail; Common Mayfly; Otter; Brown Trout; and Dipper
• The stamps are available at www.royalmail.com/riverwildlife, by telephone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK

Royal Mail has issued a set of 10 stamps that celebrate the diversity of birds, mammals, insects and fish that inhabit the UK’s rivers and streams.

Featured on the stamps are the: Beaver; Atlantic Salmon; Kingfisher; Beautiful Demoiselle; Water Vole; Grey Wagtail; Common Mayfly; Otter; Brown Trout; and Dipper.

The physical geography of the UK, coupled with its maritime position and high rainfall, have combined over geological time to create an extensive and diverse network of flowing waters.

Over 380,000 kilometres of streams and rivers range from the becks, burns and rills rising in cooler mountain landscapes, to large, lowland rivers such as the Thames, Severn and Trent.

Across the four UK nations, famous rivers such as the Clyde, the Bann, the Tyne and the Wye bring cultural identity, landscape character and a window into a world of freshwater nature.

Royal Mail worked with Professor of Ecology at Cardiff University Steve Ormerod on the stamp issue.

David Gold, Director of External Affairs and Policy, said: “The UK’s rivers and riversides are beautiful to look at, but how many of us stop to think about how they came to exist in the first place? In these stamps we celebrate our unique natural environment with a strong focus on the rich variety of creatures that live in and alongside our rivers.”

Professor Steve Ormerod, of Cardiff University’s Water Research Institute and School of Biosciences said “These stamps are a timely reminder of the special, highly adapted, and diverse array of animals that need our streams and rivers to be in healthy condition. This is such a wonderful way to celebrate the UK’s rivers and to send a message – quite literally – of why they are important.”

The stamps are available at www.royalmail.com/riverwildlife, by telephone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK. A Presentation Pack including all 10 stamps in the set is priced at £10.15.

[VSC notes: Other products include first day covers with either a Tallents House or Ottery St. Mary’s postmark; picture postcards; a Collector Sheet (right), which “includes all 10 new stamps paired with labels containing alternative images of the creatures featured;” framed stamps; and full- and half-sheets of the stamps. The latter are grouped by the denomination.]Other individual stamp images: