Every Author Gets a Kick …

by Terry Pratchett

The first Discworld masquerade was in 1995, and won by the best Granny Weatherwax I've ever seen.

There was also a prize for Gaspode the Wonder Dog played very skillfully, as it happened, by a dog.

I've seen a good few Discworld characters since then.

I was privileged to stand on the finish line when one masquerade produced so many Rincewinds that the only way to determine the winner was to let them race, since the true Rincewind would certainly out-run all impostors. The memory of all those pointy hats and enormous flapping sandals heading right towards me will stay with me forever, or at least until the end of therapy.

I've presented the Magrat of the Year award at a Pagan conference, got kissed by Nanny Ogg, shaken hands with Death many times and Cohen the Barbarian once. I got my hand back. The skills involved in the portrayal of many of those characters were amazing, and certainly of a Worldcon standard.

It seems there's a Worldcon tradition now (i.e., it's happened once before) of presenting special prizes for characters based on the GoH's work. I've ordered a golden Luggage to be cast. That is to say, it will certainly be gold on the outside, so only Superman will know the difference. This will be my personal award, in addition to the $500 being donated by HarperCollins. Such nice people.

I hope it'll all be fun.

Doesn't every author get a kick out of seeing their characters come alive? It's impressive that someone cares enough to spent all that time preparing for a brief moment on the stage. It cheers me up and leaves me slightly embarrassed, thinking that if only I'd known people would take so much trouble I'd have written better books.