Terry Pratchett and My Non-Entry into Penguin's 2026 Cover Design Competition

Last month, an article on the Terry Pratchett estate site caught my eye.

Penguin Random House had launched its annual cover design award contest for all UK and Ireland based designers.

The task? To reimagine one of two classics. . .

One being of course Terry Pratchett's Night Watch. (Gasp).

Now, Night Watch is book TWENTY-NINE of the Discworld series. So I will fully admit I have not read it. Yet. I am only up to mere Book 18 in the series—Maskerade in fact being next up on my to-read list after I finish Abaddon's Gate (Book 3 of The Expanse)—which by the by, I do highly recommend. Very cinematic writing.

But Night Watch is a curious one because it's not quite what it seems.

In fact, it is a reimagining of a series favorite of mine, Guards! Guards! (Discworld Book 8).

So, even though I am Australian and not able to officially enter the contest, I thought this could be a fun exercise. Plus, it'd give me the opportunity to break down my process. (Again). (Love you all!).

We Start with Research. Always.

I am a fan of the latest Discworld book covers. Designed by Leo Nickolls with elements illustrated by Paul Kidby (see more on him below) they are simply great to look at. And, when you look deeper, kudos must be given for their fantastic visual coding.

Though fairly subtle when bunched together, there is a distinct separation between the mini series' within Discworld. This is even clearer in Discworld Emporium's catalogue:

BUT if I was to be critical—I do have a gripe with their tonality.

They're dark. Almost grim. Not much lighthearted whimsy to be seen. And that is the core of Pratchett's stories for me. The whole reason they're so endeared to me, I'd go to far to say.

No matter how hard the road got—or emotionally compromised—there's always this comforting twang in the prose to ensure you know you're not alone in this story.

In a similar way Douglas Adams was a pioneer of comedic sci-fi with strong social commentary, Terry Pratchett led the charge for similar obscure comedic fantasy. . . with strong social commentary. And the original covers encapsulated that. For me.

Illustrated by Josh Kirby, until his passing in 2001, (and then succeeded by Paul Kidby), these books were a strong visual component of my childhood. Long before I saw any mini-series. Let alone could comprehend the books. (A lot goes over a primary school student's head!). This art was unlike anything I had seen before. They were memorizing in their ordered chaos. A balm to my simialrly disorgainsed-orgainsed brain.

So, I knew this was the place I would start from, series format vibe wise.

But, question: What the heck was Night Watch even about?

THE SYNOPSIS

For a policeman, there can be few things worse than a serial killer loose in your city. Except, perhaps, a serial killer who targets coppers, and a city on the brink of bloody revolution.

For Commander Sam Vimes, it all feels horribly familiar. Caught on the roof of a very magical building during a storm, he’s found himself back in his own rough, tough past without even the clothes he was standing up in when the lightning struck. Living in the past is hard, especially when your time travel companion is a serial killer who knows where you live. But he must survive, because he has a job to do: track down the murderer and change the outcome of the rebellion.

The problem is: if he wins, he’s got no wife, no child, no future…

Now, if I was doing this for a commission, I would request a lot of details to ensure my creative direction was faithful to the narrative and its themes so on and forth.

But as I was doing this for fun, it had to be quick and dirty.

This meant I didn't read any of the actual synopsis' you can find on various wikis. (I didn't want to spoil the book, you know! I'd get to it!). But I did find some great breakdowns on thematic choices, including how the book centred on the political notion 'history repeats', grounding in its own little French Revolution—Which, for those who actually know their history is BIG OOF. (Let me tell you, it ain't what people think it is.).

So How Do We Visualise That?

Night Watch was originally published by DoubleDay November 2002 and its cover was Paul Kidby's first entry after Kirby's passing. (Yes their similar last names are killing me too).

According to Wikipedia, the art was

a parody of Rembrandt's 1642 painting The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch. Funnily enough, more commonly known as, you guessed it!, Night Watch. (Ha ha).

You can see straight away, compared to Kirby's original artistic direction, Kidby sunk into that darker, grimmer tone.

It's quite a stately cover design, really, and while you can chuff at the simple format of harsh black bars framing the art, it is so recognizable for the high fantasy genre of that time. In truth, I can't say for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if Kidby drew inspiration from widely popular works such as Keith Parkinson's artistic direction of the Sword of Truth series for the other Terry.

Now the Art Begins

I'm a soft cheat. I mean that not in a narcissistic way. But if there's short cuts, for my sanity, I will take them as long as they don't impede on my morals or work ethics or as such. Time is money! And, given this is just a fun experiment, I'm gonna find them and take them.

Knowing I wanted to take this a more surreal way, and ground this series back in its original eclectic way, I decided to take a similar route to Kidby, but with more Kirby heart. (Remember which which?).

So I decided to steal Henry Singleton's The Storming of the Bastille (1790). Not the physical copy from the Vizille, but like the digital, given Pratchett's nod to the era.

(Yes, it is public domain do not fret. I checked).

Now, if I had the time to do this properly, I would have similarly repainted this artwork like Kidby did with the Night Watch. Instead, I once again cheated. (Cough).

First I extended the artwork, and then I added in some of our beloved characters. . . Or, at least, a representation of some of the groups. (Again, I ain't got that much time to mess around here!).

First, a wizard.

Bam.

Second, a dragon.

And, of course, a personal favourite of mine:

The librarian. (Nod to one of Kidby's).

It was at this point I realised I had chosen a day scene to capture that 'lightness' of my Terry vibe despite the book being called, well, Night Watch.

But we're committed now people!

Call it ironic. (Iconic!).

Though I do need to apologise for this upcoming little cheekiness.

When I was looking for artwork of Sam Vines, I only wanted to pull art by either Kirby and Kidby given they were canonical. But I have now discovered the reference I used for Sam Vimes was by the fantastic David Wyatt. Sorry Mate! Didn't mean to step on toes.

But none the less, here's my cheat version. (Which is by no means commercial and totally created with full credit and respect to David Wyatt, the original artist of this character).

Also, for those with a good eye. Yes, the psychopathic murderer Carcer has the face of Beni Gabor from The Mummy, played by Kevin J. O'Connor. (I mean, come on, right?).

Also, also, it's time portal fantasy book. You gotta have a portal! I don't care how the actual book does it. This is all about them vibes and it is late so this is what we're getting.

(I am so sorry).

We Design

Now I have gathered all my assets, it's time to throw them into Photoshop to put in the final touches. Again, if this was an official commission, I probably would do a few rounds in Illustrator as well to get real nice typography going, but again this is a speed run.

So this is what we get.

Yes I know, the quote mistake 😭

I have to admit, I kind of love it, despite all the skewey-legal and nonsensical direction choices. Sure, if I were to do it seriously, I would probably make a lot of different choices. But that takes so much time and I have rent to pay like everyone else. (Pain). So my time right now is major limited.

But for what it is? And the few days I could dedicate to it?

I reckon it's a solid effort. Don't you?

Have you Got it In You? Ready to take your chance in Penguin's 2026 Cover Design Award?

For those who think you can do it better, I dare you. Encourage you even. Go for it. The prizes (if you can enter) include a six-month mentorship with a Penguin designer as well as a Waxom Intuos Pro Medium tablet and Penguin books to the value of £100.

Important Dates

Entries are now Open, Clsoing 2PM Thursday 29th January 2026.

Shortlist will be announced Mid-March.

Winners announced Mid-April.

You can learn more at the official Cover Design Awards site here.

#PRHDesignAward #PenguinUKBooks #PenguinRandomHouseUK #PenguinRandomHouseAU #PenguinAUBooks

Otherwise, need a cover yourself?

Don't hesitate to say hey and see how I can bring your creative vision to life. Properly. :)