Terry Pratchett’s debut turns 50: ‘At 17 he showed promise of a brilliant mind’

Written while he was a teenager, published when he was 23 and rewritten when he was 43, The Carpet People is being honoured with an anniversary edition

In November 1971, a debut novel from a young author was published, to a small but not insignificant splash. Set in a world of tiny people who live in a carpet, it was described by the book trade journal Smith's Trade News as one of the most original tots' tomes to hit the bookshops for many a decade", while Teachers' News called it a story of quite extraordinary quality".

The unknown author was Terry Pratchett, and the book was The Carpet People. This week, publisher Penguin Random House Children's is releasing a 50th-anniversary edition, with Doctor Who and Good Omens star David Tennant reading the new audiobook.