Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett was an influential British author, best known for his unique blend of humor and fantasy in the acclaimed Discworld series. Born on April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, England, he began writing at a young age and published his first short story by thirteen. Pratchett worked as a journalist before fully committing to writing fiction, during which time he produced several novels, including his first, *The Carpet People*, and various science-fiction works. His literary breakthrough came with the release of *The Colour of Magic* in 1983, marking the start of the Discworld series, which is celebrated for its satirical take on subjects like politics, religion, and human nature.
Over the years, Pratchett wrote numerous books, earning him a reputation as one of the UK's best-selling authors. His work garnered multiple awards, including the British Science-Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal, and he was knighted in 2009 for his contributions to literature. After being diagnosed with a rare form of dementia in 2007, he became an advocate for Alzheimer's research and assisted suicide, continuing to write until his death on March 12, 2015. His last Discworld novel, *The Shepherd's Crown*, was published posthumously. In 2022, his unfinished memoirs were completed and released as *Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes*, which won the Locus Award in 2023. Pratchett's legacy continues to resonate through his imaginative storytelling and sharp wit.
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Terry Pratchett
Author
- Born: April 28, 1948
- Place of Birth: Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England
- Died: March 12, 2015
Biography
Terry David John Pratchett was born on April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, the son of engineer David Pratchett and secretary Eileen Kearns Pratchett. An eager reader and writer, but an indifferent scholar, the young Pratchett published his first short story at the age of thirteen. When it was reprinted in a paying publication, he bought a typewriter with the proceeds. After high school graduation, Pratchett immediately became a journalist, working from 1965 to 1980 at a number of regional newspapers in southwest England. He wrote his first novel, a juvenile fantasy called The Carpet People, when he was seventeen years old, but it was not published until 1971.
From 1980 to 1987, Pratchett served as press officer for the Central Electricity Generating Board and continued writing in his spare time. He published two science-fiction novels, The Dark Side of the Sun (1976) and Strata (1981). Both books parodied various aspects of Larry Niven’s popular award- winning novel about an artificial universe, Ringworld (1970), which apparently provided the inspiration for Pratchett to create his own peculiar cosmos.
In 1983, Pratchett released the first novel in his Discworld humorous fantasy series, The Colour of Magic. A flat, artificial creation, Discworld is carried upon four gigantic elephants standing on the back of a monstrous turtle that swims through space. Throughout the series, readers are introduced to a whole panoply of characters taken straight from the past literature of science fiction, fantasy, and horror and given a new, intriguing spin. There are wizards, witches, werewolf fighters, evil villains, dragons, and more. Pratchett delights in including comic footnotes, inserting jokes, and describing slapstick situations, yet in the midst of the hilarity he satirizes a variety of serious subjects, including politics, religion, death, and economics.
By 1989, when Pratchett had quit his job and become a full-time writer, he had introduced a second series, the Bromeliad juvenile fantasy trilogy (Truckers, 1989, Diggers, 1990, and Wings, 1990), which deals with the lighthearted collision between two groups of “nomes,” four-inch-high inhabitants from another planet who have taken refuge on Earth. The Johnny Maxwell series for young adults, which began with Only You Can Save Mankind (1992), is about a computer gamer who becomes involved with the characters of the games. Other entries in the series include Johnny and the Dead (1993) and Johnny and the Bomb (1997).
By 2006, Pratchett had become the second bestselling author in the United Kingdom, behind J. K. Rowling. Several of his works, including Truckers, Johnny and the Dead, Mort (1987), and Wyrd Sisters (1988), were adapted for television and as stage plays. A Discworld video game was produced. Among the many honors accorded the author, Pratchett won the British Science-Fiction Award in 1989 for the Discworld series and again in 1990 for a novel written with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Predictions of Agnes Nutter, Witch. He also won the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for best children’s book for Johnny and the Dead; the 1993 British Book Award for science fiction and fantasy author of the year; and the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2002 for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (2001). In 1998, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire, and in 2009, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
After Pratchett had been diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy, a rare form of dementia, in 2007, he had become an ardent supporter of Alzheimer's research and assisted suicide. Despite his condition, he also continued writing. The forty-first book in the Discworld series, titled The Shepherd's Crown, was published posthumously in August 2015. Pratchett had passed away at his home near Salisbury, England, on March 12, 2015. He was sixty-six.
Shortly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Pratchett began writing his memoirs, intending for them to be published as his autobiography. However, Pratchett died before finishing them. His manager and close friend, Rob Wilkins, finished the work, publishing it in 2022 as Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography. The book won the Locus Award in 2023.
Bibliography
Cabell, Craig. Terry Pratchett: The Spirit of Fantasy: The Life and Work of the Man behind the Magic. London: Blake, 2011. Print.
Chivers, Tom. "Terry Pratchett Interview: A Fantasy Writer Facing Reality." Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 27 Aug. 2015. Web. 28 Dec. 2015.
Lea, Richard, and Caroline Davies. "Terry Pratchett, Discworld Series Author, Dies Aged 66." Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 28 Dec. 2015.
Robinson, Tasha. "The Shepherd's Crown Tells Terry Pratchett Fans How to Mourn Him." Rev. of The Shepherd's Crown, by Terry Pratchett. NPR. NPR, 2 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Dec. 2015.
Weber, Bruce. "Terry Pratchett, Novelist, Dies at 66." New York Times. New York Times, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 28 Dec. 2015.
Wilkins, Rob. Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes: The Official Biography, Doubleday, 2022.
Wilkins, Rob. "Terry Pratchett and the Writing of His Life." The Guardian, 17 Sept. 2022, www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/17/i-think-i-was-good-though-i-could-have-been-better-terry-pratchett-and-the-writing-of-his-life. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.