Terry Pratchett

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(April 28, 1948 – March 12, 2015)

Sir Terence David John Pratchett, OBE, was an English author of fantasy novels, especially humorous works, best known for his Discworld series of 41 comic novels. He was affectionately nicknamed PTerry by his fans on the Usenet (the P is silent, as in his novel Pyramids and P. G. Wodehouse’s Psmith in the City).

Pratchett developed an interest in science fiction as a young man and attended conventions from about 1963, but gafiated when he got his first job as a trainee journalist in ’65.

Pratchett's first published short story, "Business Rivals," appeared in the High Wycombe Technical School magazine in 1962. His first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971. His Discworld books began with The Colour of Magic in 1983. They were a phenomenal success, and generated many spinoffs like maps, games, diaries, quizbooks and even academic studies.

Despite having learned to cope with vast UK signing sessions that went on until his wrist screamed for mercy, Terry remained cheerful and approachable, with a fund of wry anecdotes about his various lives as famous writer, obscure writer, journalist, and (once upon a time) PR man for a nuclear power station, until his death.

Personal Life[edit]

Pratchett married Lyn Purves at the Congregational Church, Gerrards Cross, on 5 October 1968. Their daughter, Rhianna Pratchett, also a writer, was born in 1976. She now promotes her father’s legacy.

In December 2007, Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, which he called the embuggerance, and which led to his death. A two-part documentary, Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's, aired on BBC Two in 2009.

You have to admire the man who created the bibliophile orangutan[1] of Unseen University, literature's first rugged, muscular and caring role-model for librarians everywhere.

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

Discworld[edit]

Discworld is the name and setting of Pratchett's bestselling comic fantasy series. The world is a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants that stand on the back of a giant space turtle. The 41-book series began in 1983 with The Colour of Magic.

Night Watch (2002) depicts The People's Revolution of the Glorious Twenty-Fifth of May.[2] Its motto: “Truth, Justice, Freedom, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard-Boiled Egg!”

Sprigs of lilac were used as impromptu insignia by the revolutionary forces, and veterans wear lilacs on its anniversary. After the embuggerance, Pratchett fans began to wear lilacs in tribute and as a means of Alzheimer’s awareness and fundraising on that day. As May 25 is also Towel Day, some fans had to choose between them, until somebody came up with the lilac towel.

There is a UK Discworld Convention, a North American Discworld Convention, an Irish Discworld Convention, a Dutch Discworld convention (Cabbagecon) and two Australian Discworld conventions (Nullus Anxietas and Unseen University Convivium).

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  1. ↑ Pratchett developed an interest in and concern for orangutans; he became a trustee of the Orangutan Foundation and traveled to Borneo to see them in their native environment. The trip was documented as Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest (1995).
  2. ↑ Probably an allusion to “The Glorious Revolution” of 1688 — the overthrow of the Catholic King James II of England by the Dutch invasion force under the Protestant William of Orange (husband to James’ daughter Mary).


Person 1948—2015
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