Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett’s style of comic fantasy endeared him to generations of readers who wandered into the fantastic worlds he created - Pratchett's audiobooks allow you to join him on a journey that illuminates and explores humanity and life through fantasy and satire.
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Terry Pratchett (1948-2015) was a beloved English author of more than fifty books, including the Discworld series. Pratchett’s books have sold tens of millions of books, in thirty seven languages worldwide.

The first book in Pratchett’s popular Discworld series, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983. The next book in the Discworld series was The Light Fantastic and it was followed by Equal Rites, which was also serialised for radio, airing on the BBC’s Woman’s Hour. In the decades to follow, Pratchett wrote dozens more books in the Discworld series.

The final Discworld book, The Shepherd’s Crown, was published in 2015, the year of Pratchett’s death. The Independent, writing at the time of the book’s release, said, “it’s difficult to see The Shepherd’s Crown as anything other than Sir Terry’s farewell letter to his legion of fans - though of course, this being a Pratchett, it’s pretty fine novel in its own right”.

Pratchett married Lyn Purves in 1968, together they had a daughter, Rhianna. In 2007 Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Pratchett spoke out about his experience with Alzheimer’s including when he delivered the BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture in 2010. Pratchett’s lecture, Shaking Hands with Death, was about living well, and dying with dignity. He also donated a million dollars to Alzheimer’s research, and was an advocate for law reform on assisted dying.

The Alzheimer’s meant the final books by Pratchett were produced with the help of his long-time assistant and friend Rob Wilkins, and speech recognition software – Pratchett dictated his stories.

Terry Pratchett was born 28 April 1948 in Buckinghamshire, England. He died 12 March 2015, he was 66. Pratchett’s death was announced on his Twitter account in a series of three Tweets, written in the voice of ‘Death’, a character in Pratchett’s books. The tweets read, “At last, Sir Terry, we must walk together. Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night. The End.”
Before writing books, Terry Pratchett was a journalist. Pratchett had a way with words and worlds from a young age, at thirteen he published his first story. His first job out of school was at a local newspaper. His first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971 when Pratchett was 23. Listen to Terry Pratchett’s The Carpet People audiobook, unabridged and narrated by Richard Mitchley.

In 1990 Pratchett joined forces with Neil Gaiman to write Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. The book earned high praise from the pair’s loyal fans.

Pratchett is the recipient of many prestigious awards. He was appointed an OBE in the 1998 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, and was knighted in the Queen’s 2009 New Year Honours. There is an asteroid named after him – the 127005 Pratchett. Pratchett received many literary awards too, including the Carnegie Medal for his children’s book, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents.

Pratchett loved nature and an exhibit at Birdworld in Surrey is named in his honour - the Terry Pratchett Owl Parliament features all sorts of owl species.