Terry Pratchett biography

Terry Pratchett portrait image

The English fantasy author, Terry D. J. (David John) Pratchett was born on the 28th April 1948 in the town of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. His was educated at High Wycombe Technical High School.

He wrote is first story when he was thirteen years old (1961) and with the money that he made from selling this he was able to buy his first typewriter. In 1971, Pratchett had his first novel published; it was called The Carpet People.

Terry Pratchett is best known for the fantasy novels that make up the Discworld series. This series now comprises of more than forty books and is a humorous and at times satirical work set on a disc-shaped world that is carried on the backs of four giant elephants. The first book of the Discworld series was entitled The Colour Of Magic and is reviewed here. The Colour Of Magic was published in 1983 but he continued to work until 1987 when he was able to become a full-time author.

Terry Pratchett was awarded the OBE (The Most Excellent Order Of The British Empire, Officer) in 1998 for his services to literature. Terry Pratchett has also received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick, Portsmouth, Bath and Bristol. He has sold over 40 million books worldwide and these have been translated into thirty-three different languages. He is second only to J. K. Rowling in terms of book sales in the United Kingdom.

It is believed that 1% of all the books sold in England are penned by Pratchett. His books have been translated into 27 different languages and have sold over 22 million copies.

The official Terry Pratchett web site

Terry Pratchett bibliography

Terry Pratchett interviews

Terry Pratchett is interviewed by January Magazine. He comes across as very humble and still very much enjoying writing the Discworld novels. Terry Pratchett interview >>

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News

Nation Due Soon

The next release from prolific writer Terry Pratchett comes to us on 11th September this year and is the eagerly awaited young adults, non-Discworld book Nation. Set on a remote tropical island recen...

Discworld Celebrates 25 Years

First published in 1983 The Colour of Magic began the odyssey that is Terry Pratchett's much loved Discworld and 2008 sees its 25th birthday. Marking this momentous occasion will be the Discworld Con...

Has Terry Pratchett found God?

It has been known for some while now that the fantasy author Terry Pratchett is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He has recently suggested he may have found God after years of atheism. The creator...

Best selling audio-books on Audible.co.uk - May 2008

The UK's biggest audio-book web site has a fantastic array of fantasy books from all the top authors. The top 10 for May 2008 shows that Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett transfer extremely well to ...

Terry Pratchett becomes patron of Alzheimer's Research Trust

Terry Pratchett has become a patron of the Alzheimer's Research Trust. The world-famous fantasy writer announced he had Alzheimer's in December 2007 and has since donated $1 million £513,000 to h...

Terry Pratchett joins Sky at Night team to view total eclipse

Fantasy author Terry Pratchett is heading to Taiwan with the BBC Sky at Night team to view the total eclipse of the sun next year. He will board the cruise ship Superstar Libra, organised by travel c...

Win an evening with Terry Pratchett

On the 1st of May 2008, Alzheimer's Trust Research will be hosting a dinner with Terry Pratchett attending as a special guest. Terry Pratchett and Dr Raj Persaud will spend time talking to the gues...

George R R Martin helps raise money for Alzheimer's Research

George RR Martin has joined a growing band of science fiction and fantasy writers who are coming together in support of Terry Pratchett and Alzheimer's Research. Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with the...

Best selling fantasy audio books on Audible.co.uk

Some fantasy books transfer well onto audio book, some lose their magic. FantasyBookReview.co.uk will shortly be reviewing and rating the best (and worst) fantasy audio books available in the UK today...

Dungeons & Dragons creator dies

On the 6th March 2008 a man called Gary Cygax died. It is a name that probably does not mean a great deal to many but he was one of the creators of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The...

Terry Pratchett to donate £494,000 to Alzheimer's Research Trust

Fantasy author Terry Pratchett announced at the annual conference of the Alzheimer's Research Trust that he will be donating £494,000 to their trust. Pratchett, famous for the Discworld series, dis...

The Light Fantastic read and reviewed

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett is the second book in the extremely successful Discworld series. The story continues with Rincewind and Twoflower falling of the edge of the world. This is a ...

Sky One show The Colour of Magic this Easter

Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic is coming to the small screen this Easter with Sky One featuring an all-star adaption. The cast is excellent with Sir David Jason playing Rincewind the Wizard and...

Fantasy literature - what exactly is it?

In the following article we will attempt to provide a condensed guide to fantasy literature. This is by no means complete as many sub genres have not been included as we focus on the most popular and ...

Audiobooks - have your favourite books read to you

I have always enjoyed listening to audiobooks. My first purchases were Ray Dotrice’s magical reading of Watership Down and Douglas Adam’s fantastic Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Since then I have ...

The Carnegie Medal

The Carnagie Medal is awarded by librarians to an author who has written a truly exceptional book for either children or young adults. Last year (2007) saw the 50th anniversary of the Carnegie Medal, ...

Eagerly anticipated books

Joe Abercrombie will be releasing The Last Argument of Kings in March 2008 and a new novel called Best Served Cold in 2009. Trudi Canavan, author of the Black Magician Trilogy will be writing both ...

The BBC's Big Read - revisited

I have already mentioned in an earlier post the great fantasy books that were in the top 10 ten books of the BBC's Big Read poll. I thought I would revisit the list and see what other fantasy classics...

Colour of Magic updated

The review of Terry Pratchett's first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic has been updated and an excerpt from the book added. It is "A fantastic book that stops you from taking life to seriously." ...