71-624: The Long Earth is the first novel in a collaborative science fiction series by British authors Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter . The "Long Earth" is a (possibly infinite) series of parallel worlds that are similar to Earth, which can be reached by using an inexpensive device called a "Stepper"—designs for which are one day of 2015 posted online suddenly allowing humanity to explore worlds "East" and "West" of "Datum Earth". The worlds are mostly familiar, though others differ in greater and greater details, but all share one similarity: on none are there, or have there ever been, Homo sapiens – although
142-724: A humanist . He was a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK (formerly known as the British Humanist Association) and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society . Pratchett wrote that he read the Old Testament as a child and "was horrified", but liked the New Testament and thought that Jesus "had a lot of good things to say ... But I could never see the two testaments as one coherent narrative". He then read On
213-708: A knighthood for "services to literature" in the 2009 UK New Year Honours list. He was previously appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire , also for "services to literature", in 1998. He formally received the accolade at Buckingham Palace on 18 February 2009. Pratchett commented in the Ansible science fiction/fan newsletter, "I suspect the 'services to literature' consisted of refraining from trying to write any", but added, "Still, I cannot help feeling mightily chuffed about it." On 31 December 2008, it
284-428: A telegraph ) are programmed to repeat the name of its creator's deceased son; the sentiment in the novel is that no one is ever forgotten as long as their name is still spoken. A June 2015 web server survey reported that approximately 84,000 websites had been configured with the header. Pratchett's humanist funeral service was held on 25 March 2015. In 2015, Pratchett's estate announced an endowment in perpetuity to
355-651: A "calm-weaver". Intending to help old men have some autonomy from their wives, he introduces the idea of sheds (an idea he originally got from his maternal uncle). Nightshade, the former Queen of the Elves, is found by the Feegle stationed on the Chalk at the gateway to fairyland. Her wings had been ripped off before she had been forcibly ejected from her world. The Feegles restrain her until Tiffany arrives and takes her in on her family farm. While there, Tiffany decides to carry as
426-743: A BBC television documentary, Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die , about assisted suicide. It won the Best Documentary award at the Scottish BAFTAs in November 2011. In September 2012, Pratchett told an interviewer: "I have to tell you that I thought I'd be a lot worse than this by now, and so did my specialist." In the same interview he said that the cognitive part of his mind was "untouched" and his symptoms were physical (normal for PCA). However, in July 2014 he cancelled his appearance at
497-449: A bank of six monitors to ease writing. When he travelled, he always took a portable computer, originally a 1992 Olivetti Quaderno , with him to write. In a 1995 interview with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates , Pratchett expressed concern about the potential spread of misinformation online. He felt that there was a "kind of parity of esteem of information" on the internet, and gave the example of Holocaust denial being presented on
568-535: A book about his experiences if he thought anyone would actually believe them". The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic , was published in hardback by Colin Smythe Ltd in 1983. Pratchett gave up working for the CEGB to make his living through writing in 1987, after finishing the fourth Discworld novel, Mort . His sales increased quickly and many of his books occupied top places on bestseller lists; he
639-619: A few more books yet", and added that while he understood the impulse to ask "is there anything I can do?", in this case he would only entertain such offers from "very high-end experts in brain chemistry". Discussing his diagnosis at the Bath Literature Festival in early 2008, Pratchett revealed that by then he found it too difficult to write dedications when signing books. In his later years Pratchett wrote by dictating to his assistant, Rob Wilkins, or by using speech recognition software. In March 2008, Pratchett announced he
710-635: A friend, until she is killed by Peaseblossom. The elves seem to have the upper hand until Tiffany, wearing the shepherd's crown, calls the power of the Chalk to bring a storm and commands the ghosts of her grandmother's sheepdogs , Thunder and Lightning. She summons the King of the Elves, who kills Peaseblossom, and she banishes the elves from the Land. Tiffany decides to devote herself to the Chalk. She recommends that Geoffrey be given Granny Weatherwax's steading, and hand-builds herself her own shepherd's hut , reusing
781-514: A mechanic, and Eileen Pratchett (1922–2010), a secretary, of Hay-on-Wye . His maternal grandparents came from Ireland. Pratchett attended Holtspur School, where he was bullied for his speech impediments . He was bothered by the head teacher, who, he said, thought "he could tell how successful you were going to be in later life by how well you could read or write at the age of six". Pratchett's family moved to Bridgwater , Somerset, briefly in 1957. He passed his eleven plus exam in 1958, earning
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#1732771903490852-802: A number of game adaptations of his books. He favoured games that are "intelligent and have some depth", citing Half-Life 2 (2004) and fan missions for Thief as examples. The red army in Interesting Times prompted comparisons to the 1991 puzzle game Lemmings . When asked about this connection, Pratchett said: "Merely because the red army can fight, dig, march and climb and is controlled by little icons? Can't imagine how anyone thought that ... Not only did I wipe Lemmings from my hard disk, I overwrote it so I couldn't get it back." He described The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) as his favourite video game, saying that he used many of its non-combat-oriented fan-made mods , and contributed to
923-1060: A part of the Nebula Award ceremony. In 2016 the SFWA named Pratchett the recipient of Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award , given for "significant impact on the science fiction or fantasy landscape". He received the NESFA Skylark Award in 2009 and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010. In 2011 he won Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association , a lifetime honour for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". The librarians cited nine Discworld novels published from 1983 to 2004 and observed that "Pratchett's tales of Discworld have won over generations of teen readers with intelligence, heart, and undeniable wit. Comic adventures that fondly mock
994-488: A place at High Wycombe Technical High School , where he was a key member of the debating society and wrote stories for the school magazine. Pratchett described himself as a "non-descript" student and, in his Who's Who entry, credited his education to the Beaconsfield Public Library. Pratchett's early interests included astronomy . He collected Brooke Bond tea cards about space, owned
1065-752: A regional newspaper under the pseudonym Patrick Kearns. After various positions in journalism, in 1979 Pratchett became press officer for the South West Region of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in an area that covered three nuclear power stations . He later joked that he had demonstrated "impeccable timing" by making this career change so soon after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania , US, and said he would "write
1136-504: A serious and ultimately fatal illness to choose to die peacefully with medical help, rather than suffer". Pratchett was selected to give the 2010 BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture , Shaking Hands With Death , broadcast on 1 February 2010. Pratchett introduced his lecture on the topic of assisted death (he preferred this to the term "assisted suicide"), but the main text was read by his friend Tony Robinson because his condition made it difficult for him to read. In June 2011, Pratchett presented
1207-456: A small publishing company, Colin Smythe Ltd. Pratchett mentioned that he had written a manuscript, The Carpet People . Colin Smythe Ltd published the book in 1971, with illustrations by Pratchett. It received strong, although few, reviews and was followed by the science fiction novels The Dark Side of the Sun (1976) and Strata (1981). In the 1970s and 1980s, Pratchett published stories in
1278-537: A style described as "more that of urban cowboy than city gent". Concern for the future of civilisation prompted him to install five kilowatts of photovoltaic cells (for solar energy ) at his house in 2007. Pratchett had an observatory built in his back garden and was a keen astronomer from childhood. He made a 2005 appearance on the BBC programme The Sky at Night . Pratchett started to use computers for writing as soon as they were available to him. His first computer
1349-632: A substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (now Alzheimer's Research UK , ARUK), filmed three television programmes chronicling his experiences with the condition for the BBC , and became a patron of ARUK. Pratchett died on 12 March 2015, at the age of 66. Pratchett was born on 28 April 1948 in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire , England, the only child of David (1921–2006),
1420-525: A talisman the shepherd's crown (a fossilised echinoid ) that had been in the Aching family for many generations. She tries to teach Nightshade what it is to be human and the motivations of kindness. Tiffany gathers the witches to prepare for an invasion by the Elves. Geoffrey marshals the old men, and assembles a fighting force. Tiffany attempts to enlist the help of the Elf King. When that fails, she assigns
1491-539: A telescope and wanted to be an astronomer, but lacked the necessary mathematical skills. He developed an interest in science fiction and attended science fiction conventions from about 1963–1964, but stopped a few years later when he got his first job as a trainee journalist at the local paper. His early reading included the works of H. G. Wells , Arthur Conan Doyle , and "every book you really ought to read", which he later regarded as "getting an education". Pratchett published his first short story, "Business Rivals", in
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#17327719034901562-518: A two-part documentary series about his illness, Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's . The first part was broadcast on BBC Two on 4 February 2009, drawing 2.6 million viewers and a 10.4% audience share. The second, broadcast on 11 February 2009, drew 1.72 million viewers and a 6.8% audience share. The documentary won a BAFTA award in the Factual Series category. On 26 November 2008, Pratchett met Gordon Brown , then Prime Minister of
1633-474: A writer, was born there in 1976. In 1993 the family moved to Broad Chalke , a village west of Salisbury , Wiltshire. Pratchett was the patron of the Friends of High Wycombe Library. In 2013 he gave a talk at Beaconsfield Library, which he had visited as a child, and donated the income from the event to it. He also visited his former school to speak to the students. Pratchett often wore large black hats, in
1704-593: A year. His 2011 Discworld novel Snuff became the third-fastest-selling hardback adult-readership novel since records began in the UK, selling 55,000 copies in the first three days. As of 2023, Pratchett's works have sold more than 100 million copies in 43 languages. Pratchett married Lyn Purves at the Congregational Church, Gerrards Cross , on 5 October 1968. They moved to Rowberrow , Somerset, in 1970. Their daughter Rhianna Pratchett , also
1775-765: Is a comic fantasy novel, the last book written by Terry Pratchett before his death in March 2015. It is the 41st novel in the Discworld series, and the fifth based on the character Tiffany Aching . It was published in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2015 by Penguin Random House publishers, and in the United States on 1 September 2015. In early June 2015, Pratchett's daughter Rhianna Pratchett announced that The Shepherd's Crown would be
1846-524: Is easier to bend the universe around the story." In the acceptance speech for his Carnegie Medal, he said: "Fantasy isn't just about wizards and silly wands. It's about seeing the world from new directions", pointing to the Harry Potter novels and The Lord of the Rings . In the same speech, he acknowledged benefits of these works for the genre. The Shepherd%27s Crown The Shepherd's Crown
1917-519: The Daily Mail in which he denied that he had found God, and clarified that he believed the voice had come from a memory of his father and a sense of personal elation. In August 2007, Pratchett was misdiagnosed as having had a minor stroke a few years before, which doctors believed had damaged the right side of his brain. In December 2007, he announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease , which had been responsible for
1988-529: The Bookseller's Pocket Yearbook (2005), in 2003 Pratchett's UK sales amounted to 3.4% of the fiction market by hardback sales and 3.8% by value, putting him in second place behind J. K. Rowling (6% and 5.6%, respectively), while in the paperback sales list Pratchett came 5th with 1.2% and 1.3% by value (behind James Patterson (1.9% and 1.7%), Alexander McCall Smith , John Grisham and J. R. R. Tolkien ). He has UK sales of more than 2.5 million copies
2059-581: The Goodreads Choice Awards 2012 for Science Fiction. Sequels of the novel in the series are: Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett OBE (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author , humorist , and satirist , best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman . Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People ,
2130-622: The University of South Australia . The Sir Terry Pratchett Memorial Scholarship supports a Masters scholarship at the university's Hawke Research Institute. In 2023, several stories published in a regional newspaper in the 1970s and 1980s under the pen name Patrick Kearns were discovered to have been authored by Pratchett. They were published as A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories in October 2023. Pratchett received
2201-501: The University of Warwick in 1999, the University of Portsmouth in 2001, the University of Bath in 2003, the University of Bristol in 2004, Buckinghamshire New University in 2008, the University of Dublin in 2008, Bradford University in 2009, University of Winchester in 2009, The Open University in 2013 for his contribution to Public Service and his last, from the University of South Australia , in May 2014. Pratchett
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2272-469: The right to die public debate and his Humanist values. Pratchett's Discworld novels have led to dedicated conventions, the first in Manchester in 1996, then worldwide, often with the author as guest of honour. Publication of a new novel was sometimes accompanied by an international book signing tour; queues were known to stretch outside the bookshop as the author continued to sign books well after
2343-661: The "Top 200". Pratchett's highest-ranking novel was Mort , number 65, but he and Charles Dickens were the only authors with five in the Top 100 (four of his were from the Discworld series). He also led all authors with fifteen novels in the Top 200. An asteroid ( 127005 Pratchett ) is named after Pratchett. In 2013, Pratchett was named Humanist of the Year by the British Humanist Association for his campaign to fund research into Alzheimers, his contribution to
2414-432: The "stroke". He had a rare form of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), a disease in which areas at the back of the brain begin to shrink and shrivel. Describing the diagnosis as an "embuggerance" in a radio interview, Pratchett appealed to people to "keep things cheerful" and proclaimed that "we are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism". He stated he felt he had time for "at least
2485-506: The 2001 Carnegie Medal from the British librarians , which recognised The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents as the year's best children's book published in the UK. Night Watch won the 2003 Prometheus Award for best libertarian novel. Four of the five Discworld novels that centre on the trainee witch Tiffany Aching won the annual Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2016. In 2005, Going Postal
2556-587: The Datum where the Earth no longer exists – Joshua and Lobsang encounter the threat that has caused the slow migration of Trolls away from the gap. First Person Singular is a being that absorbs other sentient life forms, eventually taking over everything on earth before stepping to the next. It currently cannot pass The Gap. Lobsang elects to stay in First Person Singular's universe and commune with it, in
2627-590: The Discworld Conventions have adopted Orangutan Foundation as their nominated charity, which has been acknowledged by the foundation. One of Pratchett's most popular fictional characters, the Librarian , is a wizard who was transformed into an orangutan in a magical accident and decides to remain in that condition as it is so convenient for his work. Pratchett, who was brought up in a Church of England family, described himself as an atheist and
2698-615: The Feegles to build the King a shed in the hope that it will earn his allegiance. The elves break through at two stone circles: up in Lancre and down in the Chalk. In Lancre, they are met by the assembled witches with help from Geoffrey and the men and they are defeated. In the Chalk, they are met by Miss Tick , Letitia , Tiffany, and the Nac Mac Feegle. Nightshade, with her glamour restored, fights for Tiffany, whom she now considers
2769-678: The High Wycombe Technical School's magazine in 1962. It is the tale of a man named Crucible who finds the Devil in his flat in a cloud of sulphurous smoke. "The Hades Business" was published in the school magazine when he was 13, and published commercially when he was 15. Pratchett earned five O-levels and started A-level courses in Art, English and History. His initial career choice was journalism and he left school at 17, in 1965, to start an apprenticeship with Arthur Church,
2840-526: The Origin of Species , which "all made perfect sense ... Evolution was far more thrilling to me than the biblical account." He said that he had never disliked religion and thought it had a purpose in human evolution . In an interview Pratchett cites a quotation from the protagonist in his novel Nation , "It is better to build a seismograph than to worship the volcano", a statement Pratchett said he agreed with. Pratchett told The Times in 2008: "I believe in
2911-493: The UK, and asked for an increase in dementia research funding. Pratchett tested a prototype device to address his condition. The ability of the device to alter the course of the illness has been met with skepticism from Alzheimer's researchers. In an article published in 2009 Pratchett stated that he wished to die by assisted suicide (a term he disliked) before his disease progressed to a critical point. He later said that he felt "it should be possible for someone stricken with
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2982-445: The biennial International Discworld Convention , citing his condition and "other age-related ailments". Pratchett died at his home from complications of Alzheimer's disease on the morning of 12 March 2015. He was 66 years old. The Telegraph reported an unidentified source as saying that, despite his previous discussion of assisted suicide, his death had been natural. After Pratchett's death, his assistant, Rob Wilkins, wrote from
3053-451: The development of at least one popular fan-made mod. Pratchett had a fascination with natural history that he referred to many times, and he owned a greenhouse full of carnivorous plants . He described them in the biographical notes on the dust jackets of some of his books, and elsewhere, as "not as interesting as people think". By Carpe Jugulum the account had become that "he used to grow carnivorous plants, but now they've taken over
3124-803: The editor of the Bucks Free Press . In this position he wrote, among other things, more than 80 stories for the Children's Circle section under the name Uncle Jim. Two of the stories contain characters found in his novel The Carpet People (1971). While on day release from his apprenticeship, Pratchett finished his A-Level in English and took the National Council for the Training of Journalists proficiency course. In 1968 Pratchett interviewed Peter Bander van Duren , co-director of
3195-494: The effects of the explosion of available space on the people of Datum Earth and the new colonies and political movements that are spreading throughout the Long Earth. A young girl, Helen Green, and her family (with the exception of her brother, Rod, who is unable to step) trek across the long earth to form a new community, Reboot, on Earth West 101,754. After stepping across "The Gap" – a universe around two million steps from
3266-469: The faerie court what the humans are capable of with iron and the status that goblins have achieved, Peaseblossom usurps the Queen, intending to reenter the human world and reestablish the elves ' power. Tiffany, spread thin tending to the Chalk and Granny Weatherwax's old steading, employs Geoffrey as a "backhouse boy" and starts teaching him. He and his goat get on well with everybody, and Tiffany dubs him
3337-463: The fantasy genre, the Discworld novels expose the hypocrisies of contemporary society in an intricate, ever-expanding universe. With satisfyingly multilayered plots, Pratchett's humor honors the intelligence of the reader. Teens eagerly lose themselves in a universe with no maps." In 2003, BBC conducted The Big Read to identify the "Nation's Best-loved Novel" and finally published a ranked list of
3408-541: The greenhouse and he avoids going in". In 1995, a fossil of a sea-turtle from the Eocene epoch of New Zealand was named Psephophorus terrypratchetti in his honour by the palaeontologist Richard Köhler. In 2016, Pratchett fans unsuccessfully petitioned the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) to name chemical element 117, temporarily called ununseptium , as octarine with
3479-424: The hopes of convincing it not to advance further, or at least to not absorb all other sentients. Joshua and Sally return to Datum Earth back the way they came. Upon reaching Earth West 101,754, they hear news that Datum Madison has been destroyed in a nuclear explosion, the result of a bomb planted by a terrorist group of humans incapable of stepping (called "phobics" in the book's terminology). The book ends with
3550-533: The intended finishing time. His fans were not restricted by age or gender, and he received a large amount of fan mail from them. Pratchett enjoyed meeting fans and hearing what they think about his books, saying that since he was well paid for his novels, his fans were "everything" to him. In March 2017, Beaconsfield Town Council commissioned a commemorative plaque dedicated to Pratchett for Beaconsfield Library. Pratchett said that to write, you must read extensively, both inside and outside your chosen genre and to
3621-540: The last Discworld novel, and that no further work, including unfinished work, would be published. Tiffany Aching is busy running her steading and taking care of the people of the Chalk. Jeannie, the Kelda of the Nac Mac Feegle , is worried that she is overworked. When Granny Weatherwax , Tiffany's mentor, dies, she leaves everything to Tiffany, who becomes the first among equals of the witches . Geoffrey ,
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#17327719034903692-525: The official Terry Pratchett Twitter account: A T LAST, S IR T ERRY, 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. Public figures who paid tribute included the British prime minister David Cameron , the comedian Ricky Gervais , and the authors Ursula K. Le Guin , Terry Brooks , Margaret Atwood , George R. R. Martin , and Neil Gaiman . Pratchett
3763-486: The old iron wheels from her late Granny Aching 's shepherd's hut. Den of Geek awarded the book five out of five stars, saying "Some beloved elements of the world we've come to know over the last thirty-two years come to a close, while others are left to walk on into a world we won't get to see." The Guardian said "This is not a perfect example of Pratchett's genius, but it is a moving one." The Shepherd's Crown sold 52,846 copies in its first three days on sale. During
3834-458: The original Earth. They encounter evidence of other humanoid species (referred to as trolls and elves); of human settlers who learned their gifts early – including Sally Linsay, daughter of the inventor of the stepper, who joins them on their expedition; and of an extinct race of bipedal dinosaur descendants. They also encounter warning signs of a great danger, millions of worlds away from Earth, causing catastrophe as it moves. The book also deals with
3905-437: The point of "overflow". He advised that writing is hard work, and that writers must "make grammar, punctuation and spelling a part of your life". However, Pratchett enjoyed writing, regarding its monetary rewards as "an unavoidable consequence" rather than the reason for writing. Although during his early career he wrote for the science fiction and horror genres, Pratchett later focused almost entirely on fantasy, and said: "It
3976-513: The proposed symbol Oc (pronounced "ook"). The final name chosen for element 117 was tennessine with the symbol Ts. Pratchett was a trustee for the Orangutan Foundation but was pessimistic about the future of orangutans . His activities included visiting Borneo with a Channel 4 film crew to make an episode of Jungle Quest in 1995, seeing orangutans in their natural habitat. Following Pratchett's lead, fan events such as
4047-540: The same God that Einstein did ... And it is just possible that once you have got past all the gods that we have created with big beards and many human traits, just beyond all that on the other side of physics, there just may be the ordered structure from which everything flows." In an interview on Front Row he described an experience of hearing his dead father's voice and feeling a sense of peace. Commentators took these statements to mean that Pratchett had become religious, but Pratchett responded in an article published in
4118-422: The same cannot be said of earlier hominid species, especially Homo habilis . The book, set in 2030, deals primarily with the journey of 28-year-old Joshua Valienté (a natural "Stepper") and Lobsang, who claims to be a Tibetan motorcycle repairman reincarnated as an artificial intelligence . The two chart a course to learn as much as possible about the parallel worlds, travelling millions of steps away from
4189-404: The same terms as peer-reviewed research, with no easy way to gauge reliability. Gates disagreed, saying that online authorities would index and check facts and sources in a much more sophisticated way than in print. The interview was rediscovered in 2019, and seen by Pratchett's biographer as prescient of fake news . Pratchett was an avid video game player, and collaborated in the creation of
4260-630: The second week of its release, it sold 27,386 copies in the UK, generating £318,576 in revenue. The book received the 2016 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book and the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel. In the afterword, Pratchett's assistant Rob Wilkins stated that Pratchett wrote The Shepherd's Crown's "pivotal scenes while he was still writing Raising Steam ", and that "it was, still, not quite finished as he would have liked when he died" and that "he would almost certainly have written more of this book". Neil Gaiman has said that Pratchett had originally planned to end
4331-400: The third son of Lord Swivel, is well educated, vegetarian and a pacifist. He is dissatisfied with hunting practices he considers barbaric, and after a confrontation with his father, heads towards Lancre , intending to become a witch. Meanwhile, in the domain of the Elves, Peaseblossom senses that the passing of Granny Weatherwax has weakened the barriers between the realms. When a goblin shows
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#17327719034904402-545: The two of them briefly seeing the explosion site, before retreating to Earth West 1 Madison, where a backed-up instantiation of Lobsang contacts Joshua by phone. Reviewing the book in The Guardian , Adam Roberts found it to be "much more like a Baxter novel than a Pratchett one." It was also said to be "a charming, absorbing and somehow spacious piece of imagineering." The book reached 13th on The New York Times hardback best-sellers list on 8 July 2012. The novel won
4473-533: Was a ZX81 ; the first computer he used properly for writing was an Amstrad CPC 464 , later replaced by an IBM PC compatible . Pratchett was one of the first authors to routinely use the Internet to communicate with fans, and was a contributor to the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett from 1992. However, he did not consider the Internet a hobby, just another "thing to use". He had many computers in his house, with
4544-459: Was announced that Pratchett would be knighted (as a Knight Bachelor ) in the Queen's 2009 New Year Honours. Afterwards he said, "You can't ask a fantasy writer not to want a knighthood. You know, for two pins I'd get myself a horse and a sword." In 2010, Pratchett created his own sword from deposits of iron he had found in a field near his home as he believed a knight should have a sword. Ten honorary doctorates were conferred on Pratchett: from
4615-489: Was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours . In 2001, he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents , the first Discworld book marketed for children. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010. In December 2007 Pratchett announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease . He later made
4686-467: Was donating $ 1 million (about £494,000) to the Alzheimer's Research Trust (later called Alzheimer's Research UK), and that he was shocked "to find out that funding for Alzheimer's research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures". He said: "I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the cure comes along." In April 2008, Pratchett worked with the BBC to make
4757-650: Was made an adjunct Professor in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin in 2010, with a role in postgraduate education in creative writing and popular literature. Pratchett won the British Book Awards ' "Fantasy and Science Fiction Author of the Year" category in 1994, the British Science Fiction Award in 1989 for his novel Pyramids , and a Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2008 for Making Money . He won
4828-580: Was memorialised in graffiti in East London. The video game companies Frontier Developments and Valve added elements to their games named after him. Users of the social news site Reddit organised a tribute by which an HTTP header , " X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett ", was added to web sites' responses, a reference to the Discworld novel Going Postal , in which "the clacks" (a semaphore system, used as Discworld 's equivalent to
4899-463: Was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic , was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final Discworld novel, The Shepherd's Crown , was published in August 2015, five months after his death. With more than 100 million books sold worldwide in 43 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He
4970-569: Was shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel ; however, Pratchett recused himself, stating that stress over the award would mar his enjoyment of Worldcon . In the same year, A Hat Full of Sky won a Mythopoeic Award . In 2008, Making Money was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel . I Shall Wear Midnight won the 2010 Andre Norton Award , presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) as
5041-505: Was the UK's bestselling author of the 1990s. According to The Times , Pratchett was the top-selling and highest earning UK author in 1996. Some of his books have been published by Doubleday , another Transworld imprint. In the United States, where his books are published by HarperCollins , Pratchett had poorer sales, marketing and distribution until 2005, when Thud! reached the New York Times bestseller list. According to
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