a photo of Sir Terry Pratchett

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Biography of Sir Terry Pratchett

The timeline below chronicles the extraordinary life of Sir Terry Pratchett, from his birth and the publication of his first story in the school paper, to finishing off the final Discworld novel, The Shepherd’s Crown, in 2015.

Terry Pratchett was born in 1948 and had his first story published when he was just thirteen. After leaving school at seventeen to become a journalist he continued writing, publishing his first novel, The Carpet People, in 1971 and going on to produce the phenomenally successful Discworld series. Terry proved early critics wrong and became one of the UK’s most successful authors, receiving a knighthood in 2009 and seeing many of his books adapted for the screen.

He died in March 2015 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. You can find out more about his life and work below.

1962

Aged thirteen, Terry published his first story, Business Rivals, in school magazine The Technical Cygnet. It was published commercially as The Hades Business the following year. Terry used the fee of £14 to buy his first typewriter.

1965

While studying for his A Levels, Terry decided to leave school to take up a job on local newspaper The Bucks Free Press. As part of his new job he wrote a weekly Children’s Circle story column – some of these stories have now been published in Dragons at Crumbling Castle.

1968

A photo of Sir Terry Pratchett

Terry interviewed a local publisher, Peter Bander van Duren, for The Bucks Free Press and happened to mention a book he was working on… Peter passed the manuscript on to his co-director, Colin Smythe. The manuscript in question was The Carpet People, Terry’s first novel, and so began a lifelong friendship, as Colin became Terry’s publisher and later his agent.

This was an important year for Terry – he married his wife, Lyn.

1976

Terry’s daughter Rhianna was born.

1979

Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in the USA. A few months later, after stints at the Western Daily Press and the Bath Evening Chronicle, Terry moved out of journalism to become press officer for four nuclear power stations with the Central Electricity Generating Board.

He cited this as an example of his unerring sense of timing.

1986

Equal Rites, an early Discworld novel which tapped into emerging ideas about feminism, was serialised for radio on Woman’s Hour. It was the most popular book they had ever broadcast.

1987

With the Discworld series becoming more and more successful, Terry was gave up his job at the Electricity Board to become a full-time writer.

1996

The Times reported that Terry Pratchett was now the bestselling author in the UK.

1998

Terry was appointed OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Despite initially suspecting it was an elaborate hoax, he did turn up to accept the award.

2007

A picture of Terry Pratchett

Terry was diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer’s, Posterior Cortical Atrophy. He decided to tell the world, and began his campaign to raise awareness of the disease, donating a million dollars to Alzheimer’s research the following year.

2011

Terry delivered the annual Dimbleby Lecture on BBC1, with the help of his friend Tony Robinson, who read his speech for him. In a piece entitled Shaking Hands With Death, Terry was candid about his struggle with Alzheimer’s and his campaign to reform the law on assisted dying. The lecture attracted a record TV audience, the highest there had ever been for a Dimbleby Lecture.

Terry presented a documentary on assisted dying, Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die, in which he travelled to Switzerland to witness the death of terminally ill motor neurone sufferer Peter Smedley at the Dignitas clinic. The documentary won both a BAFTA and an Emmy.

2013

A photo of Sir Terry Pratchett, copyright Pratchett Estate

Despite the progress of his disease, Terry remained busy. In 2013 he published several books: 40th Discworld novel Raising Steam,  science fiction novel The Long War in collaboration with Stephen Baxter, The Science of Discworld IV with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen, and Dodger’s London.

'Terry's writing didn't just entertain, it educated us in all manner of things. Most we don't even think about because his writing changed the way we actually think.'


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