Terry Pratchett, Award winning author

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Terry Pratchett is an English fantasy author best known for his Discworld series of books, which have been made into several Made-For-TV movies. Pratchett has already written more than 25 novels in this series, while writing dozen others. His writing abounds with humour, irony, jokes and a lot more, while telling the stories of magical figures, humans and fantasy worlds, all combined together.

Pratchett is also considered one of the best satiricans writing in English these days. He lives with his wife and their child.

What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
There are so many. Doesn't everyone say that? But The Wind In the Willows by Kenneth Grahame was surely the biggest influence, because it was the first book I read for pleasure rather than as a school chore. It got me reading -- within a week, I was haunting the local library.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame


(children books (Ages 9-12), children books)

What are your ten favorite books, and what makes them special to you?

1. The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton
   
   
   
   "For teaching me how to see the world. To Chesterton, even a quiet street was a world of fantasy and a street lamp more precious that a star (because there's a universe full of stars, compared to which street lamps are really uncommon. "
   
   


2. Roughing It by Mark Twain
   
   
   (literature and fiction, writing)
   
   "The true story, for a given value of "truth" of his time out West working for his brother in Nevada during the silver rush. The sheer texture of it is a delight; I hadn't believed the West was like this. "
   
   


3. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
   
   
   (classics, literature and fiction)
   
   "A style reminiscent of Twain, I always think. The ironic voice of the slightly detached observer became one of the foundation stones of much British and US humour, or even humor. I read it with some care. It may have been the first time I was consciously aware of irony."
   
   


4. The Evolution Man by Roy Lewis
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "The funniest science fiction book ever -- and, although every single character is an ape man, it's the pure quill of science fiction. It's about the Faustian bargains we have with out big brains. Read it now! "
   
   


5. The Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by John Ayto
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "The first reference book I ever bought, and one that open my eyes to the complexity of myth. "
   
   


6. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
   
   
   (classics, literature and fiction, science)
   
   "Changed my life when I read it at age 13. It was better than science fiction! It showed me that the world was a far more wonderful and interesting place than I'd suspected. Harking back to Chesterton, I found evolution more magnificent than Eden; I found it more wonderful to be a rising ape that a falling angel. "
   
   


7. The Specialist by Charles Sale
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "A very slim volume about a man who builds privies. It taught me that humour is a lot more than gags; you can grow a gag on a damp flannel, but humour needs a deep soil. You don't laugh when you read this book, you smile and feel good. "
   
   


8. Sir George Cayley: The Inventor of the Aeroplane
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "Impressed the heck out of me when I was 16. Cayley was a mid-Victorian inventor who pioneered the science of aeronautics. He built the first known man-carrying glider since antiquity, flying model aircraft powered by minute steam engines, and would have build a man-sized one in the internal combustion engine had been around at the time. Count Zeppelin and the Wright Brothers acknowledged his genius. But now, hardly anyone remembers him. Again, it was one of those books that taught me the sheer variety of the world, and triggered a lifelong interest in the history of technology"
   
   


9. The Penguin science fiction omnibus by
   
   
   
   
   "No, not penguins in space, but the publishing company's daring foray into that icky science fiction stuff in 1961. It was the first science fiction book I ever bought; I still have it, although now it smells like the air inside a pyramid. Lucky me -- because it contains a double handful of the best stories from the best writers. I was hooked. "
   
   


10. The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
    
    
    (literature and fiction, classics, horror)
    
    "Gothic Horror I found on my granny's bookshelf. It scared the pants off me, although now in the world of schlock horror the basic action looks tame. But it evoked deep time, the passage of billions of years (all watched by our hero from a window in the house). Odd though it was, it was the first books that gave me a feel for how old the universe is. "
    
    



Source:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Why should you listen to him?

Terry Pratchett was born in 1948 in Beaconsfield, Bucks, and decided to become a journalist after his first short story, 'The Hades Business', was published in Science Fantasy magazine when he was fifteen years old. His first job was on the Bucks Free Press and he went on to work for various newspapers before becoming a publicity officer for the Central Electricity Generating Board in 1980. He became a full-time writer in 1987.

His first novel, The Carpet People (1971), a humorous fantasy, was followed by The Dark Side of the Sun (1976) and Strata (1981). 1983 saw the publication of The Colour of Magic, which became the first in a long series of Discworld novels. BBC Radio Four serialised The Colour of Magic and Equal Rites (1987)and these brought him great popularity. There are now more than 30 books in this series, set in a surreal world on the back of four elephants that stand on the shell of Great A'Tuin, the sky turtle. The Discworld series is popular world-wide and has led to the production of much related merchandise. Thud! (2005), features Sam Vimes, who has to get home each evening to read his son a picture book - Where's My Cow?. Where's My Cow?, published in 2005, alongside Thud! The latest novel in the series is The Unseen Academicals (2009).

Hailed as one of the greatest humorous satirists, Pratchett has also become one of the few writers to write across the adult/child divide. His book, Truckers (1989), was the first children's book to appear in British adult fiction best-seller lists.

Terry Pratchett has also written many novels for young readers, and the end-of-the-world novel Good Omens (1990) - in collaboration with Neil Gaiman. He has also written several short stories, some of which are on Discworld themes. His books have sold over thirty-five million copies worldwide and have been translated into over thirty languages. 'To say that Terry Pratchett is popular ...' writes Kate Saunders in the Sunday Express (2 June 1996), ' ... is like saying the Arctic Circle is a bit nippy.

He has been awarded three honorary degrees, in 1999 by the University of Warwick, in 2001 by the University of Portsmouth, and in 2003 by the University of Bath. In 1998, he was also awarded an OBE for services to Literature.

Terry Pratchett is involved with the Orang-Utan Foundation, and visited Borneo with a film-crew to make the documentary Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest for BBC Television. He lives with his family in Wiltshire.

Prizes and awards

1. Pyramids By Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (literature and fiction, fantasy series, fantasy)
   
   "1989 British Fantasy Award (Best Novel) Pyramids"
   
   


2. Johnny And The Dead (the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy) by Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (children books (Ages 9-12), children books, sci-fi)
   
   "1993 Writers' Guild Award (Best Children's Book) Johnny and the Dead
   
   1994 Carnegie Medal (shortlist) Johnny and the Dead"
   
   


3. Johnny And The Bomb (johnny Maxwell Trilogy, 3.) by Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (children books (Ages 9-12), children books)
   
   "1996 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Silver Award) (9-11 years category) Johnny and the Bomb
   
   1997 Carnegie Medal (shortlist) Johnny and the Bomb"
   
   


4. Good Omens By Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (literature and fiction, fantasy, sci-fi)
   
   "World Fantasy Best Novel nominee (1991) : Good Omens"
   
   


5. Hogfather By Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (fantasy series, fantasy)
   
   "British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1996) : Hogfather"
   
   


6. Jingo By Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (fantasy series, fantasy)
   
   "British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1997) : Jingo"
   
   


7. The Truth By Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (literature and fiction, fantasy series, fantasy)
   
   "Prometheus Award Best Novel nominee (2001) : The Truth"
   
   


8. The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (children books, sci-fi, teens)
   
   "Carnegie Medal Best Novel winner (2002) : The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
   
   2002 WH Smith Award for Children's Literature (shortlist) The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents"
   
   


9. Night Watch By Terry Pratchett
   
   
   (literature and fiction, fantasy)
   
   "Prometheus Award Best Novel winner (2003) : Night Watch"
   
   


10. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
    
    
    (children books, adventure, sci-fi, fantasy series, fantasy, teens)
    
    "2004 WH Smith People's Choice Award The Wee Free Men"
    
    


11. Thud By Terry Pratchett
    
    
    (literature and fiction, fantasy series, fantasy)
    
    "2006 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize (shortlist) Thud"
    
    


12. Going Postal By Terry Pratchett
    
    
    (literature and fiction, fantasy series, fantasy)
    
    "Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Writing Best Novel nominee (2005) : Going Postal
    
    Nebula Best Novel nominee (2006) : Going Postal
    
    2007 British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year (shortlist) Wintersmith."
    
    

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