Celebrating Terry Pratchett’s Birthday and His Enduring Magic

Terry Pratchett – award-winning novelist and enrapturer of readers all over the world – passed away at his home on March 12th, 2015. Aged only 66, Pratchett had spent almost half a century shining a brilliant light into the lives of readers all over the world.

Ten years on, we celebrate what would have been the Discworld author’s 78th birthday, and look at some of the events and projects that are continuing his legacy.

A Remarkable Life, and a Glittering Career

Born in Buckinghamshire in 1948, Pratchett was only 17 when he wrote his first published novel. It would take six more years for The Carpet People to reach the public, but Pratchett was still barely 23 when the book was released – certainly an impressive feat for someone so young.

Like many of us, Pratchett may have been a little embarrassed by his teenage work. He later rewrote The Carpet People and republished it in 1992. In the revised edition, Pratchett noted, “This book has two authors, and they were both the same person.”

By this time, of course, Pratchett was a literary superstar. The themes he’d begun to explore with The Carpet People had been fleshed out into a sprawling series of novels known as Discworld, and by the end of 1992, 14 of these works had already been published. Pratchett continued working on Discworld right up to his death, publishing an astonishing 41 entries in this vast, intricate narrative.

A Lasting Inspiration

Pratchett himself was inspired by the fantasy titans of the generation before him. People like Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. But while Pratchett’s own work was no less epic and grand than the visions of these luminaries, it was equally focused on wry humor and cutting social commentary.

This essentially moved the entire genre forward, inspiring a raft of young authors to follow suit and build on this legacy.

Ben Aaronovitch channeled some of Pratchett’s energy in his celebrated Rivers of London series. Jodi Taylor was a noted Pratchett devotee, and there are elements of his work in her own series, such as The Chronicles of St Mary’s and Time Police.

Michael Logan actually won one of Terry Pratchett’s first novel prizes, and his writing is shot through with humor that Pratchett himself would be proud of.

Walter Moers takes a more meta-approach, but weaves Pratchett’s influence deep into novels like The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books.

Of course, there are countless other individuals for whom Pratchett left a lasting impression. There’s a good chance that you are one of these individuals.

Celebrating Terry Pratchett in Our Own Way

You don’t need to buy a new edition of a book or head out to a comedy performance to mark the birthday of Terry Pratchett. Most fans will choose to remember the great author differently, by returning to one of his celebrated works, or perhaps one of his less celebrated ones.

While all of Pratchett’s books have received critical acclaim and certainly have their own merits, not all are as widely read as the main titles in the Discworld series. Strata, from 1981, contains elements of what would become Discworld, but exists outside the canon. The Long Earth, a collaboration with Stephen Baxter, is set apart from the Discworld universe and is well worth exploring.

And then there is A Blink of the Screen – a collection of shorter pieces by the acclaimed author – and A Slip of the Keyword, which collects Pratchett’s non-fiction work.

All of these books warrant further exploration and enjoyment. Whether you’ve already read everything Pratchett ever published or you’re not yet acquainted with the full breadth of his work, it’s always a good time to discover, or re-discover, Pratchett’s scintillating writing. And on his birthday, it seems even more appropriate to dive in and celebrate the author in your own way.