At the age of seventeen, he quit school and joined the Bucks Free Press, where he wrote a weekly column named ‘Children’s Circle’. As the story goes, Pratchett would use the £14 to buy his first typewriter, and would go on to publish several more works. This would extend beyond the confines of school, and Pratchett would later go on to say: “I just worked my way through my granny’s bookshelf and didn't realise I was getting an education.”Īt the tender age of thirteen, he published his first short story titled ‘Business Rivals’ in his high school magazine, ‘The Technical Cygnet’. He would devour fiction, non-fiction, dictionaries - anything he could get his hands on. In many ways, the Beaconsville Public Library in Buckinghamshire (England) has been credited with infusing Pratchett with a thirst for reading, fueling his early imagination with the infinite possibilities of fantasy. Like many introverted children, Pratchett would often seek solace in the welcoming silence of his school library. But it was not the kids that really got to me, it was the crushing of my boyhood dreams by someone 3 feet taller.”

Pratchett would later explain: “I had a mouthful of speech impediments that left me with a voice that sounded like David Bellamy with his hand caught inside an electric fire. As the story goes, the headmaster of Holtspur School (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire) took a particularly vicious dislike to Pratchett, and was the sort who would make judgement of how successful one would be as an adult based on how well they could read and write at the age of six. He suffered from a speech impediment, and was bullied frequently by both classmates and teachers alike. An only child, Pratchett was drawn to reading at an early age. Sir Terence David John Pratchett, OBE was born on 28th April 1948.

Today, on what would have been his 72nd birthday, we’re looking back at the life, laughs, and legacy of one of modern fantasy’s most cherished authors.

Frequently using social justice and ecological issues as core underlying themes, Pratchett was best known for his use of satire and subversive motifs to weave elegantly irreverent, hilarious- and perhaps most significantly- enduring stories. Widely regarded as one of the bestselling authors of modern times, for both young readers and adults alike (and perhaps, in spectacularly Pratchett-esque fashion, the most shoplifted English author of all time!), aside from having touched billions of hearts and minds through his Discworld series, Sir Terry was also one of the first writers to have made use of the internet to interact directly with his fanbase. Whether you’re a dedicated fantasy reader or are simply looking for a good place to begin your journey into speculative fiction, chances are, you’ve already heard of Sir Terry Pratchett and his works. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.”

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