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Terry PratchettThe last couple of years have been quite exciting for bestselling British author Terry Pratchett. 2008 marked both the 25th anniversary of the Discworld series and his 60th birthday, and in September, the release of Nation, a non-Discworld young adult book. In December of 2008, Terry was made a knight in the New Years Honours list for Services to Literature. In 2009, Nation won the 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Young Adult Literature), the 2009 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children's Literature (Fiction and Poetry category), and was named a 2009 Printz Honor book. Terry was also awarded several (more) honorary doctorates (we can't even remember how many he has anymore!) and this September, of course, marks the first North American Discworld Convention, which we are all looking forward to with much excitement. At last count, Terry has sold over 60 million copies of his books, including over 36 Discworld titles (and he'll probably have written another by the time you finish reading this). Translated into at least 37 languages, Terry's witty and insightful writing for adults and children of all ages has inspired a bona-fide publishing phenomenon, featuring tie-in books, plays, radio adaptations, telefilms, games, art, stamps, signing sessions lasting longer than the complete Wagnerian ring cycle, and worldwide conventions. Despite all this, the US used to be a place where Terry's satirical fantasies were not released so much as 'allowed to escape,' as he once wryly observed. However, with the support of a new publisher, HarperCollins, recent years have seen Thud! and Making Money placing fourth on the New York Times bestseller list; the BAFTA-award winning Hogfather and star-studded Colour of Magic miniseries reaching US as well as UK audiences; director Sam Raimi optioning The Wee Free Men; and the launch of the first North American Discworld Convention, set for September 2009. America has finally discovered Terry. Increasingly, so have the critics. Lauded as everything from 'one of the more significant contemporary English satirists' to a modern-day Chaucer, Terry has racked up an impressive list of awards. Along with those listed above, Terry has been awarded a Carnegie medal, numerous honorary doctorates, and an appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to literature (which he categorically denies writing, but he accepted the honor anyway because it would make mum proud). More populist accolades include the W.H. Smith People's Choice Book Award, multiple Locus Awards, WorldCon Guest of Honor, being the most shoplifted author in UK bookshops, becoming an honorary Brownie scout, and a shared spot with Dickens as the most-nominated author on the BBC's Big Read Top 100 list (although he has the unarguable advantage of being 'Less dead than Dickens,' as his infamous T-shirt proclaims). Born April 28, 1948 outside rural Beaconsfield as the only child of David, an engineer, and Eileen, a secretary, Terence David John Pratchett sold his first short story at age 13. Working first as a journalist and then as a publicity officer for three nuclear power stations before becoming a full-time writer in 1987, he recalls seeing a dead body on his first newspaper assignment at age 17, much to his interest. He now lives with his wife Lyn in a Wiltshire 'Domesday manorette' with a private astronomical observatory and a herd of cats. In December of 2007, Terry was diagnosed with early-onset PCA, a rare variant of Alzheimer's disease; since his diagnosis, he has become an influential advocate for the cause of increased funding and research in the field of Alzheimer's research, and has donated 1 million dollars to the Alzheimer's Research Trust. Terry is an orangutan activist, avid gardener, accomplished cheesemaker, compulsive reader and researcher, library advocate, inventor of the Author Hat, father of computer game writer Rhianna, and eminently approachable, fan-friendly veteran of innumerable conventions. But you probably knew all that already - except, perhaps, the bit about the cheese. What you may not know is that Terry is rumored to have an evil twin named Silas T. Firefly. If sighted, this reclusive doppelganger is best left undisturbed. His signature's worthless anyway. TopJennifer BrehlJennifer Brehl is an editor at HarperCollins Publishers in New York where she has worked with Terry Pratchett for the past ten years. Visit the HarperCollins Website TopDiane DuaneDiane Duane has been writing novels and screenplays since the late 1970's. Her most successful series is the Young Wizards series that started in 1983 with So You Want to Be A Wizard? and will see publication of the ninth book of the series, A Wizard of Mars in late 2008. She is currently writing the conclusion of her Feline Wizardry series with The Big Meow and her Middle Kingdom series that started with A Door into Sunset will be concluding soon with A Door into Starlight. Her novels in the Star Trek universe have been well received by fans, especially the Romulan Rihannsu novels recently concluded with Rihannsu: The Empty Chair. In the screenplay arena, she's written scripts for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Space Island One, animated series such as Gargoyles, Batman: The Animated Adventures, Spider-Man Unlimited, and Dinosaucers. Diane and her husband, Peter Morwood, wrote the script for the Ring of the Nibelungs miniseries (aired in the U.S. on SciFi as Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King). After being introduced to Peter Morwood by Anne McCaffrey at the 1985 WorldCon in Glasgow, Diane and Peter were married at Boskone in 1987 and currently live in Ireland. TopEsther FriesnerEsther M. Friesner has been writing for over 20 years and while many know her as the anthologist responsible for creating the Chicks in Chainmail series, there's a lot more to her. A multiple Hugo and Nebula award nominee, she has won the short story Nebula twice - once for her story "Death and the Librarian" inspired by some Discworld figures gifted to her by Terry. Her most recent novel is the YA Nobody's Princess, about Helen of Troy, with a sequel, Nobody's Prize, coming in 2008. She's also working on a YA historical novel, Burning Roses, for Penguin. Esther is also starting up a new humorous fantasy anthology series for Baen Books about witches, werewolves, and vampires in suburbia, the first of which will be called Witch Way to the Mall? As if all that isn't enough, Esther is the Queen of the SFWA Musketeers, the creator (and only practitioner) of Cheeblemancy, and a frequent guest at SF conventions. In short, she's a great writer, a marvelous guest, and a huge fan of Discworld. TopAnne HoppeAnne Hoppe joined HarperCollins Children's Books in 1994 and discovered her life's true purpose when she started with working Terry in 2001. She has been the U.S. editor for all of the original and reissued Pratchett children's books published by Harper. Visit the HarperCollins Website TopPeter MorwoodPeter Morwood has always wanted to write and studied English Language and Literature, Law, and Medieval History at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Upon graduation, he took a job as an officer in H.M . Customs and Excise before leaving it in 1986 to write full time. His first novel, The Horse Lord, published in 1983 was well received and led to several sequels. His other series have included the Clan Wars novels Greylady and Widowmaker, plus novels Prince Ivan, Firebird, and The Golden Horde. He co-wrote the Star Trek novel The Romulan Way with his wife Diane Duane on their honeymoon and also wrote Star Trek: The Rules of Engagement solo. He's co-written teleplays with Diane including many for animated series such as Gargoyles, Batman, and Spiderman Unlimited as well as the script for the Ring of the Nibelungs miniseries (aired in the U.S. on SciFi as Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King). Peter is currently working on screenplays for another miniseries and a feature film. He's also working on a third Clan Wars novel, a fifth Horse Lord novel, the military/political science fiction novel series Deepfleet, a historical fantasy series Blood's Ruby, and a stand alone epic fantasy, The Cloven Hoof. Peter is an expert on weapons and armour, specializing in the Middle Ages and consults both formally and informally on the subject. He lives in Wicklow County, Ireland with his wife Diane Duane, who he married in 1987. TopBernard Pearson ("The Cunning Artificer")How can we describe 'the stout party' who sits at the helm of The Discworld Emporium like an overlarge figurehead? Well in fact the 'figurehead' analogy is quite a good one, if you can imagine a figurehead that is slightly too large and cumbersome for the vessel it is nailed to. And if anything, it does tend to make the boat oversteer, and dip alarmingly towards the bottom in anything but a gentle swell. But like any figurehead it is he who braves the storms, points the way ahead, and rides the waves. Well he would if he wasn't so bloody heavy. But enough of this nautical analogy, what does he do? Actually, not very much, but he does have the talent for making even that look frightfully busy, and almost important. He is very good with tobacco however, The mountains of ash, the holes in his clothes, the myriad of pipes testify to this, as does the constant cloud of tobacco smoke he is perpetually hidden behind. If truth were to tell, it really is impossible to give any accurate description of the fellow, apart from 'he's in there somewhere, don't startle him, or he'll cover us with ash.' He is blamed for starting many things, the stamp thing amongst them, but he will own up to nothing, save an undying love for his Lady, his children, and the persons he was born to dote on, his grandchildren. Occasionally he has 'ideas' and 'cunning plans,' but thanks to years of careful management by Isobel nothing much ever comes of them, and in any case he is easily distracted by the offer of a pint from a collector, or more likely the laughter of his grandchildren. Isobel PearsonFor years, well from the very beginning, it was Isobel who really made things happen. No fuss, not much bother, just tying the ends, filling the middle, and making a start, that was Isobel's job, it's what she did. She mixed the glaze, made the pots - not the big, ungainly extravagances that Bernard was wont to construct; she made the pots that paid the rent, the ones that people had actually ordered. She packed them in big boxes as well, wrote the invoices, paid the bills, and remembered, not just where the children had left their socks, but when the kiln needed turning off. Without complaint, getting on with it, plus four children, cats, chickens, an acre of garden, and a husband on 'random hold' for most of the time. She kept it all in her head like knitting, and rarely dropped a stitch. Of later years, the children grown, the business moved to the soft hills of the West Country, she looked to take things just a little easier, a little steadier, to coast down the hill, a bit of freewheeling, a glide now and then, a gentle perambulation. Like hell. Stamps happened. Now she looks after the money, makes tea for the visitors, and works just as hard, but doing different things, while still prodding the buttock of her stout companion, finding his tobacco, and most importantly, sharing the joy of their grandchildren. For someone whose early childhood had been spent during the Second World War, a married life with Bernard was no less uncertain, without the bombs perhaps, but sadly not the explosions, though there was bunting, and occasionally grand parades, and always, always their shared love and laughter. She plans to retire, she thinks she might like it, but not just yet. Visit Bernard & Isobel's Website TopColin SmytheColin Smythe was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire in 1942, and was educated at Bradfield College (1955-59), graduating in 1963 from Trinity College Dublin. He started his publishing company, Colin Smythe Ltd, in 1966, moving from London to Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire in 1967, and has lived and worked there ever since. The company specialises in 19th and 20th century Irish literature, the Irish epic myths, the fairy faith, ghosts, folklore, heraldry, orders of knighthood, diplomacy, politics, trout fishing, and parapsychology (one of his publications, Konstantin Raudive's Breakthrough (1971), having been the first book in the English language on the Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) and Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC) that was the inspiration for the film White Noise.) Colin was a visiting professor in the English Department of the University of Ulster at Coleraine from 1993 to 2002, and remains one still, for reasons unclear to him, at the Universidade Moderna in Lisbon. For his services to Irish literature he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) from the University of Dublin in 1998. He has edited and written various books, chiefly by or about Lady Gregory and her family, and is working on a bibliography of the writings of W.B.Yeats (350,000 words and growing). He also is agent for the literary estates of a number of Irish authors, including George Moore, Lady Gregory, and Oliver St John Gogarty. Colin met Terry Pratchett in 1968 and published Terry's first book, The Carpet People, in 1971, to be followed by his next four books, The Dark Side of the Sun, Strata, The Colour of Magic, and The Light Fantastic, before coming to a co-publishing arrangement with Victor Gollancz. That did not work out and he became Terry's agent in 1987. Colin has also published fantasy works by William Barnwell and Hugh Cook. More information about Colin Smythe can be found at his company website. TopRobBehind many great men, there are other men dashing around making sure that everything is running smoothly. For Terry Pratchett, that man is his assistant, known simply as "Rob." We would like to tell you more about Rob, but we couldn't get him to stand still long enough for a proper bio. Or photo. So you'll just have to wait until the convention to meet and chat with this elusive but interesting guy. Top | |||||||||||