Pratchett was born in April 28, 1948 in Beaconsfield, the U.K. He had numerous speech impediments, which distorted his voice and made him the target of bullies at school. His condition made it difficult for him to read or write properly. In 2007, aged 59, Pratchett announced that he had a rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s called posterior cortical atrophy. In his later years, Pratchett wrote by dictating to his assistant, Rob Wilkins, or by using speech recognition software. He wrote seven novels through the haze of Alzheimer’s. “Snuff’ is the third novel Pratchett wrote using voice-recognition technology rather than a keyboard; he was unable to touch type, although he could prod words out letter by letter.
He always made time for his readers, taking his guidance from his own childhood fan letter to JRR Tolkein. He attended fan events and stirred things up on the newly-forming internet, taking on marathon book signings all over the world. These events sometimes ran to more than six hours and stores would often have to send out for frozen peas to soothe his signing wrist.
He was appointed OBE in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in 2009. He won many awards for his novels but perhaps his most prized was the Carnegie Medal, won in 2001 for The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. He also received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010.
Picture Credit : Google