Fan fiction (alternatively referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters (or simply fictional characters) or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. Because of this, many fan fictions written often contain a disclaimer stating that the creator of the work owns none of the characters. Fan fiction, therefore, is defined by being both related to its subject's canonical fictional universe and simultaneously existing outside the canon of that universe. Most fan fiction writers assume that their work is read primarily by other fans, and therefore tend to presume that their readers have knowledge of the canon universe (created by a professional writer) in which their works are based.

Media scholar Henry Jenkins explains the correlation between transmedia storytelling and fan fiction:

History

Precursors

The turn of the 20th century saw parodies and revisions of Lewis Carroll's ''Alice in Wonderland'' by authors including Frances Hodgson Burnett and E. Nesbit. In addition, there were several fan-authored versions of Arthur Conan Doyle's ''Sherlock Holmes'' stories.

In the 1920s and 1930s, fans of Jane Austen wrote stories based on her characters and published them in fanzines.

In 1945, C. S. Lewis adopted certain elements from J.R.R. Tolkien's then largely unpublished legendarium (mostly Númenor, there spelt Numinor) and incorporated these into the last novel, ''That Hideous Strength'', of his Space Trilogy. (As Lewis and Tolkien were personal friends, this could be seen more as an "homage".)

Modern phenomenon

Before about 1965, the term "fan fiction" was used in science fiction fandom to designate original, though amateur, works of science fiction published in science fiction fanzines, as differentiated from fiction that was professionally published by professional writers; or fiction about fans and fandom.

However, the modern phenomenon of fan fiction as an expression of fandom and fan interaction was popularized and defined via ''Star Trek'' fandom and their fanzines published in the 1960s. The first ''Star Trek'' fanzine, ''Spockanalia'', was published in 1967 and contained some fan fiction. These fanzines were produced via offset printing and mimeography, and mailed to other fans or sold at science fiction conventions for a small fee to help recoup costs. Unlike other aspects of fandom, women dominated fan fiction authoring; 83% of ''Star Trek'' fan fiction authors were female by 1970, and 90% by 1973.

Fan fiction has become more popular and widespread since the advent of the World Wide Web. In addition to traditional fanzines and conventions, Usenet group electronic mailing lists were established for fan fiction as well as fan discussion. Online, searchable fan fiction archives were also established. The online archives were initially non-commercial hand-tended and fandom- or topic-specific. These archives were followed by non-commercial automated databases. In 1998, the not-for-profit site FanFiction.Net came online, which allowed anybody to upload content in any fandom. The ability to self-publish fan fiction at an easily-accessible common archive that did not require insider-knowledge to join, and the ability to review the stories directly on the site, became popular quite quickly. FanFiction.net now hosts millions of stories in dozens of languages, and is widely considered the largest and most popular fan fiction archive online.

LiveJournal (founded in 1999) and other blogging services played a large part in the move away from mailing lists (both electronic and amateur press associations) to blogs as a means for fan communication and the sharing of fan fiction. Although much fan fiction today is published to archives, it would be impossible to tell whether more or less fan fiction today is posted directly to blogging services than to fan-fiction-specific archives.

Japanese dōjinshi

A similar trend in Japan also began appearing around the 1960s and 1970s, where independently published manga and novels, known as ''dōjinshi'', are frequently published by dōjin circles; many of these dōjinshi are based on existing manga, anime, and video game franchises. Manga authors like Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujiko Fujio formed dōjin groups such as Fujio's . At this time dōjin groups were used by artists to make a professional debut. This changed in the coming decades with dōjin groups forming as school clubs and the like. This culminated in 1975 with the Comiket in Tokyo.

Categories and types

Fan fiction can be categorized in a number of ways. Some of these categories are similar to original fiction, some are specialized. Please note: these categories apply to western fandoms. International fandoms have different conventions.

Relationship to canon

Stories are also categorized by their relationship to canon. The most common term is alternate universe which is frequently abbreviated AU. There are two main sub-categories of alternate universe fan fiction: stories that exist in the same "world" as canon, but change one or more major plot points (e.g. a character dies who is still alive in the source material or some event in the characters' lives is altered) and stories that take some or all characters from the source material and put them in an entirely different situation (e.g. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger are pop stars, rather than students at a school for wizards).

There are several categories of "canon" stories as well, that is, stories that do not contradict the source material in any way. Missing scenes fill in parts of the story that were "left out" of the source. Episode Codas (a term that applies only to fan fiction based on TV shows) are stories that pick up at the end of an episode. These are usually written shortly after an episode airs, when viewers are left wanting more. Other categories, like pre- and post-series refer to stories that depict events taking place outside the chronological scope of the source material. Futurefic refers to any story that takes place after the currently available canon.

Romantic or sexual pairings

There are four main categories that refer to the romantic or sexual story elements. "Slash", "Femslash", "Heterosexual", and "General" (sometimes abbreviated "Gen"). In almost all fandoms, slash refers to same-sex male pairings. The term originates from the slash between the names of the characters in a relationship (e.g. Kirk/Spock). Although all pairings are denoted with a slash, only same-sex pairings are referred to by that term. (Thus, although often written out as ''Harry/Ginny'', to use a canon heterosexual relationship from the Harry Potter fandom, these relationships would not be called slash.) Femslash, or sometimes femmeslash, refers to same-sex female pairings. Het, an abbreviation for "heterosexual," refers to opposite sex pairings (e.g. Bolt and Mittens [FF for Bolt (2008 film)]). Gen is an abbreviation for "general" and refers to stories which do not contain a romantic or sexual plot.

More women than men read romantic fan fiction. While men who are attracted to an actress often search for revealing photographs of her, women attracted to an actor often seek out erotic stories with a character he plays. A fan of Orlando Bloom, for example, might search for "Legolas erotica".

Genres and tropes

As with other forms of fiction, fan fiction stories can be written in any genre. There are some specialized genre categories that only apply to fan fiction or, at least, the terminology is specific. "Crack", "Angst", and "WAFF/fluff/schmoop" are well-known examples.

Certain tropes are also used and reused in fan fiction. There are so many of these that it would be impossible to name them all, and they vary greatly from fandom to fandom. High school and College AUs are common in many fandoms that do not already take place in school settings. "Hurt-comfort" is also broadly popular.

Kinks

The term kink has a somewhat different connotation in reference to fan fiction than it does in mainstream culture. Sexual tropes or situations are often referred to as kinks whether or not they are particularly "adventurous." Sometimes the term is even more broadly applied to describe plots or tropes that people enjoy, regardless of whether or not they are sexual in nature.

Crossovers

Crossovers are stories that incorporate two or more different sources. For example, an author may take a character from Canon A and place him or her in the universe of Canon B, or characters from two or more fandoms may meet at a neutral location. These stories often include romantic or sexual pairings between characters from different canons.

Length

Categorization by story length varies greatly among fandoms and among individuals. It is a common practice in many fandoms to list word count in the header information, especially on LiveJournal. Fanfiction.net and other archives may have their own specialized rules. Terminology for story length also varies. Some commonly used terms are drabble (either a story of exactly 100 words or a very short story), ficlet (longer than a drabble, but still very short) and one-shot (only a chapter long). Longer stories may be called longfic, epic, full-length, or novel-length, but these are typically not labels that would be applied by the author.

Ratings

It is common, especially in fandoms based on U.S. source material, to provide a rating based on MPAA movie ratings G through NC-17. Ratings are usually accompanied by a brief statement of the reason for the rating; sexual content, violence, or language, for example. "Adult" or "Mature" are also commonly used to refer to content equivalent to an R or NC-17 rating.

On Fanfiction.net, the ratings are K (for anyone), K+ (for nearly everyone), T (for teen), and M (for mature).

Story creation in the online era

Fanfiction is often posted serialized as a "work in progress" or WIP, with new chapters published in sequence, sometimes as soon as they are finished. Chapters may take anything from a day to several months to be updated and often remind readers of their place in the story with each new installment. Most archives allow authors to upload individual chapters sequentially under a single title with a main link to the first chapter, and each chapter easily linked to via a drop down menu.

It is often considered wise in fan fiction circles to acquire the aid of a "beta reader," sometimes shortened to "beta," whose responsibilities are roughly those of a professional editor to a commercial author—with the exception that the "beta" is most commonly a volunteer who works without pay and on a casual basis and communicates through E-mail or private message systems. Writers are discouraged in some circles from posting fan fiction that has not at least been checked for grammatical, spelling, consistency and plot errors by a beta reader. In late February 2008, FanFiction.net set up an area of their site that contains a list of authors willing to "beta" other authors' "fics."

Interactivity in the online era

Unlike traditional print publication, the internet offers the option of giving and receiving rapid feedback or "reviews". Reviews can be given by both anonymous and registered users of most sites, and sites are often programmed to notify the author of new feedback, making them a common way for readers and authors online to communicate directly. This system is intended for a type of bond between the reader and the writer, as well as helping the author improve his or her writing skills through constructive criticism, enabling him or her to produce a better work next time. Occasionally unmoderated review systems are abused to send flames, spam or trolling messages. As a result, the author of the story can either disable or enable anonymous reviews, depending on his/her preference. Internet fanfiction gives young writers a wider audience for their literary efforts than ever before, resulting in improved literacy.

Recently fan fiction has seen greater use of the forum or LiveJournal blog format. Built around message board systems, stories are posted on threads with feedback interlaced and immediate. This style of fan fiction is more interactive but also can be a distraction since the stories and comments are between each other. These communication methods make fan fiction sites and blogs useful affinity spaces as writers are able to take readers' feedback and improve their skills and abilities as writers. This informal learning is a side benefit for many fan fiction authors, some of whom eventually attempt or go on to writing professionally.

Legality

Fan fiction is a derivative work under United States copyright law.

Some argue that fan fiction does not fall under fair use. The 2009 ruling by United States District Court judge Deborah A. Batts, permanently prohibiting publication in the United States of a book by a Swedish writer whose protagonist is a 76-year-old version of Holden Caulfield of ''The Catcher in the Rye'', may be seen as upholding this position regarding publishing fan fiction, as the judge stated, "To the extent Defendants contend that 60 Years and the character of Mr. C direct parodic comment or criticism at ''Catcher'' or Holden Caulfield, as opposed to Salinger himself, the Court finds such contentions to be post-hoc rationalizations employed through vague generalizations about the alleged naivety of the original, rather than reasonably perceivable parody."

Others such as the Organization for Transformative Works uphold the legality of non-profit fan fiction under the fair use doctrine, as it is a creative, transformative process.

In 1981 Lucasfilms Ltd. sent out a letter to several fanzine publishers asserting Lucasfilm's copyright to all ''Star Wars'' characters and insisting that no fanzine publish pornography. Lucasfilm did not want the family-friendly aspect of the story and characters to be corrupted, despite the obvious draw that explicit content has for the fans. The letter also alluded to possible legal action that could be taken against fanzines that did not comply. Later that year, the director and legal counsel of the Official Star Wars Fan Club sent fanzine publishers a set of official guidelines. Lucasfilms supported fan publications contingent on their upholding these guidelines.

In recent years, several prominent authors have given their blessings to fanfiction, notably J.K. Rowling. Rowling said she was "flattered" that people wanted to write their own stories based on her characters. Naomi Novik is another author who is supportive of fan fiction: she is a member of the Organization for Transformative Works and began as a fan fiction writer. Similarly, Stephenie Meyer has put links on her website to fan fiction sites about her characters from the ''Twilight'' series.

However, Anne Rice has consistently and aggressively prevented fan fiction based on any of her characters (mostly those from her famous ''Interview with the Vampire'' and its sequels in ''The Vampire Chronicles''). She, along with Anne McCaffrey and Raymond Feist, have asked to have any fiction related to their series removed from FanFiction.Net.

See also

Canon (fiction)

Collaborative fiction

Dōjin

Dōjinshi

FanFiction.Net

Legal issues with fan fiction

Media fandom

Wold Newton family

Cthulhu Mythos

References

Notes

Further reading

Black, R. (2008). Adolescents and online fanfiction. New York: Peter Lang.

Bode, Dana L. "And now, a word from the amateurs". TransformativeWorks.org, Transformative Works and Cultures, 1 (2008).

Fowler, Karen Joy. ''Wit's End''. Putnam, 2008. A novel about a mystery writer who constantly battles fan fiction about her famous detective.

Hellekson, Karen, and Kristina Busse. ''Fan fiction and fan communities in the age of the Internet: new essays''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2006. ISBN 0-7864-2640-3.

Jenkins, Henry. ''Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (Studies in Culture and Communication)''. New York: Routledge, 1992. ISBN 0-415-90571-0.

Lawrence, K. F. (2007) The Web of Community Trust - Amateur Fiction Online: A Case Study in Community Focused Design for the Semantic Web. PhD thesis, University of Southampton. (URL retrieved on 20 August 2008)

Pugh, Sheenagh. ''The Democratic Genre: Fan Fiction in a Literary Context''. Bridgend, Wales: Seren, 2005. ISBN 1-85411-399-2.

Grossman, Lev. ''The Boy Who Lived Forever''. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2081784-1,00.html

External links

Fanfiction.net—the largest fan fiction gallery on the internet

Chilling Effects about copyright issues of fan fiction

"Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars?: Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture"—Henry Jenkins on fan fiction

ca:Fanfiction cs:Fanfiction da:Fanfiktion de:Fan-Fiction es:Fanfiction fr:Fanfiction ko:팬 픽션 id:Karya fiksi penggemar it:Fanfiction he:ספרות חובבים lt:Fanfiction hu:Fanfiction ms:Fiksyen peminat nl:Fanfictie ja:ファン・フィクション no:Fanfiction pl:Fan fiction pt:Fanfic ru:Фанфик simple:Fan fiction sk:Fan fiction sl:Fanovska literatura fi:Fanifiktio sv:Fanfiction th:แฟนฟิกชัน zh:同人小說

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
name	Sir Terry Pratchett
birth name	Terence David John Pratchett
birth date	April 28, 1948
birth place	Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
nationality	British
occupation	Novelist
genre	Comic fantasy
notableworks	DiscworldGood Omens
influences	P. G. Wodehouse, G. K. Chesterton, Lloyd Alexander
influenced	Natasha Rhodes, Catherine Webb, Samit Basu
website	http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/
signature	}}

Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948) is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best-known for his popular and long-running ''Discworld'' series of comic fantasy novels. Pratchett's first novel, ''The Carpet People'', was published in 1971, and since his first ''Discworld'' novel ''(The Colour of Magic)'' was published in 1983, he has written two books a year on average.

Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s, and as of August 2010 had sold over 65 million books worldwide in thirty-seven languages. He is currently the second most-read writer in the UK, and seventh most-read non-US author in the US.

Pratchett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to literature" in 1998. In addition, he was knighted in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the Carnegie Medal for his young adult novel ''The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents''.

In December 2007, Pratchett publicly announced that he was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease and, subsequently, made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust, and filmed a programme chronicling his experiences with the disease for the BBC.

Background

Early life

Pratchett was born in 1948 in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, England, the only child of David and Eileen Pratchett, of Hay-on-Wye. His family moved to Bridgwater, Somerset briefly in 1957, following which he passed his eleven plus exam in 1959, earning him a place in John Hampden Grammar School. Pratchett described himself as a "non-descript student", and in his ''Who's Who'' entry, credits his education to the Beaconsfield Public Library.

His early interests included astronomy; he collected Brooke Bond tea cards about space, owned a telescope and desired to be an astronomer, but lacked the necessary mathematical skills. However, this led to an interest in reading British and American science fiction. In turn, this led to attending science fiction conventions from about 1963/4, which stopped when he got his first job a few years later. His early reading included the works of H. G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle and "every book you really ought to read" which he now regards as "getting an education".

At age 13, Pratchett published his first short story "The Hades Business" in the school magazine. It was published commercially when he was 15.

Pratchett earned 5 O-levels and started A-level courses in Art, English and History. Pratchett's first career choice was journalism and he left school at 17 in 1965 to start working for the ''Bucks Free Press'' where he wrote, amongst other things, several stories for the ''Children's Circle'' section under the name Uncle Jim. One of these episodic stories contains named characters from The Carpet People. These stories are currently part of a project by the Bucks Free Press to make them available online. While on day release he finished his A-Level in English and took a proficiency course for journalists.

Early career

Pratchett had his first breakthrough in 1968, when working as a journalist. He came to interview Peter Bander van Duren, co-director of a small publishing company. During the meeting, Pratchett mentioned he had written a manuscript, ''The Carpet People''. Bander van Duren and his business partner, Colin Smythe (of Colin Smythe Ltd Publishers) published the book in 1971, with illustrations by Pratchett himself. The book received strong, if few reviews. The book was followed by the science fiction novels ''The Dark Side of the Sun,'' published in 1976, and ''Strata'', published in 1981.

After various positions in journalism, in 1980 Pratchett became Press Officer for the Central Electricity Generating Board in an area which covered three nuclear power stations. He later joked that he had demonstrated "impeccable timing" by making this career change so soon after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania, U.S., and said he would "write a book about my experiences, if I thought anyone would believe it".

The first ''Discworld'' novel ''The Colour of Magic'' was published in 1983 by Colin Smythe in hardback. The publishing rights for paperback were soon taken by Corgi, an imprint of Transworld, the current publisher. Pratchett received further popularity after the BBC's ''Woman's Hour'' broadcast ''The Colour of Magic'' as a serial in six parts, after it was published by Corgi in 1985 and later ''Equal Rites''. Subsequently, rights for hardback were taken by the publishing house Victor Gollancz, which remained Pratchett's publisher until 1997, and Smythe became Pratchett's agent. Pratchett was the first fantasy author published by Gollancz.

Pratchett gave up working for the CEGB in 1987 after finishing the fourth ''Discworld'' novel, ''Mort'', to focus fully on and make his living through writing. His sales increased quickly and many of his books occupied top places on the best-seller list. According to ''The Times'', Pratchett was the top-selling and highest earning UK author in 1996. Some of his books have been published by Doubleday, another Transworld imprint. In the US, Pratchett is published by HarperCollins.

According to the ''Bookseller's Pocket Yearbook'' from 2005, in 2003 Pratchett's UK sales amounted to 3.4% of the fiction market by hardback sales and 3.8% by value, putting him in 2nd place behind J. K. Rowling (6% and 5.6% respectively), while in the paperback sales list Pratchett came 5th with 1.2% by sales and 1.3% by value (behind James Patterson (1.9% and 1.7%), Alexander McCall Smith, John Grisham and J. R. R. Tolkien). His sales in the UK alone are more than 2.5 million copies a year.

Current life

Terry Pratchett married his wife Lyn in 1968, and they moved to Rowberrow, Somerset in 1970. Their daughter Rhianna Pratchett, who is also a writer, was born there in 1976. In 1993 the family moved to a village north-west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, where they currently live. He lists his recreations as "writing, walking, computers, life". He describes himself as a humanist and is a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

Pratchett is well-known for his penchant for wearing large, black fedora hats, as seen on the inside back covers of most of his books. His style has been described as "more that of urban cowboy than city gent."

Concern for the future of civilisation has prompted him to install five kilowatts of photovoltaic cells (for solar energy) at his house. In addition, his interest in astronomy since childhood has led him to build an observatory in his garden.

On 31 December 2008 it was announced that Pratchett was to be knighted (as a Knight Bachelor) in the Queen's 2009 New Year Honours. He formally received the accolade at Buckingham Palace on 18 February 2009. Afterwards he said, "You can't ask a fantasy writer not to want a knighthood. You know, for two pins I'd get myself a horse and a sword." In late 2009, he did make himself a sword, with the help of his friends. He told a Times Higher Education interviewer that At the end of last year I made my own sword. I dug out the iron ore from a field about 10 miles away - I was helped by interested friends. We lugged 80 kilos of iron ore, used clay from the garden and straw to make a kiln, and lit the kiln with wildfire by making it with a bow.' Colin Smythe, his long-term friend and agent, donated some pieces of meteoric iron - 'thunderbolt iron has a special place in magic and we put that in the smelt, and I remember when we sawed the iron apart it looked like silver. Everything about it I touched, handled and so forth ... And everything was as it should have been, it seemed to me.

On 15 September 2010, Pratchett along with 54 other public figures signed an open letter, published in ''The Guardian'' newspaper, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI being accorded "the honour of a state visit" to the UK, arguing that he has led and condoned global abuses of human rights. The letter says "The state of which the pope is head has also resisted signing many major human rights treaties and has formed its own treaties ("concordats") with many states which negatively affect the human rights of citizens of those states". Co-signees included Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins, Philip Pullman, Jonathan Miller and Ken Follett.

Alzheimer's disease

In August 2007 Pratchett was misdiagnosed as having had a minor stroke in 2004 or 2005 that was believed to have damaged the right side of his brain. While his motor skills had been affected, the observed damage had not impaired his ability to write. On 11 December 2007, Pratchett posted online that he had been newly diagnosed with a very rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, which he said "lay behind this year's phantom 'stroke'." He has a rare form of the disease called posterior cortical atrophy, in which areas at the back of the brain begin to shrink and shrivel. Describing it as an 'embuggerance' in a radio interview, Pratchett appealed to people to "keep things cheerful", and proclaimed that "we are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism." Leading the way, Pratchett stated that he feels he has time for "at least a few more books yet", and added that while he understands the impulse to ask 'is there anything I can do?', in this particular case he will only entertain such offers from "very high-end experts in brain chemistry." Discussing his diagnosis at the Bath Literature Festival in early 2008, Pratchett revealed that he now found it too difficult to write dedications when signing books. In March 2008, Pratchett announced he was donating US$1,000,000 (about £494,000 at the time) to the Alzheimer's Research Trust, saying that he had spoken to at least three brain tumour (cancer) survivors yet he had spoken to no survivors of Alzheimer's disease, and that he was shocked "to find out that funding for Alzheimer's research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures." Of his donation Pratchett said: "I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the Cure comes along." Pratchett's donation inspired an internet campaign where fans hope to "Match it for Pratchett", by raising another $1,000,000.

In April 2008, the BBC began working with Pratchett to make a two-part documentary series based on his illness. The first part of ''Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's'' was broadcast on BBC Two on 4 February 2009, drawing 2.6m viewers and a 10.4% audience share. The second, broadcast on 11 February 2009, drew 1.72m viewers and a 6.8% audience share. He also made an appearance on ''The One Show'' on 15 May 2008, talking about his condition. He was the subject and interviewee of the 20 May 2008 edition of ''On the Ropes'' (Radio 4), discussing Alzheimer's and how it had affected his life.

On 8 June 2008, news reports indicated that Pratchett had an experience, which he described as: "It is just possible that once you have got past all the gods that we have created with big beards and many human traits, just beyond all that, on the other side of physics, there just may be the ordered structure from which everything flows" and "I don't actually believe in anyone who could have put that in my head". He went into further detail on ''Front Row'', in which he was asked if this was a shift in his beliefs: "A shift in me in the sense I heard my father talk to me when I was in the garden one day. But I'm absolutely certain that what I heard was my memories of my father. An engram, or something in my head...This is not about God, but somewhere around there is where gods come from."

On 26 November 2008, Pratchett met the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and asked for an increase in dementia research funding.

Since August 2008 Pratchett has been testing a prototype device to address his condition. Despite some improvements in his condition, the ability of the device to alter the course of the illness has been met with scepticism.

In an article published mid 2009, Pratchett stated that he wishes to commit 'assisted suicide' (although he dislikes that term) before his disease progresses to a critical point. Pratchett was selected to give the 2010 BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture, entitled ''Shaking Hands With Death'', which was broadcast on 1 February 2010. Pratchett introduced his lecture on the topic of assisted death, but the main text was read by his friend Tony Robinson because of difficulties Pratchett has with reading – a result of his condition.

Due to his condition, Pratchett currently writes either by dictating to his assistant, Rob Wilkins, or by using speech recognition software.

In June 2011 Pratchett presented a one off BBC television documentary entitled ''Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die'' on the subject of assisted death.

Interests

Computers and the Internet

Pratchett started to use computers for writing as soon as they were available to him. His first computer was a Sinclair ZX81, the first computer he properly used for writing was an Amstrad CPC 464, later replaced by a PC. Pratchett was one of the first authors to routinely use the Internet to communicate with fans, and has been a contributor to the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett since 1992. However, he does not consider the Internet a hobby, just another "thing to use". He now has many computers in his house. When he travels, he always takes a portable computer with him to write. His experiments with computer upgrades are reflected in Hex.

Pratchett is also an avid computer game player, and he has collaborated in the creation of a number of game adaptations of his books. He favours games that are "intelligent and have some depth", and has used ''Half-Life 2'' and fan missions from ''Thief'' as examples.

Natural history

Pratchett has a fascination with natural history that he has referred to many times. Pratchett owns a greenhouse full of carnivorous plants.

In 1995 a fossil sea-turtle from the Eocene epoch of New Zealand was named in honour of him ''Psephophorus terrypratchetti'' by the palaeontologist R. Köhler.

Orangutans

Pratchett is a trustee for the Orangutan Foundation UK but is pessimistic about the animal's future. Following Pratchett's lead, fan events such as the Discworld Conventions have adopted the Orangutan Foundation as their nominated charity, which has been acknowledged by the foundation. One of Pratchett's most popular fictional characters, the Librarian of the Unseen University's Library, is a wizard in the body of an orangutan.

Amateur astronomy

Pratchett has an observatory in his back garden and is a keen astronomer. He has been on the BBC programme ''The Sky at Night''.

Writing career

Awards

Pratchett received a knighthood for "services to literature" in the 2009 UK New Year Honours list. He was previously appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire, also for "services to literature", in 1998. Following this, Pratchett commented in the Ansible SF/fan newsletter, "I suspect the 'services to literature' consisted of refraining from trying to write any" (suggesting the title was more a recognition of success, than an acknowledgement of the fantasy genre). But then added, "Still, I cannot help feeling mightily chuffed about it."

Pratchett was the British Book Awards' 'Fantasy and Science Fiction Author of the Year' for 1994.

Pratchett won the British Science Fiction Award in 1989 for his novel, ''Pyramids'', and a Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2008 for ''Making Money''.

Pratchett has been awarded eight honorary Doctorates; University of Warwick in 1999, the University of Portsmouth in 2001, the University of Bath in 2003, the University of Bristol in 2004, Buckinghamshire New University in 2008, Trinity College Dublin in 2008, Bradford University in 2009, and the University of Winchester in 2009.

''The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents'' won the 2001 Carnegie Medal for best children's novel (awarded in 2002). ''Night Watch'' won the 2003 Prometheus Award for best libertarian novel.

In 2003 Pratchett joined Charles Dickens as the two authors with five books in the BBC's Big Read 'Top 100' (four of which were ''Discworld'' novels). Pratchett was also the author with the most novels in the 'Top 200' (fifteen). Three of the four ''Discworld'' novels that centred on the character Tiffany Aching 'trainee witch' have each received the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book (in 2004, 2005 and 2007).

Pratchett was the recipient of NESFA's Skylark Award in 2009. In 2010 he received a World Fantasy award for lifetime achievement. He is the 2011 recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association, a Division of ALA, recognizing a significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

He was made an adjunct Professor in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin in 2010, with a role in postgraduate education in creative writing and popular literature.

''I Shall Wear Midnight'' won the 2010 Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) as a part of the Nebula Award ceremony.

Fandom

Pratchett's ''Discworld'' novels have led to dedicated conventions, the first in Manchester in 1996, then worldwide, often with the author as guest of honour. Publication of a new novel may also be accompanied by an international book signing tour; queues have been known to stretch outside the bookshop and the author has continued to sign books well after the intended finishing time. His fans are not restricted by age or gender, and he receives a large amount of fan mail from them. Pratchett enjoys meeting fans and hearing what they think about his books; he says that since he is well paid for his novels, his fans "are everything to me."

Writing

Pratchett has said that to write, you must read extensively, both inside and outside your chosen genre and to the point of "overflow". He advises that writing is hard work, and that writers must "make grammar, punctuation and spelling a part of your life." However, Pratchett enjoys writing, regarding its monetary rewards as "an unavoidable consequence", rather than the reason for writing.

The fantasy genre

Although in the past he has written in the sci-fi and horror genres, Pratchett now focuses almost entirely on fantasy, explaining "it is easier to bend the universe around the story". In the acceptance speech for his Carnegie Medal he said: 'Fantasy isn't just about wizards and silly wands. It's about seeing the world from new directions', pointing to J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' novels and J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. In the same speech, he also acknowledged benefits of these works for the genre.

He "believes he owes a debt to the science fiction/fantasy genre which he grew up out of" and dislikes the term "magical realism" which is "like a polite way of saying you write fantasy and is more acceptable to certain people ... who, on the whole, do not care that much." He is annoyed that fantasy is "unregarded as a literary form" because it "is the oldest form of fiction" and he is "infuriated" when novels containing science fiction or fantasy ideas are not regarded as part of those genres.

On 31 July 2005, Pratchett criticised media coverage of ''Harry Potter'' author J. K. Rowling, commenting that certain members of the media seemed to think that "the continued elevation of J. K. Rowling can only be achieved at the expense of other writers". Pratchett has denied claims that this was a swipe at Rowling, and said that he was not making claims of plagiarism, but was pointing out the "shared heritage" of the fantasy genre. Pratchett has also posted on the ''Harry Potter'' newsgroup about a media-covered exchange of views with her.

Style and major themes

Pratchett is known for a distinctive writing style that includes a number of characteristic hallmarks. One example is his use of footnotes, which usually involve a comic departure from the narrative or a commentary on the narrative.

Pratchett has a tendency to avoid using chapters, arguing in a Book Sense interview that "life does not happen in regular chapters, nor do movies, and Homer did not write in chapters", adding "I'm blessed if I know what function they serve in books for adults." However, there have been exceptions; ''Going Postal'' and ''Making Money'' and several of his books for younger readers are divided into chapters. Pratchett has offered explanations for his sporadic use of chapters; in the young adult titles, he says that he must use chapters because '[his] editor screams until [he] does', but otherwise feels that they're an unnecessary 'stopping point' that gets in the way of the narrative.

Characters, place names, and titles in Pratchett's books often contain puns, allusions and culture references. Some characters are parodies of well-known characters: for example, Pratchett's character Cohen the Barbarian, also called Ghengiz Cohen, is a parody of Conan the Barbarian and Genghis Khan, and his character Leonard of Quirm is a parody of Leonardo da Vinci.

Another hallmark of his writing is the use of capitalised dialogue without quotation marks, used to indicate the character of Death communicating telepathically into a character's mind. Other characters or types of characters have similarly distinctive ways of speaking, such as the auditors of reality never having quotation marks, Ankh-Morpork grocers never using punctuation correctly, and golems capitalising each word in everything they say. Pratchett also made up a new colour, octarine, a 'fluorescent greenish-yellow-purple', which is the eighth colour in the ''Discworld'' spectrum—the colour of magic. Indeed, the number eight itself is regarded in the Discworld as being a magical number; for example, the eighth son of an eighth son will be a wizard, and his eighth son will be a "sourcerer" (which is one reason why wizards aren't allowed to have children).

Discworld novels often include a modern innovation and its introduction to the world's medieval setting, such as a public police force (''Guards! Guards!''), gun (''Men at Arms''), submarine (''Jingo''), cinema (''Moving Pictures''), investigative journalism (''The Truth''), the postage stamp (''Going Postal''), and modern banking (''Making Money''). The "clacks", the tower-to-tower semaphore system that has sprung up in later novels, is a mechanical version of our modern Internet, with all the change and turmoil that such an advancement implies. The resulting social upheaval driven by these changes serves as the setting for the main story and often inspires the title.

Influences

Pratchett makes no secret of outside influences on his work: they are a major source of his humour. He imports numerous characters from classic literature, popular culture and ancient history, always adding an unexpected twist. Pratchett is a crime novel fan, which is reflected in frequent appearances of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch in the ''Discworld'' series. Pratchett was an only child, and his characters are often without siblings. Pratchett explains "in fiction, only-children are the interesting ones." An example is the character Susan Sto Helit.

Pratchett's earliest inspirations were ''The Wind in the Willows'' by Kenneth Grahame, and the works of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. His literary influences have been P.G. Wodehouse, Tom Sharpe, Jerome K. Jerome, Roy Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and Mark Twain.

Publishing history

While Pratchett's UK publishing history has remained quite stable, his relationships with international publishers have been turbulent (especially in America). He changed German publishers after an advertisement for Maggi soup appeared in the middle of the German-language version of ''Pyramids''.

Bibliography

The ''Discworld'' series

Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series is a humorous and often satirical sequence of stories set in the colourful fantasy world of ''Discworld''. The series contains various 'story arcs' (or 'sub-series'), and a number of free-standing stories. All are set in an abundance of locations in the same detailed and unified world, such as the Unseen University and 'The Drum/Broken Drum/Mended Drum' public house in the twin city Ankh-Morpork, or places in the various continents, regions and countries on the Disc. Characters and locations reappear throughout the series, variously taking major and minor roles.

The Discworld itself is described as a large disc resting on the backs of four giant elephants, all supported by the giant turtle Great A'Tuin as it swims its way through space. The books are essentially in chronological order, and advancements can be seen in the development of the ''Discworld'' civilisations, such as the creation of paper money in Ankh-Morpork.

The subject of many of the novels in Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series is a parody of a real-world subject such as film making, newspaper publishing, rock and roll music, religion, philosophy, Ancient Greece, Egyptian history, the Gulf War, Australia, university politics, trade unions, and the financial world. Pratchett has also included further parody as a feature within the stories, including such subjects as Ingmar Bergman films, numerous fiction, science fiction and fantasy characters, and various bureaucratic and ruling systems.

Other ''Discworld'' books

Pratchett has written or collaborated on a number of ''Discworld'' books that are not novels in themselves but serve to accompany the series.

''The Discworld Companion'', written with Stephen Briggs, is an encyclopedic guide to ''Discworld''. The third (and latest) edition was renamed ''The New Discworld Companion'', and was published in 2003. Briggs also collaborated with Pratchett on a series of fictional ''Discworld'' "mapps". The first, ''The Discworld Mapp'' (1995), illustrated by Stephen Player, comprises a large, comprehensive map of the ''Discworld'' itself with a small booklet that contains short biographies of the Disc's prominent explorers and their discoveries. Three further "mapps", have been released, focusing on particular regions of the Disc: Ankh-Morpork, Lancre, and Death's Domain. Briggs and Pratchett have also released several ''Discworld'' diaries and, with Tina Hannan, ''Nanny Ogg's Cookbook'' (1999). The design of this cookbook, illustrated by Paul Kidby, was based on the traditional ''Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management'', but with humorous recipes.

Collections of ''Discworld''-related art have also been released in book form. ''The Pratchett Portfolio'' (1996) and ''The Art of Discworld'' (2004) are collections of paintings of major ''Discworld'' characters by Paul Kidby, with details added by Pratchett on the character's origins.

In 2005, Pratchett's first book for very young children was ''Where's My Cow?'' Illustrated by Melvyn Grant, this is a realisation of the short story Sam Vimes reads to his child in ''Thud!''.

Pratchett resisted mapping the Discworld for quite some time, noting that a firmly-designed map restricts narrative possibility (i.e., with a map, fans will complain if he places a building on the wrong street, but without one, he can adjust the geography to fit the story).

''Science of Discworld''

Pratchett has written three ''Science of Discworld'' books in collaboration with Professor of mathematics Ian Stewart and reproductive biologist Jack Cohen, both of the University of Warwick: ''The Science of Discworld'' (1999), ''The Science of Discworld II: The Globe'' (2002), and ''The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch'' (2005).

All three books have chapters that alternate between fiction and non-fiction: the fictional chapters are set within the Discworld, where its characters observe, and experiment on, a universe with the same physics as ours. The non-fiction chapters (written by Stewart and Cohen) explain the science behind the fictional events.

In 1999, Pratchett appointed both Cohen and Stewart as "Honorary Wizards of the Unseen University" at the same ceremony at which the University of Warwick awarded him an honorary degree.

''Folklore of Discworld''

Pratchett has collaborated with the folklorist Dr Jacqueline Simpson on ''The Folklore of Discworld'' (2008), a study of the relationship between many of the persons, places and events described in the ''Discworld'' books and their counterparts in myths, legends, fairy tales and folk customs on Earth.

Other novels

Pratchett's first two adult novels, ''The Dark Side of the Sun'' (1976) and ''Strata'' (1981), were both science-fiction, the latter taking place partly on a disc-shaped world. Subsequent to these, Pratchett has mostly concentrated on his ''Discworld'' series and novels for children, with two exceptions: ''Good Omens'' (1990), a collaboration with Neil Gaiman (which was nominated for both Locus and World Fantasy Awards in 1991), a humorous story about the Apocalypse set on Earth, and ''Nation'' (2008), a book for young adults.

After writing ''Good Omens'', Pratchett began to work with Larry Niven on a book that would become ''Rainbow Mars''; Niven eventually completed the book on his own, but states in the afterword that a number of Pratchett's ideas remained in the finished version.

Children's novels

Pratchett's first children's novel was also his first published novel: ''The Carpet People'' in 1971, which Pratchett substantially rewrote and re-released in 1992. The next, ''Truckers'' (1988), was the first in ''The Nome Trilogy'' of novels for young readers, about small gnome-like creatures called "Nomes", and the trilogy continued in ''Diggers'' (1990) and ''Wings'' (1990). Subsequently, Pratchett wrote the "Johnny Maxwell" trilogy, about the adventures of a boy called Johnny Maxwell and his friends, comprising ''Only You Can Save Mankind'' (1992), ''Johnny and the Dead'' (1993) and ''Johnny and the Bomb'' (1996). ''Nation'' (2008) marks his return to the non-Discworld children's novel.

Collaborations and contributions

''The Unadulterated Cat'' is a humorous book of cat anecdotes written by Pratchett and illustrated by Gray Jolliffe.

''After the King: Stories In Honour of J.R.R. Tolkien'' edited by Martin H. Greenberg (1992) contains "Troll Bridge", a short story featuring Cohen the Barbarian. This story was also published in the compilations ''Knights of Madness'' (1998, edited by Peter Haining) and ''The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy'' (2001, edited by Mike Ashley).

''The Wizards of Odd'', a short-story compilation edited by Peter Haining (1996), includes a ''Discworld'' short story called "Theatre of Cruelty".

''The Flying Sorcerers'', another short-story compilation edited by Peter Haining (1997), starts off with a Pratchett story called "Turntables of the Night", featuring Death (albeit not set on Discworld, but in our "reality").

''Legends'', edited by Robert Silverberg (1998), contains a ''Discworld'' short story called "The Sea and Little Fishes".

''Digital Dreams'', edited by David V Barrett (1990), contains the science fiction short story "# ifdefDEBUG + "world/enough" + "time".

''Meditations on Middle-Earth'' (2002)

''The Leaky Establishment'', written by David Langford (1984), has a foreword by Pratchett in later reissues (from 2001).

''Once More* With Footnotes'', edited by Priscilla Olson and Sheila M. Perry (2004), is "an assortment of short stories, articles, introductions, and ephemera" by Pratchett which "have appeared in books, magazines, newspapers, anthologies, and program books, many of which are now hard to find."

''Now We Are Sick'', written by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones (1994), includes the poem called "The Secret Book of the Dead" by Pratchett.

''The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2007'' includes an article by Pratchett about the process of writing fantasy.

''Good Omens'', written with Neil Gaiman (1990)

''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', edited by David Pringle (1998), has a foreword by Pratchett.

Adaptations

Radio

Pratchett has had a number of radio adaptations on BBC Radio 4: ''The Colour of Magic'', ''Equal Rites'' (on ''Woman's Hour''), ''Only You Can Save Mankind'', ''Guards! Guards!'', ''Wyrd Sisters'', ''Mort'', and ''Small Gods'' have all been dramatised as serials, as was ''Night Watch'' in early 2008, and ''The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents'' as a 90-minute play.

Additionally, ''Guards! Guards!'' was also adapted as a one-hour audio drama by the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company and performed live at Dragon*Con in 2001.

Theatre

''Johnny and the Dead'' and 14 ''Discworld'' novels have been adapted as plays by Stephen Briggs and published in book form. They were first produced by the Studio Theatre Club in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. They include adaptations of ''The Truth'', ''Maskerade'', ''Mort'', ''Wyrd Sisters'' and ''Guards! Guards!'' Stage adaptations of Discworld novels have been performed on every continent in the world, including Antarctica.

In addition, ''Lords & Ladies'' has been adapted for the stage by Irana Brown, and ''Pyramids'' was adapted for the stage by Suzi Holyoake in 1999 and had a week-long theatre run in the UK. In 2002, an adaptation of ''Truckers'' was produced as a co-production between Harrogate Theatre, the Belgrade Theatre Coventry and Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmunds. It was adapted by Bob Eaton, and directed by Rob Swain. The play toured to many venues in the UK between 15 March and 29 June 2002.

In 1996, Staffordshire University Drama Society performed a three night sell-out producton of "Wyrd Sisters" adapted as a pantomime, complete with Nanny Ogg as a dame and interludes by Death using passages of prose from the early Discworld novels.

A version of ''Eric'' adapted for the stage by Scott Harrison and Lee Harris was produced and performed by The Dreaming Theatre Company in June/July 2003 inside Clifford's Tower, the 700-year-old castle keep in York. It was revived in 2004 in a tour of England along with Robert Rankin's The Antipope.

In 2004, a musical adaptation of ''Only You Can Save Mankind'' was premiered at the Edinburgh Festival, with music by Leighton James House and book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna.

In 2008, Keele Drama Society performed "Men At Arms" at Keele University for four nights. The show was directed by Robert Russell.

In January 2009, the National Theatre announced that their annual winter family production in 2009 would be a theatrical adaptation of Pratchett's novel ''Nation''. The novel was adapted by playwright Mark Ravenhill and directed by Melly Still. The production premiered at the Olivier Theatre on 24 November, and ran until 28 March 2010. It was broadcast to cinemas around the world on 30 January 2010.

Television

''Truckers'' was adapted as a stop motion animation series for Thames Television by Cosgrove Hall Films in 1992. ''Johnny and the Dead'' was made into a TV serial for Children's ITV on ITV, in 1995. ''Wyrd Sisters'' and ''Soul Music'' were adapted as animated cartoon series by Cosgrove Hall for Channel 4 in 1996; illustrated screenplays of these were published in 1998 and 1997 respectively. In January 2006, BBC One aired a three-part adaptation of ''Johnny and the Bomb''.

A two-part, feature-length version of ''Hogfather'' starring David Jason and the voice of Ian Richardson was first aired on Sky One in the United Kingdom in December 2006, and on ION Television in the U.S. in 2007. Pratchett was opposed to live action films about ''Discworld'' before because of his negative experience with Hollywood film makers. He changed his opinion when he saw that the director Vadim Jean and producer Rod Brown were very enthusiastic and cooperative. A two-part, feature-length adaptation of ''The Colour of Magic'' and its sequel ''The Light Fantastic'' aired during Easter 2008 on Sky One. A third adaptation, ''Going Postal'' was aired at the end of May 2010. The Sky adaptations are notable also for the author's presence in cameo roles.

Feature films

Pratchett has held back from ''Discworld'' feature films; though the rights to a number of his books have been sold, no films have yet been made. ''The Wee Free Men'' is set to be directed by Sam Raimi but has not started filming. Director Terry Gilliam has announced in an interview with ''Empire'' magazine that he plans to adapt ''Good Omens'' but as of 2007 this still needed funding. In 2001, DreamWorks also commissioned an adaptation of ''Truckers'' by Andrew Adamson and Joe Stillman but Pratchett believes that it will not be made until after "Shrek 17". However, in 2008 Danny Boyle revealed that he hoped to direct a ''Truckers'' adaptation by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Comic books and graphic novels

Four graphic novels of Pratchett's work have been released. The first two, originally published in the US, were adaptations of ''The Colour of Magic'' and ''The Light Fantastic'' and illustrated by Steven Ross (with Joe Bennett on the latter). The second two, published in the UK, were adaptations of ''Mort'' (subtitled ''A Discworld Big Comic'') and ''Guards! Guards!'', both illustrated by Graham Higgins and adapted by Stephen Briggs. The graphic novels of ''The Colour of Magic'' and ''The Light Fantastic'' were republished by Doubleday on 2 June 2008.

Role-playing games

''GURPS Discworld'' (Steve Jackson Games, 1998) and ''GURPS Discworld Also'' (Steve Jackson Games, 2001) are role-playing source books which were written by Terry Pratchett and Phil Masters, which also offer insights into the workings of the Discworld. The first of these two books was re-released in September 2002 under the name of ''The Discworld Roleplaying Game'', with art by Paul Kidby.

PC and console games

The ''Discworld'' universe has also been used as a basis for a number of ''Discworld'' video games on a range of formats, such as the Sega Saturn, the Sony PlayStation, the Philips CD-i and the 3DO, as well as DOS and Windows-based PCs. The following are the more notable games:

''The Colour of Magic'', the first game based on the series, and so far the only one directly adapted from a ''Discworld'' novel. It was released in 1986 for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64.

''Discworld'', an animated "point-and-click" adventure game made by Teeny Weeny Games and Perfect 10 Productions in 1995.

''Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!?'', a sequel to ''Discworld'' developed by Perfect Entertainment in 1996. It was subtitled "''Mortality Bytes!''" in North America.

''Discworld Noir'' is the first 3D game based on the ''Discworld'' series, and is both a parody of the ''film noir'' genre and an example of it. The game was created by Perfect Entertainment and published by GT Interactive for both the PC and PlayStation in 1999. It was released only in Europe and Australia.

Internet games

The world of Discworld is also featured in a fan created online MUD, multi-user dungeon. This game allows players to play humans in various guilds within the universe that Terry Pratchett has created.

Works about Pratchett

A collection of essays about his writings is compiled in the book ''Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature'', edited by Andrew M. Butler, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn, published by Science Fiction Foundation in 2000 (ISBN 0903007010). A second, expanded edition was published by Old Earth Books in 2004 (ISBN 188296831X). Andrew M. Butler also wrote the ''Pocket Essentials Guide to Terry Pratchett'' published in 2001 (ISBN 1903047390). ''Writers Uncovered: Terry Pratchett'' is a biography for young readers by Vic Parker, published by Heinemann Library in 2006 (ISBN 0431906335).

Arms

Notes	Terry Pratchett's arms were granted by Letters Patent of Garter and Clarenceux King of Arms dated 28 April 2010.
Crest	Upon a Helm with a Wreath Argent and Sable On Water Barry wavy Sable Argent and Sable an Owl affronty wings displayed and inverted Or supporting thereby two closed Books erect Gules.
Escutcheon	Sable an ankh between four Roundels in saltire each issuing Argent.
Motto	Noli Timere Messorem (Don't fear the reaper)
Previous versions	}}

References

External links

Terry Pratchett Official UK and international website (EU, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada)

Bookclub: BBC's James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Terry Pratchett about his book ''Mort'' (audio)

Terry Pratchett Archive at Senate House Library, University of London

12 October 2009 radio interview discussing 'Unseen Academicals' and brain donation at BBC Wiltshire

Out of the shadows : Four videos in which Terry Pratchett reveals what it was like to be diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), a rare variant of Alzheimer's disease.

2 May 2007 Live Webchat transcript at Douglas Adams Continuum

Meeting Mr Pratchett at ''The Age''

Pratchett talks about his diagnosis with Alzheimer's, from the Daily Mail (UK)

On-line video interview for Czech TV (24. 4. 2011)

Category:English humanists Category:English children's writers Category:English fantasy writers Category:English science fiction writers Category:English journalists Category:Absurdist fiction Category:British Book Award winners Category:Comedy fiction writers Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:People associated with the Discworld series Category:People from Beaconsfield Category:Prometheus Award winning authors Category:Worldcon Guests of Honor Category:British child writers Category:People with dementia Category:Knights Bachelor Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:People educated at John Hampden Grammar School

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Cobra Starship
Background	group_or_band
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genre	Alternative rock, synthpop, pop punk, alternative dance
Years active	2003–present
Label	Decaydance, Fueled by Ramen
Associated acts	Leighton MeesterMidtownHumble BeginningsThis Is Ivy LeagueGym Class HeroesFall Out BoyThe Academy Is...Panic! at the Disco
Website
Current members	Gabe SaportaRyland BlackintonVictoria AsherNate NovarroAlex Suarez
Past members	Elisa Schwartz }}

Cobra Starship is an American pop rock/synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York. Other members are guitarist Ryland Blackinton, bassist Alex Suarez, drummer Nate Novarro, and keytarist Victoria Asher, all of whom provide backing vocals. The group released their debut album, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' in 2006, which they followed with ''¡Viva la Cobra!'' in 2007. They most recently released ''Hot Mess'' in 2009. The group is currently perhaps best known for their singles "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)" and "Good Girls Go Bad". The band's fourth studio album, ''Night Shades'' was released August 29, 2011 release with the first single "You Make Me Feel...".

History

''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' (2006–2007)

Their first album, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'', was released October 10, 2006. It featured the single "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", of which a video had been featured during the closing credits of the film ''Snakes on a Plane'' earlier that summer.

''¡Viva La Cobra!'' (2007–2008)

Cobra Starship released their second album, ''¡Viva La Cobra!'', on October 23, 2007. It was produced by Patrick Stump, who was also credited as singing some backup vocals.

The album has been toured heavily worldwide. Cobra headlined the Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour with guests Metro Station, The Cab, and We The Kings from January to March, 2008. They also played on Warped Tour 2008 and headlined the SassyBack tour, which toured from October 7 through November 30, 2008, with guests Forever the Sickest Kids, Hit the Lights, and Sing It Loud.

The album art for the ''¡Viva La Cobra!'' album was used to promote the fourth generation Apple iPod nano in purple.

''Hot Mess'' (2009–2010)

Following the success of Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl", Cobra Starship recorded their own cover version, "I Kissed a Boy", in summer 2008. The song was released on August 25, 2008, on Fall Out Boy's Citizens For Our Betterment mixtape ''Welcome To The New Administration''. Cobra Starship is one of 9 artists who participated in thetruth.com’s Remix Project, where they remixed the Sunny Side song "Magical Amount".

Cobra Starship also began the "Believers Never Die (Part Deux)" tour in the beginning of April, opening for Fall Out Boy, with other bands All Time Low, Metro Station, and Hey Monday. They spent time performing many shows in the US mostly all in April and the beginning of May, however they also played a few shows in the UK at the end of May 2009, supported by Sing It Loud, Cash Cash, and UK band Mimi Soya.

In 2009, the band went to a cabin in Pennsylvania, in an attempt to produce new material. They broadcasted live throughout their stay on the live camera feed site Stickam, thus creating the Shelf Kids. After their stay, a new album was announced with a tentative release in the summer. The band worked with Kara DioGuardi, Kevin Rudolf, KarateE! Mouse, S*A*M, Sluggo, and song-writers Benny Blanco and Patrick Stump on Hot Mess. ''Gossip Girl'' star Leighton Meester is featured on the song "Good Girls Go Bad", which is produced by Kevin Rudolf and co-written by Rudolf and Kara DioGuardi. The song is the album's first single, and was added on iTunes on May 11 and available to listen to on the band's official MySpace page. Other songs include "Pete Wentz Is the Only Reason We're Famous", which has been released on their YouTube channel and Vevo page. On May 8, the album title was confirmed as ''Hot Mess'', with a release date of August 11. Guitarist Ryland Blackinton said of Hot Mess, "We just wanted to make music that was fun and kinda make people just forget about whatever shitty problem they might be having during the week."

The band began its tour to promote the new album on August 3. The tour, called Hot Mess Across The US Tour, has 21 stops and features guests such as Friday Night Boys and DJ Skeet Skeet. After Plasticines dropped off the tour, Cobra Starship listed a number of candidate bands for the fans to vote for online in a blog; The Audition won. On their official video podcast (CobraCam.tv), the band released humorous tentative titles for the album (which parodies several other notable albums) "Griller", "Tha Ryland III", and variations of their ''¡Viva La Cobra!'' album.

They made a stop on the Warped Tour in 2009, playing in Salt Lake City, on August 8, 2009. In Fall 2009, they were signed on to Boys Like Girls' "Love Drunk Tour" along with The Maine and A Rocket to the Moon.

Cobra Starship played at a September 11, 2009 MTV Video Music Awards weekend competition and pre-party at The Fillmore at Irving Plaza. The competition was for The MTV "VMA Best Breakout New York City Artist Award", and took place before MTV Video Music Awards performers and in between performances from MTV Video Music Awards artists.

On October 13, 2009, the band performed on the Jimmy Kimmel's outdoor stage.

Cobra Starship appeared at "Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2009" along with Mexican star Paulina Rubio performing Good Girls Go Bad and Ni Rosas Ni Juguetes. Cobra Starship and Paulina won an MTV Award for "Best Performance", for Good Girls Go Bad and Ni Rosas Ni Juguetes at the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2009, voted by the public, beating other artist such as Shakira, Nelly Furtado, and Wisin y Yandel.

On February 4, 2010, Cobra Starship embarked on their first ever European tour named 'Hot Mess Across The EU-Niverse', which included the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and the Netherlands. When the tour ended on February 21, the band then travelled to Japan for a few shows, then onto Australia and New Zealand for the 'Wet Hot Australian Summer' Tour. Cobra Starship toured Germany with ''I Heart Sharks'' and ''One Night Stand!'', which was a great success.

On February 5, 2010 it was announced that Cobra Starship and 3OH!3 would be embarking on a co-headlining tour called The Too Fast For Love Tour, opening acts were Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes's side project Travie McCoy and The Lazarus Project and I Fight Dragons. The tour ran from April 28 in Milwaukee, WI, until June 13 in Asbury Park, NJ.

In November 2010, Cobra Starship played in Argentina (November 20) and São Paulo, Brazil (November 21). The latter as a part of the Yes! Rock Fest, which also promotes a variety Brazilian bands.

Along 2010 the band collaborated with the UK singer Alexandra Burke in one of the songs of her debut album's Deluxe Edition, ''Overcome''. The song is called ''What Happens On The Dancefloor'', and keeps the vibe of their previous single ''Good Girls Go Bad''.

''Night Shades'' (2010–present)

Cobra Starship cancelled their 2011 Australian tour to finish up their fourth album, for which they have been working with Ryan Tedder and Kara DioGuardi. Gabe Saporta released a song off of the album, "Don't Blame the World, It's the DJ's Fault", on his Tumblr. A video was released of an eggplant with sunglasses and headphones getting made into eggplant Parmesan. The video is supposed to represent the album title. Gabe later announced via Twitter that the new album will be called ''Night Shades''. The first single, "You Make Me Feel...", was released on May 10, 2011. The song features American singer/songwriter and rapper Sabi. The music video premiered on Tuesday, June 28 on MTV. The band's official Twitter and Tumblr announced that the album will be out on August 30, 2011.

Cobra Starship has recently contributed a cover of Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" for the upcoming tribute album, ''Listen to Me: Buddy Holly'' to be released on September 6, 2011.

On September 9th 2011, Cobra Starship will be headlining the Fueled by Ramen 15th Anniversary show in New York's Terminal 5, with VersaEmerge, The Academy Is... and A Rocket to the Moon in support.

''Night Shades'' is set for an August 29, 2011 release and have released the lead single "You Make Me Feel..." and also the three promotional singles. The first promotional single "#1Nite (One Night)" was released on July 26 2011, The second promotional single "Fool Like Me (Feat. Plastiscines)" was released on August 09 2011 and The third and final promotional single "Middle Finger (Feat. Mac Miller)" was released on August 23, 2011.

On August 23rd 2011, Cobra Starship Released ''Itunes Session - EP'', containing 4 acoustic songs and an alternative version of "Fold Your Hands Child".

In promotion of the album, Cobra Starship performed "You Make Me Feel" on the MTV Video Music Awards pre-show with Sabi on August 28th 2011.

Discography

Album appearances

! Year	! Album
2006
2007
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2011

References

External links

Official Website

Spanish website

Category:Decaydance Records artists Category:Fueled by Ramen artists Category:American pop music groups Category:Crush Management artists Category:Musical quintets

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