Terry Pratchett - Terence David John Pratchett OBE (born 28 April 1948) is an English fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his Discworld series. Other works include the Johnny Maxwell Trilogy and the Bromeliad Trilogy. He also closely collaborates on adaptations of his books, such as computer games and plays. Pratchett started to write by the age of 13 and his first work was published commercially at the age of 15. His first novel The Carpet People was published in 1971. The first Discworld novel The Colour of Magic was published in 1983 and since then, he writes two books a year on average. Pratchett was the UK's best selling author in the 1990s. As of February 2007, he had sold approximately 50 million books worldwide and has been translated into 33 languages. He is currently the second most read writer in the UK and seventh most read non-US author in the U.S. Terry Pratchett was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1998 'for services to literature.' His novel The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents won the 2001 Carnegie Medal for the best book for children. Pratchett and his work are often described as having a cult following.