Editing Terry Pratchett (section)

==Personal life==
Pratchett married Lyn Purves at the Congregational Church, [[Gerrards Cross]], on 5 October 1968.<ref name="smythe" /> They moved to [[Rowberrow]], Somerset, in 1970. Their daughter [[Rhianna Pratchett]], also a writer, was born there in 1976. In 1993 the family moved to [[Broad Chalke]], a village west of [[Salisbury]], Wiltshire.<ref>{{cite news|date=30 December 2010|title=Terry Pratchett celebrated by new Royal Mail stamps|work=BBC Wiltshire|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/wiltshire/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_9327000/9327675.stm|access-date=26 June 2013}}</ref>

Pratchett was the patron of the Friends of High Wycombe Library.<ref name="fohwl">{{cite web|title=Friends of High Wycombe Libraries|url=http://www.lookups.com.au/wiki/friends-in-high-wycombe-library-report.php|access-date=21 November 2012}}</ref> In 2013 he gave a talk at Beaconsfield Library, which he had visited as a child, and donated the income from the event to it. He also visited his former school to speak to the students.<ref name="bfp" />

Pratchett often wore large black hats, in a style described as "more that of urban cowboy than city gent".<ref name="ind">{{cite news |date=13 March 2015 |title=Sir Terry Pratchett: Author's Discworld series of novels sold millions and faced early-onset Alzheimer's with courage and wit |work=[[The Independent]]|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/sir-terry-pratchett-author-whose-discworld-series-of-novels-sold-millions-and-who-faced-early-onset-10104992.html}}</ref> Concern for the future of civilisation prompted him to install five kilowatts of [[solar cell|photovoltaic cells]] (for [[solar energy]]) at his house in 2007.<ref name="theage">{{cite news|date=17 February 2007|title=Meeting Mr Pratchett|newspaper=[[The Age]]|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/books/meeting-mr-pratchett/2007/02/15/1171405371862.html?page=fullpage|access-date=17 February 2008}}</ref>

Pratchett had an observatory built in his back garden<ref name="sfw" /> and was a keen astronomer from childhood.{{sfn|Burrows|2020|loc=chpt. 1}} He made a 2005 appearance on the BBC programme ''[[The Sky at Night]]''<ref>{{cite web |date=7 August 2005 |title=Terry Pratchett, amateur astronomer |url=http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2216 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720205818/http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2216 |archive-date=20 July 2011 |access-date=2 June 2009 |publisher=The Cunning Artificer's forums}}</ref> and appeared on the 50th anniversary of the show in 2007.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007h1n2 | title=BBC One - We Love the Sky at Night }}</ref> He travelled on a cruise ship from [[Taiwan]] to watch the [[Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009|2009 solar eclipse]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/terry-pratchett-joins-the-eclipse-chasers-pc7mzrzkr5d|title=Terry Pratchett joins the eclipse chasers|first=Steve|last=Keenan|work=[[The Times]]|date=19 May 2008|access-date=29 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241229214037/https://www.thetimes.com/article/terry-pratchett-joins-the-eclipse-chasers-pc7mzrzkr5d|archive-date=29 December 2024|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Computing===
Pratchett started to use computers for writing as soon as they were available to him. His first computer was a [[ZX81]]; the first computer he used properly for writing was an [[Amstrad CPC|Amstrad CPC 464]], later replaced by an [[IBM PC compatible]]. Pratchett was one of the first authors to routinely use the Internet to communicate with fans, and was a contributor to the [[Usenet]] newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett from 1992.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 July 1992 |title=alt.fan.pratchett |url=http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.pratchett/browse_frm/thread/6d66f88060364dbb |access-date=6 June 2007}}</ref> However, he did not consider the Internet a hobby, just another "thing to use".<ref name="writerswrite" /> He had many computers in his house,<ref name="writerswrite" /> with a bank of six monitors to ease writing.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Orr |first1=Deborah |title=Terry Pratchett: 'If I'd known what a progressive brain disease could do for your PR profile I may have had one earlier' |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/terry-pratchett-if-id-known-what-a-progressive-brain-disease-could-do-for-your-pr-profile-i-may-have-had-one-earlier-1036584.html |access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Preston |first1=John |title=Sir Terry Pratchett interview for Unseen Academicals |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6231337/SIr-Terry-Pratchett-interview.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 March 2015 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6231337/SIr-Terry-Pratchett-interview.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> When he travelled, he always took a portable computer, originally a 1992 [[Olivetti Quaderno]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilkins |first1=Rob |title=Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes |date=29 September 2022 |publisher=Transworld |isbn=978-1-473-56894-5 |publication-date=2022 |chapter=14. Rubber Gloves, TV Snobs and an Olivetti on the Line at Waterloo}}</ref> with him to write.<ref name="writerswrite" />

In a 1995 interview with [[Microsoft]] co-founder [[Bill Gates]], Pratchett expressed concern about the potential spread of [[misinformation]] online. He felt that there was a "kind of parity of esteem of information" on the internet, and gave the example of [[Holocaust denial]] being presented on the same terms as [[Peer review|peer-reviewed]] research, with no easy way to gauge reliability. Gates disagreed, saying that online authorities would index and check facts and sources in a much more sophisticated way than in print. The interview was rediscovered in 2019, and seen by Pratchett's biographer as prescient of [[fake news]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Alison Flood |date=30 May 2019 |title=Terry Pratchett predicted rise of fake news in 1995, says biographer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/30/terry-pratchett-predicted-rise-of-fake-news-in-1995-says-biographer |accessdate=6 April 2023 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

Pratchett was an avid [[video game]] player, and collaborated in the creation of a number of game adaptations of his books. He favoured games that are "intelligent and have some depth", citing ''[[Half-Life 2]]'' (2004) and fan missions for ''[[Thief (series)|Thief]]'' as examples.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 August 2006 |title=PC Interviews – Terry Pratchett |url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=143656 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420034539/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=143656 |archive-date=20 April 2008 |access-date=8 June 2007 |work=[[Computer and Video Games]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Lane |first=Rick |date=9 December 2021 |title='Help! I've been spotted!' Terry Pratchett on Thief, his favourite video game |url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2021/dec/09/terry-pratchett-thief-video-game-forum |accessdate=6 April 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> The red army in ''Interesting Times'' prompted comparisons to the 1991 puzzle game ''[[Lemmings (video game)|Lemmings]]''. When asked about this connection, Pratchett said: "Merely because the red army can fight, dig, march and climb and is controlled by little icons? Can't imagine how anyone thought that&nbsp;... Not only did I wipe ''Lemmings'' from my hard disk, I overwrote it so I couldn't get it back."<ref>{{cite web |last=Breebaart |first=Leo |date=1 July 2005 |title=Annotated Pratchett File v 9.0 – Interesting Times |url=http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/interesting-times.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804004433/http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/interesting-times.html |archive-date=4 August 2012 |access-date=10 December 2014 |work=LSpace}}</ref> He described ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]]'' (2006) as his favourite video game, saying that he used many of its non-combat-oriented fan-made [[Mod (video games)|mods]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Peterson |first1=Matthew |title=Terry Pratchett |url=http://theauthorhour.com/terry-pratchett/extras.php |access-date=16 April 2015 |website=The Author Hour}}</ref> and contributed to the development of at least one popular fan-made mod.<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 January 2019|title=The story behind the Oblivion mod Terry Pratchett worked on |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/the-story-behind-the-oblivion-mod-terry-pratchett-worked-on |access-date=30 December 2024|first=Cian |last=Maher|work=[[Eurogamer]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241212123854/https://www.eurogamer.net/the-story-behind-the-oblivion-mod-terry-pratchett-worked-on|archive-date=12 December 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Natural history===
Pratchett had a fascination with [[natural history]] that he referred to many times, and he owned a greenhouse full of [[carnivorous plant]]s.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 August 2005 |title=BBC profile |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4643895 |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=Bbc.co.uk}}</ref> He described them in the biographical notes on the dust jackets of some of his books, and elsewhere,<ref>Alt.Fan.Pratchett FAQ| http://faqs.cs.uu.nl/na-dir/pratchett/afp-faq.html{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} seen November 2019</ref> as "not as interesting as people think".<ref>{{cite book |last=Pratchett |first=Terry |title=The Colour of Magic |date=1990 |publisher=Corgi |author-link=Terry Pratchett}}</ref> By ''Carpe Jugulum'' the account had become that "he used to grow carnivorous plants, but now they've taken over the greenhouse and he avoids going in".<ref>Biographical note, inside rear dustcover flap, ''Carpe Jugulum'' {{ISBN|0-385-40992-3}}</ref>

In 1995, a [[fossil]] of a [[turtle|sea-turtle]] from the [[Eocene]] epoch of New Zealand was named ''[[Psephophorus terrypratchetti]]'' in his honour by the palaeontologist Richard Köhler.<ref name="koehler1995">{{cite journal |author=Köhler, R. |year=1995 |title=A new species of the fossil turtle ''Psephophorus'' (Order Testudines) from the Eocene of the South Island, New Zealand |journal=[[Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand]] |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=371–384 |bibcode=1995JRSNZ..25..371K |doi=10.1080/03014223.1995.9517495}}</ref>

In 2016, Pratchett fans unsuccessfully petitioned the [[International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]] (IUPAC) to name [[chemical element]] 117, [[placeholder name|temporarily called]] ''ununseptium'', as ''octarine'' with the proposed symbol Oc (pronounced "ook").<ref>{{cite news |last=Saunders |first=Tristram Fane |date=8 January 2016 |title=Terry Pratchett's Discworld colour Octarine could join the periodic table |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/terry-pratchetts-discworld-colour-octarine-could-join-the-period/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/terry-pratchetts-discworld-colour-octarine-could-join-the-period/ |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The final name chosen for element 117 was ''[[tennessine]]'' with the symbol Ts.<ref name="IUPAC-20161130">{{cite news |author=Staff |date=30 November 2016 |title=IUPAC Announces the Names of the Elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 |work=[[IUPAC]] |url=https://iupac.org/iupac-announces-the-names-of-the-elements-113-115-117-and-118/ |access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref>

Pratchett was a trustee for the Orangutan Foundation<ref>{{cite web |date=n.d. |title=DONORS AND SUPPORTERS |url=https://www.orangutan.org.uk/donors-supporters |access-date=3 March 2021 |publisher=Orangutan Foundation UK |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414175030/https://www.orangutan.org.uk/donors-supporters |url-status=dead}}</ref> but was pessimistic about the future of [[orangutan]]s.<ref name="theage" /> His activities included visiting [[Borneo]] with a [[Channel 4]] film crew to make an episode of ''Jungle Quest'' in 1995, seeing orangutans in their natural habitat.<ref>{{cite web |date=n.d. |title=Short Stories: Terry Pratchett's Jungle Quest |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/530147 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113080937/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/530147 |archive-date=13 November 2007 |access-date=7 November 2015 |publisher=BFI Film & TV Database}}</ref> Following Pratchett's lead, fan events such as the Discworld Conventions have adopted Orangutan Foundation as their nominated charity, which has been acknowledged by the foundation.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 September 2004 |title=Discworld Convention 2004 |url=http://www.orangutan.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80&Itemid=7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818183305/http://www.orangutan.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80&Itemid=7 |archive-date=18 August 2007 |access-date=6 June 2007 |publisher=Orangutan Foundation UK}}</ref> One of Pratchett's most popular fictional characters, [[The Librarian (Discworld)|the Librarian]], is a wizard who was transformed into an orangutan in a magical accident and decides to remain in that condition as it is so convenient for his work.

===Views on religion===
Pratchett, who was brought up in a [[Church of England]] family,<ref name="Pratchett2014">{{Cite book |last=Pratchett |first=Terry |title=[[A Slip of the Keyboard]] |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |year=2014 |chapter=The God Moment}}</ref> described himself as an [[Atheism|atheist]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=June 2008 |title=Terry Pratchett, Lord of Discworld, fights to save his powers |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/terry-pratchett-lord-of-discworld-fights-to-save-his-powers-wm83n7twggb |website=[[Times Online]]}}</ref> and a [[secular humanism|humanist]]. He was a Distinguished Supporter of [[Humanists UK]] (formerly known as the British Humanist Association)<ref>{{cite web |title=Terry Pratchett OBE: Fantasy fiction author, satirist and distinguished supporter of Humanism |url=http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentViewArticle.asp?article=2272 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421224854/http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentViewArticle.asp?article=2272 |archive-date=21 April 2007 |access-date=17 December 2008 |work=British Humanist Association website}}</ref> and an Honorary Associate of the [[National Secular Society]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary Associates: Sir Terry Pratchett |url=http://www.secularism.org.uk/sir-terry-pratchett.html |access-date=26 May 2010 |work=National Secular Society website}}</ref>

Pratchett wrote that he read the [[Old Testament]] as a child and "was horrified", but liked the [[New Testament]] and thought that Jesus "had a lot of good things to say ... But I could never see the two testaments as one coherent narrative".<ref name="Pratchett2014" /> He then read ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', which "all made perfect sense ... Evolution was far more thrilling to me than the biblical account."<ref name="Pratchett2014" /> He said that he had never disliked religion and thought it had a purpose in [[human evolution]].<ref name="Pratchett2014" /> In an interview Pratchett cites a quotation from the protagonist in his novel ''Nation'', "It is better to build a seismograph than to worship the volcano", a statement Pratchett said he agreed with.<ref name="Pratchett2014" />

Pratchett told ''The Times'' in 2008: "I believe in the same God that [[Albert Einstein|Einstein]] did ... And 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."<ref name=":2" /> In an interview on ''[[Front Row (radio programme)|Front Row]]'' he described an experience of hearing his dead father's voice and feeling a sense of peace.<ref>{{Cite episode |number=1 September 2008 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d6tjk |title=Front Row |series=Front Row |series-link=Front Row (radio programme) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Radio 4]] |date=1 September 2008}}</ref> Commentators took these statements to mean that Pratchett had become religious, but Pratchett responded in an article published in the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' in which he denied that he had found God, and clarified that he believed the voice had come from a memory of his father and a sense of personal elation.<ref name="Pratchett2014" />

===Alzheimer's disease diagnosis===
In August 2007, Pratchett was misdiagnosed as having had a minor stroke a few years before, which doctors believed had damaged the right side of his brain.<ref name="ind" /><ref name="scot">{{cite news |author=Pollock, David |date=13 March 2015 |title=Obituary: Sir Terry Pratchett, author |work=The Scotsman |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-sir-terry-pratchett-author-1-3718029}}</ref><ref name="guard">{{cite news |author=Pauli, Michelle |date=12 December 2007 |title=Pratchett announces he has Alzheimer's |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/dec/12/news.michellepauli1}}</ref> In December 2007, he announced that he had been diagnosed with [[early-onset Alzheimer's disease]], which had been responsible for the "stroke".<ref name="guard" /><ref name="headroom">{{cite web |date=4 February 2009 |title=Terry Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer's |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2008/01/29/alzheimers_terrypratchettinterview_feature.shtml |access-date=27 October 2009 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> He had a rare form of [[posterior cortical atrophy]] (PCA),<ref name="ind" /><ref name="scot" /> a disease in which areas at the back of the brain begin to shrink and shrivel.<ref name="alzheimerdonation">{{cite news |date=13 March 2008 |title=Pratchett funds Alzheimer's study |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7291315.stm |access-date=13 March 2008}}</ref>

Describing the diagnosis 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".<ref name="alzheimer">{{cite web |date=11 December 2007 |title=An Embuggerance |url=http://www.pjsmprints.com/news/embuggerance.html |access-date=1 February 2008 |publisher=Terry Pratchett, PJSMPrints.com}}</ref> He stated he felt he had time for "at least a few more books yet", and added that while he understood the impulse to ask "is there anything I can do?", in this case he would only entertain such offers from "very high-end experts in brain chemistry".<ref name="alzheimer" /> Discussing his diagnosis at the [[Bath Literature Festival]] in early 2008, Pratchett revealed that by then he found it too difficult to write dedications when signing books.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 February 2008 |title=People: Sienna Miller, Terry Pratchett, Javier Bardem |work=Times Online |publisher=Times Newspapers |location=London |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/people-sienna-miller-terry-pratchett-javier-bardem-0ds9ddm8n0n |access-date=4 March 2008}}</ref> In his later years Pratchett wrote by dictating to his assistant, Rob Wilkins, or by using [[speech recognition|speech-recognition]] software.<ref>{{cite web |title=Terry Pratchett – Biography |url=http://www.paulkidby.com/biography/terrypratchett.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115160514/http://www.paulkidby.com/biography/terrypratchett.html |archive-date=15 January 2013 |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=Paulkidby.com}}</ref>

[[File:Terry Pratchett 2005.JPG|thumb|Pratchett at the [[63rd World Science Fiction Convention]] in Glasgow, August 2005]]
In March 2008, Pratchett announced he was donating $1 million (about £494,000) to the [[Alzheimer's Research Trust]] (later called Alzheimer's Research UK), and that he was shocked "to find out that funding for Alzheimer's research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures".<ref name="alzheimerdonation" /><ref name="alzheimerdonation2">{{cite web |date=13 March 2008 |title=Terry Pratchett pledges $1&nbsp;million to Alzheimer's Research Trust |url=http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/news/article.php?type=News&archive=0&id=205 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415210729/http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/news/article.php?type=News&archive=0&id=205 |archive-date=15 April 2008 |access-date=7 June 2013 |publisher=[[Alzheimer's Research Trust]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Terry Pratchett: 'I am the only person suffering from Pratchett's posterior cortical atrophy' |url=http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/terry-pratchett-i-am-the-only-person-suffering-from-pratchetts-posterior-cortical-atrophy/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525055851/http://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/terry-pratchett-i-am-the-only-person-suffering-from-pratchetts-posterior-cortical-atrophy/ |archive-date=25 May 2015 |access-date=1 June 2015 |website=Alzheimer's Research UK}}</ref> He said: "I am, along with many others, scrabbling to stay ahead long enough to be there when the cure comes along."<ref name="alzheimerdonation" />

In April 2008, Pratchett worked with the [[BBC]] to make a two-part documentary series about his illness, ''Terry Pratchett: Living With Alzheimer's''.<ref name="alz1">{{cite web |date=15 April 2008 |title=BBC Documentary |url=http://www.pjsmprints.com/news/apr2008.html |access-date=20 April 2008 |work=Discworld News}}</ref> The first part was broadcast on [[BBC Two]] on 4 February 2009, drawing 2.6 million viewers and a 10.4% audience share.<ref>{{cite web |author=Wilkes, Neil |date=5 February 2009 |title='Minder' revival starts with 2.4m |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a145663/minder-revival-starts-with-24m.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007180601/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a145663/minder-revival-starts-with-24m.html |archive-date=7 October 2012 |access-date=14 February 2009 |website=Digital Spy}}</ref> The second, broadcast on 11 February 2009, drew 1.72 million viewers and a 6.8% audience share.<ref name="alz2">{{cite web |author=Wilkes, Neil |date=12 February 2009 |title='Minder' remake drops 600,000 |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a146402/minder-remake-drops-600000.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007180706/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a146402/minder-remake-drops-600000.html |archive-date=7 October 2012 |access-date=14 February 2009 |website=[[Digital Spy]]}}</ref> The documentary won a [[BAFTA award]] in the Factual Series category.<ref>{{cite web |title=BAFTA Scotland Awards – The Highlights – Awards – Scotland – The BAFTA site |url=http://www.bafta.org/scotland/awards/awards-report-2009,1145,BA.html |access-date=20 August 2012 |publisher=Bafta.org}}</ref>

On 26 November 2008, Pratchett met [[Gordon Brown]], then the [[British prime minister]], and asked for an increase in dementia-research funding.<ref>{{cite web |date=27 November 2008 |title=Brown meets Pratchett and ART representatives and pledges Alzheimer's funding rethink |url=http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/news/article.php?type=News&id=325 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206110145/http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/news/article.php?type=News&id=325 |archive-date=6 December 2008 |access-date=17 December 2008 |publisher=[[Alzheimer's Research Trust]]}}</ref> Pratchett tested a prototype device to address his condition.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 February 2009 |title=I hope my sci-fi helmet will halt my dementia |url=https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/83135/I-hope-my-sci-fi-helmet-will-halt-my-dementia |website=Express.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Anita |date=31 January 2009 |title=Sir Terry Pratchett documents Alzheimer's battle in BBC film |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/4400955/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-documents-Alzheimers-battle-in-BBC-film.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/4400955/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-documents-Alzheimers-battle-in-BBC-film.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The ability of the device to alter the course of the illness has been met with scepticism from Alzheimer's researchers.<ref>{{cite web |date=28 January 2008 |title=ABC News: Alzheimer's Hat Draws Skepticism |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/GadgetGuide/Story?id=4202266&page=1 |access-date=3 December 2012 |publisher=Abcnews.go.com}}</ref>

In an article published in 2009 Pratchett stated that he wished to die by [[assisted suicide]] (a term he disliked) before his disease progressed to a critical point.<ref>Irvine, Chris. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090805175425/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5960166/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-coroner-tribunals-should-be-set-up-for-assisted-suicide-cases.html Sir Terry Pratchett: coroner tribunals should be set up for assisted suicide cases], ''Telegraph'', 2 August 2009.</ref> He later said that he felt "it should be possible for someone stricken with a serious and ultimately fatal illness to choose to die peacefully with medical help, rather than suffer".<ref>{{cite news |date=14 June 2011 |title=Sir Terry Pratchett suicide film prompts 'bias' claims |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13767216 |access-date=18 June 2011}}</ref> Pratchett was selected to give the 2010 BBC [[Richard Dimbleby Lecture]],<ref>{{cite news |date=14 January 2010 |title=Sir Terry Pratchett to give 2010 Dimbleby Lecture |publisher=BBC Press Office |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/01_january/14/dimbleby.shtml |access-date=1 February 2010}}</ref> ''Shaking Hands With Death'', broadcast on 1 February 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |date=1 February 2010 |title=Sir Terry Pratchett calls for euthanasia tribunals |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/feb/01/terry-pratchett-euthanasia-tribunals |access-date=1 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241218091050/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/feb/01/terry-pratchett-euthanasia-tribunals|archive-date=18 December 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> Pratchett introduced his lecture on the topic of assisted death (he preferred this to the term "assisted suicide"), but the main text was read by his friend [[Tony Robinson]] because his condition made it difficult for him to read.<ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Martin |date=2 February 2010 |title=A death worth dying for |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/a-death-worth-dying-for-1.1003151 |url-status=dead |access-date=2 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628050844/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/a-death-worth-dying-for-1.1003151|archive-date=28 June 2010}}</ref> In June 2011, Pratchett presented a BBC television documentary, ''[[Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die]],'' about assisted suicide. It won the Best Documentary award at the [[Scottish BAFTA]]s in November 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Terry's 'Choosing to Die' documentary awarded at Scottish Baftas |url=http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/?p=1031 |access-date=20 August 2012 |publisher=Terrypratchett.co.uk |archive-date=8 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608035359/http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/?p=1031 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13040095.video-special-scottish-baftas/|title=Video special at the Scottish Baftas|first=Marisa|last=Duffy|work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]|date=14 November 2011|accessdate=30 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241230000000/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13040095.video-special-scottish-baftas|archive-date=30 December 2024|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13228418.stars-shine-at-the-scottish-baftas/|title=Stars shine at the Scottish Baftas|work=[[Glasgow Times]]|date=14 November 2011|accessdate=30 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241230041545/https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13228418.stars-shine-at-the-scottish-baftas/|archive-date=30 December 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2012, Pratchett told an interviewer: "I have to tell you that I thought I'd be a lot worse than this by now, and so did my specialist." In the same interview he said that the cognitive part of his mind was "untouched" and his symptoms were physical (normal for PCA).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9532983/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-I-thought-my-Alzheimers-would-be-a-lot-worse-than-this-by-now.html|title=Sir Terry Pratchett: "I thought my Alzheimer's would be a lot worse than this by now"|first=Elizabeth|last=Grice|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=10 September 2012|accessdate=30 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240413080618/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9532983/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-I-thought-my-Alzheimers-would-be-a-lot-worse-than-this-by-now.html|archive-date=13 April 2024|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in July 2014 he cancelled his appearance at the biennial [[International Discworld Convention]], citing his condition and "other age-related ailments".<ref name="missed con">{{cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2 July 2014 |title=Terry Pratchett forced to cancel appearance by Alzheimer's |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/02/terry-pratchett-cancel-appearance-alzheimers-discworld |access-date=30 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241225182940/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/02/terry-pratchett-cancel-appearance-alzheimers-discworld|archive-date=25 December 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>

===<span class="anchor" id="Death"></span>Death and legacy===
Pratchett died at his home from complications of Alzheimer's disease on the morning of 12 March 2015. He was 66 years old.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weber |first=Bruce |date=12 March 2015 |title=Terry Pratchett, Novelist, Dies at 66 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/13/books/terry-pratchett-popular-fantasy-novelist-dies-at-66.html?ref=obituaries&_r=0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 March 2015 |title=Sir Terry Pratchett, renowned fantasy author, dies aged 66 |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156 |access-date=2 December 2016}}</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' reported an unidentified source as saying that, despite his previous discussion of assisted suicide, his death had been natural.<ref>{{cite news |last=Furness |first=Hannah |date=12 March 2015 |title=Sir Terry Pratchett dies, aged 66 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11467688/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-dies-aged-66.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 March 2015 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11467688/Sir-Terry-Pratchett-dies-aged-66.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After Pratchett's death, his assistant, Rob Wilkins, wrote from the official Terry Pratchett Twitter account:
{{blockquote|{{smallcaps all|A|T LAST,}} {{smallcaps all|S|IR}} {{smallcaps all|T|ERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.}}

Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night.

The End.<ref name="bbcdeathnotice">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-31859675|agency=BBC News|title=How did Terry Pratchett tweet after his death?|date=12 March 2015|access-date=15 March 2015}}</ref>}}

Public figures who paid tribute included the British prime minister [[David Cameron]], the comedian [[Ricky Gervais]],<ref>{{cite news |date=12 March 2015 |title=Terry Pratchett dies: Twitter pays tribute |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11467770/Terry-Pratchett-dies-reaction-and-tributes-live.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 April 2015 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11467770/Terry-Pratchett-dies-reaction-and-tributes-live.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and the authors [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], [[Terry Brooks]], [[Margaret Atwood]], [[George R. R. Martin]], and [[Neil Gaiman]].<ref>{{cite web |date=31 March 2015 |title=Tributes to Sir Terry Pratchett |url=http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/?p=5874 |access-date=23 April 2015 |agency=Terry Pratchett Books |archive-date=1 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501194846/http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/?p=5874 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=23 March 2015 |title='That's how I want to remember Terry': Neil Gaiman reminisces about Pratchett |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/23/neil-gaiman-remembers-terry-pratchett-michael-chabon-interview |access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref> Pratchett was memorialised in graffiti in East London.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alwakeel |first=Ramzy |date=2 April 2015 |title=Stunning street art tribute to author Terry Pratchett appears in east London |work=London Evening Standard |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/stunning-street-art-tribute-to-terry-pratchett-appears-in-east-london-10153232.html |access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref> The video game companies [[Frontier Developments]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=17 March 2015 |title=Terry Pratchett tribute added to Elite: Dangerous |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/terry-pratchett-tribute-added-to-elite-dangerous/ |access-date=22 April 2015 |website=PC Gamer |agency=PC Gamer}}</ref> and [[Valve Corporation|Valve]] added elements to their games named after him.<ref>{{cite news |last=Farokhmanesh |first=Megan |date=28 April 2015 |title=Dota 2 pays tribute to Terry Pratchett |work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] |url=http://www.polygon.com/2015/4/28/8508001/dota-2-pays-tribute-terry-pratchett/ |accessdate=5 April 2023}}</ref> Users of the social news site [[Reddit]] organised a tribute by which an [[HTTP header]], "<code>X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett</code>", was added to websites' responses, a reference to the ''Discworld'' novel ''[[Going Postal]]'', in which "the clacks" (a [[semaphore]] system, used as ''Discworld''{{'s}} equivalent to a [[telegraph]]) are programmed to repeat the name of its creator's deceased son; the sentiment in the novel is that no one is ever forgotten as long as their name is still spoken.<ref>{{cite news |last=Poole |first=Steven |date=17 March 2015 |title=Terry Pratchett's name lives on in 'the clacks' with hidden web code |agency=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/shortcuts/2015/mar/17/terry-pratchetts-name-lives-on-in-the-clacks-with-hidden-web-code |access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref> A June 2015 web server survey reported that approximately 84,000 websites had been configured with the header.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 2015 |title=June 2015 Web Server Survey |work=Netcraft |url=https://news.netcraft.com/archives/2015/06/25/june-2015-web-server-survey.html |access-date=14 August 2017}}</ref> Pratchett's [[humanist funeral]] service was held in [[Salisbury]] on 25 March 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2015 |title=Family celebrates life of Terry Pratchett with moving humanist funeral |url=https://humanism.org.uk/2015/03/26/family-celebrates-life-terry-pratchett-moving-humanist-funeral/ |access-date=18 August 2019 |publisher=[[Humanists UK]]}}</ref>

In 2015, Pratchett's estate announced an endowment in perpetuity to the [[University of South Australia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Perpetual Sir Terry Pratchett Scholarship announced for UniSA |url=http://www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/Perpetual-Sir-Terry-Pratchett-Scholarship-announced-for-UniSA/ |access-date=18 May 2016 |publisher=University of South Australia}}</ref> The Sir Terry Pratchett Memorial Scholarship supports a Masters scholarship at the university's Hawke Research Institute.<ref>{{cite web |date=15 April 2016 |title=Pratchett scholarship supports research into the marginalisation of asylum seekers |url=http://www.unisa.edu.au/Media-Centre/Releases/2016-Media-releases/Pratchett-scholarship-supports-research-into-the-marginalisation-of-asylum-seekers/#.VzwX8SHVr98 |access-date=18 May 2016 |publisher=University of South Australia}}</ref>

In 2023, several stories published in a regional newspaper in the 1970s and 1980s under the pen name Patrick Kearns were discovered to have been authored by Pratchett. They were published as ''[[A Stroke of the Pen: The Lost Stories]]'' in October 2023.<ref name="Shaffi2023" />