SOURCE: Pratchett, Terry, and Locus. “Terry Pratchett: Discworld and Beyond.” Locus 43, no. 6 (December 1999): 4, 73-6.

In the following interview, Pratchett discusses his hopes for humanity's future, his beliefs about the nature of science, and his feelings about the marketing of the Discworld series.

Terence David John Pratchett was born April 28, 1948 in Beaconsfield, Bucks., UK, and attended High Wycombe Technical High School, where his story “The Hades Business” appeared in the school magazine when he was 13, and commercially in Science Fantasy just two years later. He studied Art, History, and English, but left school at 17 for a newspaper job with the Bucks Free Press. The job brought him into contact with independent publisher Colin Smythe's co-director during an interview, and Pratchett mentioned he had written a book, The Carpet People—would they be interested in looking at it?

Colin Smythe published humorous fantasy The Carpet People in 1971, and then humorous...