Hay Festival: Terry Pratchett (From Hereford Times)

Hay Festival: Terry Pratchett

8:20am Saturday 9th June 2012 in Leisure By Lauren Rogers

Asked if he would like to be taken more seriously as an author, Terry Pratchett responds with a resounding 'absolutely not'.

It is the only answer you'd expect from the author who created a world on the back of a giant turtle flying through space and has just been awarded the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for his 39th Discworld novel, Snuff.

Speaking at Hay Festival on Wednesday, Pratchett offered fans a fascinating insight into his methods. There were anecdotes about trips to Humptulips and dinner table conversation about the kind adult literature trolls might favour.

He talked about his new novel, The Long Earth and his forthcoming children’s books Dodger and the World of Poo.

He described writing as running down a hill with wings on your back and suddenly taking flight or, if something’s going wrong, like running up the other side again.

The author has a form of early-onset Alzheimer’s and prompted public discussion on assisted dying. Last month he won a BAFTA for his documentary about the subject.

Asked if he was scared of anything, Pratchett told the Hay audience it was “dying badly”.

“But I can’t be bothered about Death,” he added.

“I have made him so popular that he owes me one.”