Sir Terry Pratchett, best-known as the author of the Discworld series, has died at the age of 66.

As we reported back in August, Pratchett acknowledged that Tolkien was his favourite fantasy author in an interview with the New York Times. When asked, “Who are your favorite fantasy novelists?“, he replied:

O.K., I give in. J. R. R. Tolkien. I wrote a letter to him once and got a very nice reply. Just think how busy he would have been, and yet he took the time out to write to a fan.

Pratchett was always a great supporter of J.R.R. Tolkien, having read him as a teenager, and credited him with starting the fantasy cult of which he was able to take advantage later. Tolkien fans were among Pratchett’s first fans and appreciated the Tolkien parodies in his early books. He was the guest of honour at the Tolkien Society Seminar in 1991 at the Welsh Folk Museum, Cardiff.

We’ll be linking to obituaries as they become available:

• The Guardian
  • Frank Cottrell Boyce: “Terry Pratchett was a true great, the equal of Swift”
  • “Neil Gaiman and Ursula Le Guin Lead Tributes”
  • Helen Lewis: “My hero: Terry Pratchett”
• BBC News
• Daily Mail
• The Independent
• Daily Telegraph
  • Rhianna Pratchett: “It was like having a full-sized hobbit for a father”
• New York Times

Namárië, Sir Terry.

About the Author: Daniel Helen

Daniel is an Officer without Portfolio and Trustee of The Tolkien Society. Elected in 2014, he is mainly responsible for the Society's digital operations, including this website.