Author Terry Pratchett has been included on the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for investiture later this year as a Knight Bachelor. In 1998, Pratchett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to literature. His knighthood will allow him to call himself Sir Terence (his full name is Terence David John Pratchett).
Pratchett, best known for his Discworld series, responded to word of the award by telling the Times: “There are times when phrases such as ‘totally astonished’ just don’t do the job. I am of course delighted and honoured and, needless to say, flabbergasted.”
Others included on the list of several hundred recipients of this year’s honours include musician Robert Plant, who is receiving the CBE; actors Michael Sheen, OBE (he appeared in the Underworld films and as Tony Blair in The Queen), Earl Cameron, CBE (he appeared in Doctor Who, The Prisoner, and Neverwhere), and Liz Smith, MBE (she appeared in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Christmas Carol); and editor Diana Athill, OBE.