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That attitude - of homage and parody - lasted for two books, and then the parodies became novels. Starting with Equal Rites, the story of the first female wizard, Terry was writing actual Discworld novels. Over the next few years (with occasional lapses back into madcap romp) he became our foremost comic novelist and then a genuine satirist, willing to tackle real issues - war and prejudice and what it means to be human. The stories, meanwhile, were all set on the Discworld: a flat earth on the backs of four elephants, themselves riding on the back of an enormous turtle.

A quarter of a century after his first book was released, Terry has become a much-loved and bestselling author of fantasy fiction for adults. He wrote a book with me (called Good Omens, a funny novel about the end of the world and how we're all going to die), won the Carnegie medal for his children's book, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, and has been awarded an OBE. He has also been chairman of the Society of Authors and has a box-load of honorary doctorates. Yet when we spoke last week, he seemed proudest of a most unlikely award.