The creator of a fantasy world borne on the back of a turtle swimming through space, a jazz crusader, two former musical hell-raisers and a 91-year-old grande dame of letters are among those honoured in the arts this year.

Terry Pratchett, whose Discworld novels have won him legions of fans, said he was "flabbergasted" to receive a knighthood.

"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," said the author, who has sold more than 55m books worldwide.

Last year the 60-year-old announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, an affliction he described as an "embuggerance". He has since campaigned to raise awareness of the disease.

The saxophonist Courtney Pine, one of the UK's best-known jazz musicians, is awarded a CBE for services to music. "This acknowledgement for what I think of as a noble mission in uniting people through sound could not have been realised without the love, support and dedication of my family, management, band and the many supporters of music throughout this land," said Pine, 44. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Robert Plant, the former Led Zeppelin frontman who has gone on to enjoy a sedater breed of fame through his duets with US bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, also receives a CBE. John Martyn, who immortalised his fellow singer Nick Drake in the song Solid Air, gets an OBE.

Diana Athill, the editor, memoirist and novelist who spent half a century in publishing, tending to the works of VS Naipaul, Norman Mailer, Jean Rhys and Philip Roth, receives an OBE for services to literature. As does Victoria Barnsley, who has been in publishing a couple of decades less than Athill and is chief executive of HarperCollins UK.

Two thespians are awarded. Liz Smith, the 87-year-old actor who has graced many of Britain's favourite sitcoms including the Royle Family, receives an MBE. Michael Sheen, whose eclectic CV boasts turns as Tony Blair, Kenneth Williams, a werewolf and David Frost, earns an OBE.

Rosalind Savill, who has worked at the Wallace Collection since 1974 and been its director for the last 18 years, becomes a dame, as does Jenny Abramsky, the BBC's former director of audio and music and now the chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

Interior design guru Kelly Hoppen gets an MBE, as does fashion designer Anya Hindmarch.