Inspiring a young writer

Ask Michelle Anything

Gemma writes…

Hi, I hope this email finds you well. I am reaching out to see if you can help…

I am a private tutor for young children and I have a pupil (who attends Latymer Prep School, London) who has found a love of writing stories. He has read all of your books and often talks about them during our lessons. He recently announced that the authors he reads inspire his own writing and has made him want to become a children’s writer one day too. At 9 years old, this fills me with great joy.
I wanted to ask if you would be happy for me to send you a copy of one of his recent pieces to read? I know he would be thrilled to know that I have sent it onto you!
Please let me know if this is a possibility. Thank you in advance for your time. Best wishes, Gemma

Michelle Replies…

Dear Gemma, it sounds as if you’re an incredibly inspiring and empathetic tutor, and  it’s wonderful that your pupil enjoys writing stories – and clearly is a keen reader too.  It also does you great credit to ask me to read one of his pieces.  However, if I said yes to you, I’d feel honour-bound to say yes to rather a lot of other readers (from all over the world) who also ask the same thing; and that just wouldn’t be practicable.  So with regret, I’m afraid I can’t take it on.  I do hope you understand.  But obviously if your pupil would like to write to me c/o my publishers, they’ll pass the letter on, eventually – and I’d write back.   Thanks again for getting in touch. With best wishes, Michelle


Upcoming Live Events With Michelle

Incredible… Inspiring… In Person!

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Wimbledon Book Festival

October 17, 2025
Festival patron and Sunday Times bestselling author Michelle Paver will talk about her latest supernatural fiction in this live recording with Always Take Notes, a podcast for and about writers and writing.

Michelle will discuss her incredible career, from finding inspiration for Wolf Brother on Wimbledon Common to her latest novel Rainforest, which weaves Mayan culture with themes of obsession, gender and rebirth.

Only 52 days to grab your ticket!

The Witching Hour with Bridget Collins, Michelle Paver and Laura Shepherd-Robinson – Waterstones Canterbury

October 20, 2025

Join Bridget Collins, Michelle Paver and Laura Sheperd-Robinson as they discuss their stories in a brand new collection of ghostly tales called The Witching Hour.

In this dazzling collection of original haunted tales, thirteen bestselling and much-loved authors bring the old superstition of the witching hour to new and vivid life.
Transporting you from the smog of London to the freezing mists of Svalbard, from an Irish town riddled with rumour to a sinister English boarding school, these thirteen stories will serve as your spine tingling companion to the long hours of winter.
So curl up, light a candle, and wait for the clock to strike . . .
Only 57 days to grab your ticket!

Yeovil Literary Festival

October 25, 2025

An experience like no other. From a writer like no other...

Successfully published as an adult author, the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (“Wolf Brother”) were her first books for younger readers, followed by her brilliant 5-part series set in the bronze age, Gods and Warriors. On the adult side, her first ghost story, Dark Matter, was a UK bestseller and won massive praise from reviewers and readers alike, as did her second ghost story, Thin Air.

Oxford Literary Festival 2026

March 29, 2026

The Oxford Literary Festival takes place in venues across central Oxford, such as Blackwell's bookshop, the Bodleian Library, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Weston Library, and Oxford colleges such as Christ Church and Worcester College. The festival includes international authors, journalists, intellectuals, historians, and poets.