Just an immense thank you!

Ask Michelle Anything

Ellinor writes…

Hi!

I just wanted to send an immense thank you for creating Torak and the world around him. I was born in 1997 and was about the age of 10/11 I think when I first read the first book, maybe even a bit younger. I fell in love immediately, and the series has stuck with me throughout all these years. It isn´t until this past that I´ve gotten my hands on the rest of the series, seeing as they unfortunately aren´t widely known in Sweden.
I will always count the series as my favorite, there´s no doubt about it, and I try to constantly recommend it at work (I work in a bookstore). Sitting here and writing this at 25, I realize just how much your books have meant to me. I´m an aspiring author, and I look to your work for writing tips because your books are so well-written. I look to your books to understand how to write amazing characters. I look to your books to inspire myself to write something that could touch someone like your books touched me.
All of this is just to say thank you, but thank you isn´t enough. But I don't think I will ever find words that could be enough.

Best regards,
Ellinor Nolsäter Sörensen

Michelle Replies…

Dear Ellinor, what a lovely message to receive, particularly as I’ve just spent the past two days sorting through my old Wolf Brother files and boxes of newspaper cuttings.  This means that Torak, Renn and Wolf have been very much at the forefront of my mind – albeit in a nostalgic sort of way, as I’m packing up my papers to make way for new projects.

I’m truly delighted that my books have meant so much to you (as well as being hugely impressed by your facility with English). And if they can help you with your own writing, then so much the better.  Reading what you enjoy, and trying to work out how the story is achieved, is an excellent way of learning to write; at least, it worked for me all those years ago when I was an aspiring, unpublished writer.  So I’d like to wish you all possible good luck with your writing.  And thanks for getting in touch!

With very best wishes, Michelle


Upcoming Live Events With Michelle

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Hay Festival Book Club – Dark Matter

October 14, 2025

Michelle in conversation with Danny Robins - this is a FREE online event!

Timeless titles to offer you a break from the day to day. Can't decide what to read next? Follow your curiosity and join Hay Festival on a journey to imagine the world anew through great literature. Unconstrained by genre or form these are our monthly picks of great books worth reading (or re-reading) right now.

Register to watch free online
Tuesday 14 October, 7–8pm BST

Only 29 days to grab your ticket!

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 32 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 37 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.

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Toppings Bookshop, Ely

October 29, 2025

It’s nearly Halloween! Where better to get in the Gothic mood than with Michelle’s spine-chilling world of the supernatural? Come along if you’re in the Ely area (book your place first) and enjoy a thrilling evening of shadows!

Venue: St Peter's Church
Broad Street,
Ely
Cambridgeshire CB7 4BB

Doors Open 6.40pm Start Time 7pm

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Shadows and Spirits: Writing the Unseen

October 30, 2025

Step into the shadows with three masters of modern Gothic and supernatural fiction - Michelle, Syd Moore and CJ Cooke - as they explore why dark stories continue to captivate us. From haunted coastlines to Arctic wastelands, and from age-old folklore to the secrets of the human psyche, these acclaimed authors weave tales that blur the boundaries between the real and the uncanny. In this compelling conversation, they’ll discuss the enduring appeal of the Gothic, the influence of myth and landscape, and why stories of ghosts, spirits, and things unseen still resonate in today’s world. Expect insights, chills, and a celebration of fiction that thrives in the shadows. Tickets are limited so get them while you can!

Goldsboro Books
23-27 Cecil Court
London WC2N 4EZ
Time: 6.30pm (doors from 6pm)

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Women in Horror Weekend

November 1, 2025

Come and celebrate Women in Horror Weekend with Waterstones Nottingham! Including author talks from the some of the best women writers in horror, a classic film screening and spooky goody bags and workshops from Lush Nottingham! Michelle will be in conversation with Julia Armfield on Saturday from 5;15pm onwards... See you there!

Waterstones Nottingham
1/5 Bridlesmith Gate
Nottingham NG1 2GR
Te. 0115 9470069

Only 58 days to grab your ticket!

WINTER HAUNTS 2025

November 15, 2025

Online event! Ghost story, gothic and supernatural fiction day 10:30am - 6:30pm GMT... Michelle with Lucy Rose, Jess Kidd, Emilia Hart, CJ Cooke, Hollie Starling, Emma Glass. Connect with fellow fans of the strange, the eerie, and the otherworldly!

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.