Trans and non binary people

Ask Michelle Anything

Sam the really cool one writes…

Hiya Michelle
So I know that Dark and Kujai are accepted in the world (I think you said it in one of your you tube videos) but as the title suggests how are more gender diverse people treated in different places around the world of COAD? and are there any characters who are trans or gender neutral?

Pretty pretty please with Torak’s mark on a rock can you tell us fa name?

From Sam (super duper guy)

Michelle Replies…

Dear Sam, in creating the clans, I’ve studied the ways of life of traditional or indigenous peoples around the world, and their attitudes to gender differ widely, as do the attitudes of modern people today.  (Thus for example, the Raven and Sea-eagle Clans welcome Dark and Kujai – while I fear that a few of the Deep Forest Clans might be less welcomng, just as they misogynistically sneered at Renn in Oath Breaker when she said she was  Mage.)   I’ve tried to suggest these different attitudes in the books, particularly through the Dark/Kujai story arc, but there would certainly have been more gender diverse people in Torak’s world, as there are in our world today.  However I’ve left that to the reader to imagine, and to try to picture how such people might fare among the different clans.  As for telling you Fa’s name: nice try, but nope!  With best wishes, Michelle


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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.

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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.

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Yeovil Literary Festival

October 25, 2025

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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.