Michelle Paver's Blog, page 41

Fictional Fact

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It Was Eighteen Years Ago…!

This is a very special time for me and readers of the Wolf Brother / Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series.

I can’t believe that it was nearly 18 years ago – on the 27th May 2004 – that my book “Wolf Brother” was first published.

Some of my more recent readers weren’t even alive at the time. I wonder whether you can remember what the world was like then?

Facebook and Gmail were founded that year. We were all very excited when NASA’s “Spirit” rover landed on Mars. And “Friends” came to its final episode.

And now – after nine books – the Wolf Brother series is also coming to a conclusion, with “Wolfbane”’s publication on the 26th of April 2022.

Yes, of course I’m sad. As I think you will be, too.

But I want this time to be a very happy one for all readers. I want to invite you to celebrate with me the epic journey we’ve been on together.

I’m already posting lots of memories, photos and videos on all my social media. And yes! I’ve finally decided to become a TikTokker! So in addition to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram you’ll also be able to interact with me on TikTok.

But that’s only the start

I want you to share your own memories and thoughts, too. And I’ve set up a very special way for you to do that.

Click the “Your Story” link right here on this website. Then record a short video for me and all the other readers. Tell us what Wolf Brother has meant to you. How you feel about the series ending. What you’d like to say to all the people who haven’t yet read Wolf Brother. And maybe – even what you’d like me to write next!

So let’s start the celebrations by sharing our thoughts and memories with each other.

And… I’ve got several more treats in store. Follow me on whatever social media you use for updates as they happen.

Let’s make this time one to remember!

Warmly,

Michelle

SKIN TAKER On Video!

Students from Britain’s renowned National Film and Television School (NFTS) have been hard at work to create a YouTube commercial for SKIN TAKER, the latest book in Michelle’s bestselling WOLF BROTHER series.

Choosing the winning commercial was an impossible task for Michelle, her publishers and The Elf… so after whittling it down to a shortlist of three, it was decided to ask YOU, Michelle’s readers, to vote for the eventual winner.

You can w atch the three commercial below. Then scroll down the page t o find out which one topped the voting…

 

DIRECTOR – XAVIER CARBO

DIRECTOR – WILL DOLAN

DIRECTOR – ZEYNEP OGUZ

 

And the winner was…

Zeynep Oguz!

Michelle says:

“Many congratulations to the hugely talented Zeynep Oguz for her marvellous SKIN TAKER ad!  It’s so imaginative, so moving, and so perfectly in tune with the spirit of the book.  I absolutely love it, and I’ve no doubt that Zeynep is destined for great things!”

Skin Taker

In the Dark Time of midwinter, disaster strikes the Forest. Chaos rules. Bears woken from their dens prowl the shadowy valleys. Desperate clans battle for survival. Only demons thrive.

With their world in turmoil, Torak, Renn and Wolf are tested as never before. And as a new evil haunts the devastated land, Torak must risk his sanity, his life and even his souls to save everything he loves…

Skin Taker carries you back to the Stone Age, to nature, drawing you deeper into an astonishing environment and adventure which began with Wolf Brother and has captivated millions of readers.

Information For Teachers & Educators

Michelle receives a steady stream of enquiries from teachers and educators regarding the reading of the WOLF BROTHER books to their classes over the internet.

Please rest assured that, as long as the conditions below are met, there is no need to request special permission to read these books to your classes.

1) The reading should not be for profit, i.e. you must not charge for it.

2) The reading should be the same as would normally be done in a physical classroom situation, i.e. to a closed group of pupils or students. This means that you cannot broadcast it over the internet to the general public (e.g. as a YouTube recording or podcast), but reading to a private user group such as a Zoom call with your students is perfectly fine.

You may like to know that there is a comprehensive resource pack for educators at WolfBrother.com.

Reading WOLF BROTHER to Your Class

Michelle receives a steady stream of enquiries from teachers and educators regarding the reading of the WOLF BROTHER books to their classes over the internet.

Please rest assured that, as long as the conditions below are met, there is no need to request special permission to read these books to your classes.

1) The reading should not be for profit, i.e. you must not charge for it.

2) The reading should be the same as would normally be done in a physical classroom situation, i.e. to a closed group of pupils or students. This means that you cannot broadcast it over the internet to the general public (e.g. as a YouTube recording or podcast), but reading to a private user group such as a Zoom call with your students is perfectly fine.

You may like to know that there is a comprehensive resource pack for educators at WolfBrother.com.

Viper’s Daughter

main copy

Talks & Visits

Michelle receives many kind invitations to speak at literary events, to schools and other organisations. She tries to oblige where she can, but it is often simply not possible to accept every invitation, particularly when she is busy researching or writing a new book.

The best time to invite her to an event is when she has set aside some space in her calendar for the publication of a new book. You can see Michelle’s forthcoming public appearances on her Facebook Events page.

Her publishers look after booking her publication tours, and can be contacted as below.

Head of Zeus

5-8 Hardwick Street

1st Floor East

London EC1R 4RG

+44 207 253 5557

Calendar of Events

Michelle’s live events calendar is on Facebook and is continually updated.  See what’s upcoming and how to book tickets, if necessary.  And don’t forget to bring a book along for her to sign!

WOLF BROTHER RETURNS

Zephyr, an imprint of Head of Zeus, tonight announced acquisition of three new titles in Michelle Paver’s, classic bestselling ‘Wolf Brother’ children’s series. The long-awaited return of the series, which has become a global phenomenon and sold over 3 million copies, will launch with The Viper’s Daughter in spring 2020. The deal for world rights was negotiated with Peter Cox at Redhammer.

Wolf Brother was first published in 2004 and launched a global, bestselling series of six books. The most recent title, Ghost Hunter (2009), won the ‘Guardian Children’s Book Award’ with the audio edition of each book read by Sir Ian McKellen. Michelle presents a monthly live show on YouTube, Facebook and other streaming platforms for thousands of her keenest fans with ‘Please can you write a sequel?” being the most frequently asked question.

Michelle Paver says:

“The characters have never gone away, not for me and not for readers. Fans around the world still send letters or contact me through my website and as Wolf Brother is taught in schools, I regularly get letters from whole classes of students.  Readers post fan art on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, even photos of their Wolf Brother tattoos. So back in January 2015 I began seriously to wonder: what did happen to Torak, Renn and Wolf after the end of the series? Quite by chance, I’d booked a short break in north Norway and on the plane, ideas started fizzing.  As I tramped through the snowbound forest of Malangenfjord, I was plunged back into the world I love.  And the characters started to speak to me. It is such a joy to be back there. It feels as if I’ve never been away and I hope fans and new readers will feel that too.”

An author who lives her art in the name of authenticity, Michelle has swum with killer whales, rubbed noses with wolves and gone face-to-face with grizzlies in the name of research.  She says: “To research the new stories I’ve made extensive trips to Alaska and the remote islands of Haida Gwaii in British Columbia.  I’ve travelled to the Chukotka Peninsula of far eastern Siberia, through the Bering Strait to Wrangel Island, the last known refuge of the woolly mammoth. I’ve picked up survival tips, magical charms and traditional foods from the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest and the Chukchi of Siberia.  I’ve encountered humpback whales, snowy owls, walruses and polar bears at close quarters.  All this has given me a fund of ideas for the new books.”

 

The Viper’s Daughter will be published in hardback with artwork for the jacket and interior illustrations by the original series artists, John Fordham and Geoff Taylor.

Nic Cheetham, CEO of Head of Zeus, says:

“Michelle’s WOLF BROTHER books are one of life’s great reading experiences — a unique blend of painstaking research and pitch-perfect storytelling that transports readers of all ages back to the late Stone Age. This Tall Tailless is delighted to be going back again.” 

Peter Cox of Redhammer Management says:

“This deal sees Michelle reunited with her wonderful editor and publisher, Fiona Kennedy.  It’s taken some time to do, but fans all over the world will thank me for it!”

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Viper’s Daughter by Michelle Paver, the first new novel in the Wolf Brother series for 10 years, will be published in hardback by Head of Zeus in spring 2020.
Michelle Paver is an international bestselling author with over 3 million copies of her books sold in 37 countries across the globe. She writes for both adults and children and her work includes two of the most critically and commercially acclaimed ghost stories of modern times, Dark Matter and Thin Air and the prize-winning, million copy selling, children’s series, Wolf Brother series. Born in Malawi, Michelle came to England as a child. She studied Biochemistry at Oxford University before becoming a partner in a City of London law firm. She began to write after her father’s death prompted her to take a one-year sabbatical. She has never looked back.
Michelle’s latest adult novel, Wakenhyrst, is published by Head of Zeus on the 4th April, price £14.99.