Erin Hunter facts for kids

Erin Hunter is not one person, but a team of writers who create exciting fantasy books about animals. This team uses a special group name, called a pseudonym, so all their books are easy to find together. The main authors are Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Clarissa Hutton, Inbali Iserles, Tui T. Sutherland, and Rosie Best. They are famous for popular book series like Warriors, Seekers, and Survivors. Victoria Holmes usually plans the stories, and then the other authors take turns writing the actual books. Dan Jolley writes the Warriors manga comics. There are also illustrators like James L. Barry, Bettina M. Kurkoski, and Don Hudson who draw the pictures for the mangas. Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter are also illustrating new graphic novels.

How the Books Began

The idea for the Warriors series started in 2003. A publisher named HarperCollins asked Victoria Holmes to write a fantasy series about wild cats. Even though she loved cats, she wasn't sure about writing fantasy.

After Victoria Holmes created the first story idea, Kate Cary joined to write the first book. Victoria then worked behind the scenes, supervising and editing. When the third Warriors book, Forest of Secrets, was being written, Cherith Baldry joined the team. Later, Tui T. Sutherland wrote the first Warriors guide book and became the fourth author.

The name "Erin Hunter" was chosen for a few reasons. If each author used their own name, the books would be spread out in libraries. This would make them hard for readers to find. The team also wanted a name that would place their books near the popular Redwall series by Brian Jacques. That series also features animal adventures.

One author suggested "Hunter," and everyone thought it was perfect. It sounded like a cat and also placed the books near Jacques's work. Victoria Holmes suggested "Erin" because it was one of her favorite names. It was chosen because it's a strong Celtic name and "not particularly girly."

Meet the Authors

Victoria Holmes

Victoria Holmes was born in Berkshire, England. She is the person who first came up with the idea for the Warriors series. After inviting Kate Cary to write the books, Victoria focused on editing and making sure all the details were correct.

Victoria grew up on a farm in England. She later studied at the University of Oxford. Its old buildings made her interested in history. Today, she lives in London and works as an editor for the series. In 2017, Victoria Holmes stepped back from her main role with Warriors due to health reasons.

Kate Cary

Kate Cary was the first author to join the Warriors writing team. Victoria Holmes chose Kate to write the first Warriors book after the storyline was ready. Kate has written many books in the main Warriors series and several special longer books called Super Editions.

She was born in England on November 4, 1967. She lived in Scotland for 12 years before moving back to England, where she lives now. Besides the Warriors series, Kate has also written her own books, Bloodline and its sequel, Reckoning.

Cherith Baldry

Cherith Baldry was the second author to join the Erin Hunter team. She was born on January 21, 1947, in Lancaster, England. She studied at the University of Manchester and St. Anne's College, Oxford. Victoria Holmes invited her to join when they were writing the third Warriors book, Forest of Secrets. Victoria felt Cherith's writing style was very similar to Kate Cary's.

Tui T. Sutherland

Tui T. Sutherland was born on July 31, 1978, in Caracas, Venezuela. She now lives in the United States. Her first work for the Erin Hunter team was the guide book Secrets of the Clans. She wrote several other Warriors guides and the first book in the Seekers series. Tui also edited the Warriors series for a while. She later became a full-time writer and created her own popular series, Wings of Fire.

Inbali Iserles

Inbali Iserles was born in Israel. She wrote the third, fifth, and sixth books in the Survivors series. These books are Darkness Falls, The Endless Lake, and Storm of Dogs. She also writes animal fantasy novels under her own name, like The Tygrine Cat and the Foxcraft trilogy.

Gillian Philip

Gillian Philip was born on July 2, 1964. She wrote several books in the Survivors and Bravelands series. She lives in the northeast Scottish Highlands. Gillian has visited the United States twice to represent the Erin Hunter team for the Survivors series. She has also written several book series under her own name.

Clarissa Hutton

Clarissa Hutton has written several shorter Warriors stories called novellas. These include Thunderstar's Echo and the three stories in Path of a Warrior.

Rosie Best

Rosie Best wrote The Exile's Journey and several books in the Bravelands series. She has also written every book in the Bamboo Kingdom series.

Dan Jolley

Dan Jolley is the author of all the Warriors mangas. He also writes his own projects and stories for video games from companies like Ubisoft and Activision.

The Illustrators

James L. Barry

James L. Barry drew most of the Warriors mangas. This includes the trilogy sets, newer standalone mangas, and extra chapters in Super Editions.

Bettina M. Kurkoski

Bettina M. Kurkoski illustrated the Warriors manga The Rise of Scourge.

Don Hudson

Don Hudson illustrated the Tigerstar and Sasha manga trilogy.

Natalie Riess

Natalie Riess is one of the artists for the upcoming graphic novel version of the first Warriors series.

Sara Goetter

Sara Goetter is also one of the artists for the upcoming graphic novel version of the first Warriors series.

The Books and Series

Warriors

Seekers

Seekers: The Original Series

• The Quest Begins (2008) (Sutherland)
• Great Bear Lake (2009) (Baldry)
• Smoke Mountain (2009) (Sutherland)
• The Last Wilderness (2010) (Baldry)
• Fire in the Sky (2010) (Sutherland)
• Spirits in the Stars (2011) (Baldry)

Seekers: Return to the Wild

• Island of Shadows (2012) (Baldry)
• The Melting Sea (2012) (Sutherland)
• River of Lost Bears (2013) (Baldry)
• Forest of Wolves (2014) (Baldry)
• The Burning Horizon (2015) (Baldry)
• The Longest Day (2016) (Baldry)

Manga

• Toklo's Story (2010)
• Kallik's Adventure (2011)

Survivors

Survivors: The Original Series

• The Empty City (2012) (Gillian Philip)
• A Hidden Enemy (2013) (Philip)
• Darkness Falls (2013) (Inbali Iserles)
• The Broken Path (2014) (Philip)
• The Endless Lake (2014) (Iserles)
• Storm of Dogs (2015) (Iserles)

Survivors: The Gathering Darkness

• A Pack Divided (2015) (Philip)
• Dead of Night (2016) (Rosie Best)
• Into the Shadows (2017) (Philip)
• Red Moon Rising (2017) (Philip)
• The Exile's Journey (2018) (Rosie Best)
• The Final Battle (2019) (Philip)

Novellas

• Alpha's Tale (2014) (Phillip)
• Sweet's Journey (2015) (Philip)
• Moon's Choice (2015) (Philip)
• Tales from the Packs (2015) (Bind-up of Alpha's Tale, Sweet's Journey, and Moon's Choice)

Bravelands

Bravelands

• Broken Pride (2017) (Philip)
• Code of Honor (2018) (Philip)
• Blood and Bone (2018) (Philip)
• Shifting Shadows (2019) (Philip)
• The Spirit Eaters (2020) (Philip)
• Oathkeeper (2020) (Philip)

Bravelands: Curse of the Sandtongues

• Shadows on the Mountain (2021) (Best)
• The Venom Spreads (2022) (Best)
• Blood on the Plains (2022) (Best)

Bravelands: Thunder on the Plains

• The Shattered Horn (2023) (Best)
• Breakers of the Code (2024) (Best)
• Realm of Lost Spirits (2024) (Best)

Bamboo Kingdom

• Creatures of the Flood (2021) (Best)
• River of Secrets (2022) (Best)
• Journey to the Dragon Mountain (2023) (Best)
• The Dark Sun (2023) (Best)
• The Lightning Path (2024) (Best)
• Fire and Ash (2025)

How the Books Are Made

The main characters of Warriors: Power of Three

For the Warriors, Seekers, Bravelands, and Bamboo Kingdom series, there's a special process. First, Victoria Holmes (or the editing team after 2017) creates a basic story idea and outline. This is sent to the author who will write that specific book.

Then, the author takes these ideas and writes the full book. Once the author finishes, the book goes back to Victoria (or the editing team) for a final check and edits. After that, it's sent to HarperCollins to be published.

The Survivors series was developed a bit differently. The whole Erin Hunter team worked together to create a detailed story outline and develop the characters. Then, one author wrote the book. This author could still make important changes to the plot or characters if they felt it made the story better.

The Erin Hunter Writing Style

Even though there are many authors, Victoria Holmes has said that all the books "sound" like Erin Hunter. This is because the team works to keep a very special and recognizable voice. She compares the authors' styles to different languages where a single word might stand out. Victoria's job was to edit and make sure the book always sounded like an Erin Hunter story.

All Erin Hunter books are told from a third person limited point of view. This means the story follows one character's thoughts and feelings at a time. The main character whose thoughts we follow can change from series to series, book to book, or even chapter to chapter.

See also

In Spanish: Erin Hunter para niños