Kiran Millwood Hargrave: The fantastical world of the Geomancer trilogy

Multi-award-winning author Kiran Millwood Hargrave joins Authors Live to discuss In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen, the first instalment of Kiran's Geomancer fantasy trilogy. Get ready to encounter everyday heroes, bone-chilling adversaries, and a fantastical world that is eerily close to our own – only with a generous twist of magic. Kiran delves into the creation of the Geomancer trilogy, and the world that lived in her head for 10 years before the publication of In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen, and treats us to two readings from the book.

If you only do one thing...

We know time is tight so here is just one activity you could do with your class before or after watching the event.

Worldbuilding (LIT 3-05a, LIT 3-20a, LIT 3-24a)

In the broadcast, Kiran and Nick discuss worldbuilding. Here's a quick way to start fleshing out your own world. Search for fantasy ambience on YouTube. As you listen, ask learners to shut their eyes and focus on the sound effects and music. Now, ask them to write down something about their world for each sense: what would you hear in their world? What would you smell? What does it feel like – is it hot, cold, windy, calm? What does the air (or the food!) taste like? Lastly, what does it look like?

This idea has been adapted from our Creative writing for secondary resource. For more activities you can use with your class, see the full resource below. For more top tips on writing fantasy, see our five tips to avoid fantasy writing disaster!