Erin Hunter is a collective pseudonym used by authors affiliated with HarperCollins publishing company and Working Partners, a London-based firm. The affiliated writers include Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Clarissa Hutton, Inbali Iserles, Tui T. Sutherland, Rosie Best, Conrad Mason, and Michael Ford in the writing of several children's fantasy novel series which focus on animals and their adventures. Notable works include the Warriors, Seekers, Survivors, Bravelands, Bamboo Kingdom, and Renegades book series. For each book, Holmes creates the plot and the others take turns writing the books. Dan Jolley, though not an official Erin Hunter author, also writes the stories for manga published under the Hunter name. James L. Barry, Bettina M. Kurkoski, and Don Hudson are included under the pseudonym as the illustrators of the Warriors manga. Natalie Riess, Sara Goetter, and Sammy Savos are also included as the illustrators of the graphic novel adaptation of The Prophecies Begin and The New Prophecy, as well as Gibson Twist, who wrote for some of the graphic novel adaptations.
History In 2003, HarperCollins asked Victoria Holmes to write a fantasy series about feral cats, but, not being a reader of fantasy, she was less than enthusiastic despite her love of animals, including cats. After writing one storyline, Kate Cary was brought in to write the book as Holmes went behind the scenes to supervise details and edit the book. When the third Warriors book, Forest of Secrets, was being drafted, Cherith Baldry joined the Erin Hunter team. Tui T. Sutherland wrote the first Warriors field guide and became the fourth person under the name.
The name "Erin Hunter" was chosen for several reasons. If the authors used all of their own names, the books would be placed in different locations in a library, making them hard to find. Additionally, they wanted to pick a surname that would place the books very close to the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, which is a book series with a similar plot to Warriors. One of the authors suggested "Hunter", and the others felt that it was "perfect", because not only did it place the book series close to Jacques, but it evokes the image of a cat. Victoria Holmes suggested 'Erin' because it was one of her favorite names, and it was accepted for being a strong Celtic name and "not particularly girly".
Authors
Victoria Holmes
Victoria Holmes was born in Berkshire, England. Holmes was the creator of Warriors, being the person whom HarperCollins originally requested to write it. After inviting Kate Cary to do the actual writing of the series, she moved behind the scenes to help edit and supervise details.
Holmes grew up on a farm in England. Later, she attended the University of Oxford, whose buildings "inspired an interest in history". She now lives in London, where she works as the editor for the series.
In 2011, the Bookperk website ran a special for signed copies of Sign of the Moon. Because Erin Hunter is not a real person, these books were instead signed by Victoria Holmes.
Following a diagnosis of cancer in 2017, Holmes stepped back from her involvement in Warriors.
Kate Cary
Kate Cary was the first author brought on board to write for the Warriors series. Holmes chose Cary to write the first Warriors book after Holmes had finished the storyline. She has written many of the books in the main arcs, as well as several Super Editions.
She was born in England on 4 November 1967. She later moved to Scotland where she lived for 12 years before going back to England, where she currently resides. Besides the Warriors series, she has also written the book Bloodline, and its sequel, Reckoning.
In late 2024, Cary left the Erin Hunter team to focus on other projects.
Cherith Baldry
Cherith Baldry was the second author brought to the Erin Hunter team. She was born on 21 January 1947 in Lancaster, England. She studied at the University of Manchester and St. Anne's College, Oxford. Holmes invited her to join when they were writing the third Warriors book, Forest of Secrets, after seeing her writing style and feeling that it was similar to Kate Cary's.
Tui T. Sutherland
Tui T. Sutherland was born on 31 July 1978 in Caracas, Venezuela. She currently lives in the United States. Her first credit to the Erin Hunter team was the field guide Secrets of the Clans. She wrote several other Warriors guides, as well as the first book in the Seekers series. Sutherland was also an editor of the Warriors series, until she quit editing to become a full-time writer. She went on to write the novel series Wings of Fire, among several other series.
Inbali Iserles Inbali Iserles was born in Israel and is the author of the third, fifth and sixth books of the Survivors series: Darkness Falls, The Endless Lake and Storm of Dogs. She also publishes animal fantasy novels under her own name, including The Tygrine Cat and the Foxcraft trilogy.
Gillian Philip Gillian Philip was born on 2 July 1964, and is the author of several books in the Survivors and Bravelands series. She lives in the northeast Scottish Highlands. Philip has toured the United States twice as the face of the Erin Hunter responsible for Survivors. In addition to Survivors, she has written several novel series under her own name. In June 2020, Philip was removed from the Erin Hunter team after announcing her support for J. K. Rowling's transphobic statements on Twitter.
Clarissa Hutton Clarissa Hutton is the author of several Warriors novellas, including Thunderstar's Echo and the three stories in Path of a Warrior. She later joined the main series team when Cary left.
Rosie Best Rosie Best is the author of The Exile's Journey, several books in the Bravelands series, as well as every book in the Bamboo Kingdom series. More recently, she has begun to write for the Warriors series as well.
Dan Jolley
Dan Jolley is the author of all the Warriors manga. He also writes for his own independent projects, as well as for video games from Ubisoft and Activision.
Gibson Twist Gibson Twist is the author who wrote the ongoing graphic novel adaptation of The New Prophecy arc.
Conrad Mason Conrad Mason wrote StormClan's Folly, and was mentioned in a 2026 article on the official Warriors website to also be the author of the upcoming 20th Super Edition.
Michael Ford Michael Ford is the author of the Renegades series.
Illustrators
James L. Barry
James L. Barry illustrated most of the Warriors manga, including the trilogy sets, modern standalones, and epilogue chapters in Super Editions.
Bettina M. Kurkoski Bettina M. Kurkoski illustrated The Rise of Scourge.
Don Hudson Don Hudson illustrated the Tigerstar and Sasha trilogy.
Natalie Riess
Natalie Riess is one of the illustrators of the graphic novel adaptation of the first Warriors arc, The Prophecies Begin.
Sara Goetter Sara Goetter is one of the illustrators of the graphic novel adaptation of the first Warriors arc, The Prophecies Begin.
Sammy Savos Sammy Savos is the illustrator of the ongoing graphic novel adaptation of the second Warriors arc, The New Prophecy.
Works
Warriors
Warriors: The Prophecies Begin
Into the Wild (2003) (Kate Cary) Fire and Ice (2003) (Cary) Forest of Secrets (2003) (Cherith Baldry) Rising Storm (2004) (Cary) A Dangerous Path (2004) (Baldry) The Darkest Hour (2004) (Baldry)
Warriors: The New Prophecy
Midnight (2005) (Baldry) Moonrise (2005) (Baldry) Dawn (2005) (Cary) Starlight (2006) (Baldry) Twilight (2006) (Baldry) Sunset (2007) (Baldry)
Warriors: Power of Three
The Sight (2007) (Cary) Dark River (2007) (Cary) Outcast (2008) (Baldry) Eclipse (2008) (Cary) Long Shadows (2008) (Baldry) Sunrise (2009) (Baldry)
Warriors: Omen of the Stars
The Fourth Apprentice (2009) (Baldry) Fading Echoes (2010) (Cary) Night Whispers (2010) (Cary) Sign of the Moon (2011) (Baldry) The Forgotten Warrior (2011) (Baldry) The Last Hope (2012) (Cary)
Warriors: Dawn of the Clans
The Sun Trail (2013) (Baldry) Thunder Rising (2013) (Baldry) The First Battle (2014) (Cary) The Blazing Star (2014) (Baldry) A Forest Divided (2015) (Cary) Path of Stars (2015) (Cary)
Warriors: A Vision of Shadows
The Apprentice's Quest (2016) (Baldry) Thunder and Shadow (2016) (Cary) Shattered Sky (2017) (Baldry) Darkest Night (2017) (Cary) River of Fire (2018) (Baldry) The Raging Storm (2018) (Cary)
Warriors: The Broken Code
Lost Stars (2019) (Baldry) The Silent Thaw (2019) (Cary) Veil of Shadows (2020) (Baldry) Darkness Within (2020) (Cary) The Place of No Stars (2021) (Baldry) A Light in the Mist (2021) (Cary)
Warriors: A Starless Clan
River (2022) (Baldry) Sky (2022) (Cary) Shadow (2023) (Baldry) Thunder (2023) (Cary) Wind (2024) (Baldry) Star (2024) (Cary)
Warriors: Changing Skies The Elders' Quest (2025) (Baldry) Hidden Moon (2025) (Clarissa Hutton) Chasing Shadows (2026) (Baldry) Guiding Light (2026) (Rosie Best) False Dawn (2027) (Baldry) TBA
Graphic novels The Prophecies Begin: Volume 1 (2024) (Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter) The Prophecies Begin: Volume 2 (2025) (Riess and Goetter) The Prophecies Begin: Volume 3 (2025) (Riess and Goetter)
The New Prophecy: Volume 1 (2026) (Gibson Twist and Sammy Savos) The New Prophecy: Volume 2 (2027) (Twist and Savos) The New Prophecy: Volume 3 (TBA) (Twist and Savos)
Graystripe's Adventure (coloured release in 2017)
The Lost Warrior (2007) (Dan Jolley) Warrior's Refuge (2007) (Jolley) Warrior's Return (2008) (Jolley)
The Rise of Scourge (coloured release in 2024)
The Rise of Scourge (2008) (Jolley)
Tigerstar and Sasha (coloured release in 2025)
Into the Woods (2008) (Jolley) Escape from the Forest (2009) (Jolley) Return to the Clans (2009) (Jolley)
Ravenpaw's Path (coloured release in 2018)
Shattered Peace (2009) (Jolley) A Clan in Need (2010) (Jolley) The Heart of a Warrior (2010) (Jolley)
SkyClan and the Stranger (coloured release in 2019)
The Rescue (2011) (Jolley) Beyond the Code (2011) (Jolley) After the Flood (2012) (Jolley)
A Shadow in RiverClan
A Shadow in RiverClan (2020) (Jolley)
Winds of Change
Winds of Change (2021) (Jolley)
Exile from ShadowClan
Exile from ShadowClan (2022) (Jolley)
A Thief In ThunderClan
A Thief In ThunderClan (2023) (Jolley)
Super Editions
Firestar's Quest (2007) (Baldry) Bluestar's Prophecy (2009) (Cary) SkyClan's Destiny (2010) (Baldry) Crookedstar's Promise (2011) (Cary) Yellowfang's Secret (2012) (Baldry) Tallstar's Revenge (2013) (Cary) Bramblestar's Storm (2014) (Baldry) Moth Flight's Vision (2015) (Cary) Hawkwing's Journey (2016) (Baldry) Tigerheart's Shadow (2017) (Cary) Crowfeather's Trial (2018) (Baldry) Squirrelflight's Hope (2019) (Cary) Graystripe's Vow (2020) (Baldry) Leopardstar's Honor (2021) (Cary) Onestar's Confession (2022) (Baldry) Riverstar's Home (2023) (Cary) Ivypool's Heart (2024) (Baldry) StormClan's Folly (2025) (Conrad Mason) Darktail's Judgement (2026) (Hutton) TBA (2027) (Mason)
Field guides
Secrets of the Clans (2007) (Tui T. Sutherland) Cats of the Clans (2008) (Victoria Holmes) Code of the Clans (2009) (Sutherland) Battles of the Clans (2010) (Sutherland) Enter the Clans (2012) (Bind-up of Secrets of the Clans and Code of the Clans) The Warriors Guide (2012) (Holmes) Warriors: The Ultimate Guide (2013) (Holmes) The Ultimate Guide: Updated and Expanded (2023)
Novellas
Hollyleaf's Story (2012) (Holmes) Mistystar's Omen (2012) (Holmes) Cloudstar's Journey (2013) (Holmes) The Untold Stories (2013) (Bind-up of Hollyleaf's Story, Mistystar's Omen and Cloudstar's Journey) Tigerclaw's Fury (2014) (Holmes) Leafpool's Wish (2014) (Holmes) Dovewing's Silence (2014) (Holmes) Tales from the Clans (2014) (Bind-up of Tigerclaw's Fury, Leafpool's Wish and Dovewing's Silence) Mapleshade's Vengeance (2015) (Holmes) Goosefeather's Curse (2015) (Holmes) Ravenpaw's Farewell (2016) (Holmes) Shadows of the Clans (2016) (Bind-up of Mapleshade's Vengeance, Goosefeather's Curse and Ravenpaw's Farewell)