Erin Hunter is the House Pseudonym of the multiple authors of the Warriors, Seekers, Survivors, Bravelands, and Bamboo Kingdom series: Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, Victoria Holmes, Tui Sutherland, Gillian Philip, Inbali Iserles, Clarissa Hutton, Rosie Best, and editor Erica Sussman, as well as other editors and story teams behind the scenes.
It began when Vicky was asked by HarperCollins to come up with a book about cats; she worked with Kate and Cherith, and the Warriors series was created. Tui and Clarissa were originally editors of Warriors and later went on to write some of the Erin books. Two other authors, Gillian and Inbali, were added when the Survivors series was created; Rosie joined as an author during the second Survivors arc. Erica is a long-time executive editor.
So far, over one hundred books have been released under the Erin Hunter name, proving it to be quite a success. The name "Erin Hunter" was created by the publisher: "Erin" is a Celtic name to reflect the Warriors series' setting, and "Hunter" to emphasize the theme of wilderness — and to put the books on the shelf near Brian Jacques' Redwall series.
Vicky Holmes: Although no longer involved with the Erin books, in the past Vicky was often considered to be the "boss" Erin. She is the one that came up with the plots and storylines for Warrior Cats (prior to the fifth series) and Seekers, and has been an editor for the two series, in addition to having written some of the Field Guides and e-book novellas on her own. Many of the decisions about the plot have rested with her, though she hasn't always gotten her way. As the long-time "face" of Erin Hunter, she's the one who wrote author's notes and went on the most tours. She stepped down from her active Erin role due to her health. Spottedleaf's Heart and Pinestar's Choice were her last Warriors books, at which point she felt she'd written as much as she could about the Clans and that it was time to move on. Vicky lives in the UK. She has written a couple other books of her own, called Rider in the Dark, The Horse from the Sea, and Heart of Fire. Her Facebook page can be found here
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Kate Cary: One of the women who writes the books. She has mainly worked on Warriors - and was the one who wrote the first book, Into the Wild - though she has also written one Seekers book. She has two books under her own name: Bloodline (2006), and its sequel, Bloodline: Reckoning. She lives in England. She has a website, Facebook page, and Twitter account.
Cherith Baldry: One of the women who writes the books. She has worked on both Warriors and Seekers. She currently lives in the UK. Her cats Bramble and Sorrel appear as Brambleclaw and Sorreltail in the Warriors books. She has written a children's series called The Abbey Mysteries and an adult book called Exiled. Her Twitter is here.
Tui Sutherland: One of the women who writes the books, though she began as an editor for Warriors before deciding to write full-time. She mostly worked on Seekers, though she did write one Warriors Field Guide. She has written many books under several different pseudonyms and her own name, notably Wings of Fire. She lives in the US, and has appeared on Jeopardy!. She has a website and Facebook page.
Gillian Philip: The writer of some of Survivors and Bravelands. She has written several books, both under her own name and under pseudonyms, including the Darke Academy and The Rebel Angels series. She lives in the UK. She has a website, Facebook page, and Twitter account. As of June 2020, she is no longer a member of the Erin Hunter team due to controversial transphobic statements made on her Twitter account.
Inbali Iserles: Another Survivors and Bravelands author. Under her own name, she has written The Tygrine Cat, Fox Craft, and The Bloodstone Bird. She lives in England. Her Facebook can be found here.
Erica Sussman is the person who makes some of the final decisions of the books, and who has worked on all the Erin Hunter series. She is the editorial director (formerly executive editor) for HarperCollins Children's Books. While she had been involved with the books for many years, she wasn't really known to fans for many years due to rarely hearing about her, until later on, when she was chosen for an interview on the official Erin Hunter forums, and toured as "Erin" at least once to promote the books. She lives in the US. Her Twitter can be found here.
Clarissa Hutton: Clarissa was originally an editor of Warriors before joining Working Partners and working more closely with the series. She helped with Dawn of the Clans, and later went on to write some of the Warriors novellas. She has also written other works under her own name and pseudonyms, including a children's adaptation of The Three Musketeers. She lives in the US.
Rosie Best: An editor for Warriors and an author of Survivors, Bravelands, and Bamboo Kingdom. Under her own name, she has written a book called Skulk. She lives in the US. She uses Twitter and Tumblr.
Tropes common in their works:
- Author Catchphrase: Books written by Cherith Baldry in both Warriors and Seekers often include a hungry character saying the phrase "My belly thinks my throat's been clawed out."
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: The books tend to give the animals their own vocabulary for anything human-related. In Warriors, humans are called "Twolegs" and cars are "monsters"; in Seekers, they're called things such as "flat-faces" and "firebeasts"; in Survivors, they're "longpaws" and "loudcages".
- Myth Arc: Each series is split into six-book-long arcs.
- Spirit Advisor: It's common for characters in the various series to be guided by spirits, usually via dreams.
- Talking in Your Dreams: Characters often speak to dead, but very real, spirits in their dreams.
- Xenofiction: The defining feature of the Hunter books is that they focus entirely on the societies and lives of nonhuman animals, with varying degrees of anthropomorphism but always depicting humanity from an external, animal's-eye view.
