Michelle Harrison - Children's Author

Michelle Harrison is a full-time writer. She is a former bookseller and editorial assistant. Originally from Grays in Essex, she has a degree in illustration, and lives in Oxfordshire with her partner. Her debut novel The Thirteen Treasures won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize in 2009. She has since published two sequels, The Thirteen Curses and The Thirteen Secrets. Unrest is her first novel for teens. 

Author Photo Credit: Charlie Hopkinson

Q&A with Michelle Harrison

Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
    A. I'm a 'glass half-full' type of person.

Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
    A. Elvesden Manor.

Q. What’s your best quality?
    A. Optimism, or at least I like to think it is!

Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
    A. I sometimes think I'd like to be a cat, just for the sheer amount of sleeping they do.

Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
    A. My Essex accent.

Q. Who is your favourite fictional villain?
    A. Beatrice Lacey in Wideacre by Philippa Gregory.

Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
    A. It would be Jack the Ripper. I like to think I'd demand to know his identity, but in all honesty I'd probably run.

Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
    A. People who look down their noses at others.

Q. What is your favourite occupation, when you’re not writing?
    A. It depends on my mood, but drawing/painting, reading or watching a film.

Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
    A. Being an author and an illustrator!

Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
    A. Loyalty, a sense of humour, and integrity.

On Books and Writing

Favourite authors
Hans Christian Andersen, Enid Blyton, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Martina Cole, Roald Dahl, Philippa Gregory, The Brothers Grimm, Julie Hearn, Eva Ibbotson, Christopher Pike, J.K. Rowling, Marcus Sedgwick, Sarah Singleton.

Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?

    A. Read lots, write lots, and don't give up.

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Featured Books, with extracts by Michelle Harrison

Unrest
Michelle Harrison
May 2012 Book of the Month. Best-selling author Michelle Harrison blurs the lines between being dead and alive in this brilliant, spine-tingling story of the powers of the undead. Elliott escapes death by a hair’s breadth; he’s so close to it that he draws...
Featured in: 14+ readers | Books of the Month | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 26/04/2012
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The Thirteen Secrets
Michelle Harrison
A Lovereading4kids 'Great Read' you may have missed 2011 selection. This is the brilliant concluding part of Harrison's '13' trilogy, it's a brilliantly crafted dark faerie story that appeals across a wide audience of children aged about 9+.  She has cleverly...
Featured in: 11+ readers | Book Awards | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/02/2011
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The Thirteen Curses
Michelle Harrison
Sequel to the award-winning The Thirteen Treasures, this shows just about how disagreeable fairies can get! Red returns determined to find her brother and get him back. To do so she must find a way to enter the fairy...
Featured in: 11+ readers | Books of the Month | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 07/01/2010
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The Thirteen Treasures
Michelle Harrison
Winner of the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2009. This is an enchanting and at times terrifying debut that's beautifully written. 13 year old Tanya and her mother have an uneasy relationship so for part of the summer she is despatched...
Featured in: 11+ readers | Book Awards | Debuts of the Month | eBooks
Format: Paperback - Released: 05/01/2009
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