Wilderness An Interactive Atlas of Animals

About Hannah Pang

Hannah Pang has been a children's book editor for over thirteen years, having worked in-house for Templar Publishing and Walker Books, before chasing her dream to become an author and freelance editor. She lives in the beautiful West-Sussex countryside with her husband and book-loving daughter, plus a cat called Sprout and a huge spider called Woolly!

Hannah Pang – Wilderness – Author Q & A

Q&A: What inspired you to become an author?

My strongest memory goes back to a writing competition we had at primary school. I wrote an animal story and just get kept going for days while all of the other children got on with the normal classroom activities (I won so I was quite chuffed!). I always remember people giving me exercise books as a child, which I used to fill with stories – I remember writing one about a giant red turnip (probably inspired by Roald Dahl). 

Q&A: Have you always been interested in the natural world?

Yes, I grew up surrounded by animals – we even had pet sheep and a goat in the garden! I also kept snails under the bed and I remember keeping a chrysalis in a jar on top of the fridge and my parents waking me in the night to watch a butterfly hatch from it. I also kept some tadpoles in the kitchen but never did find out what happened to the froglets – I think a cat or a plughole might have been involved…

Q&A: What’s the most interesting fact you discovered whilst writing Wilderness?

I think it has to be the one about the the ant-eating assassin bug, which piles dead ants onto its body to scare away predators! I always find insects so fascinating – they’re a bit like mini aliens.

Q&A: If you could be any animal what would you be and why?

In a geeky way, I’ve always wanted to be asked this question! It most definitely has to be a cat – they get to eat, play, sleep and be cuddled all day – and don’t even have to work for it! Or maybe they do – they’re natural born charmers!