#227: Michelle Paver, novelist

#227: Michelle Paver, novelist

From Always Take Notes by Always Take Notes

December 9, 2025 · 1h 1m

About this episode

Rachel and Simon interview novelist Michelle Paver about her journey from biochemistry and law to a successful writing career.

In this episode, recorded live at Wimbledon BookFest, Rachel and Simon speak to the novelist Michelle Paver. Born in Nyasaland (now Malawi) to a South African father and Belgian mother, Michelle moved to Britain when she was three. After studying biochemistry at university, Michelle initially pursued a career as a solicitor, but later gave up her job as partner in a law firm to pursue writing. She published her debut novel, "Without Charity", in 2000, and followed it up with a romance novel, "A Place in the Hills" in 2001. In 2004 Michelle published "Wolf Brother", a children's story set in prehistoric times; it was the first instalment in a nine-book series which has sold more than 3 million copies to date. Michelle has since published another children's series, set in the Bronze Age, as well as bestselling novels for adults. We spoke to Michelle about moving from biochemistry to the law to a literary career, writing the "Wolf Brother" series, and her latest book, "Rainforest". In addition to the standard audio format, the podcast is now available in video. You can check us out on YouTube under Always Take Notes. We’ve made another update for those ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠who support the…

People in this episode

Hosts: Rachel, Simon

Guest: Michelle Paver

Topics covered

  • novel writing
  • biochemistry
  • law
  • children's literature
  • literary career

Keywords

  • Wimbledon BookFest
  • Wolf Brother
  • Rainforest
  • children's series
  • bestselling novels

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Without Charity, A Place in the Hills, Wolf Brother, Rainforest

Books & works: Without Charity, A Place in the Hills, Wolf Brother, Rainforest, Always Take Notes, Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers

Places: Nyasaland, Malawi, Britain

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