Dragons, Castles, and an Irresistible Princess Bent on Revenge with Katherine Rundell

International Bestselling and Award-Winning Author of Impossible Creatures, 2024 Author of the Year

45-Minute Conversation

Katherine Rundell’s award-winning Impossible Creatures soared to instant stardom, quickly earning the spot as one of the most popular children’s fantasy books in the 2020s. Now you can tune-in online to hear directly from the author (and ask your own questions about Christopher and Anya’s adventures) as we dive into the sequel, The Poisoned King!

Christopher Forrester woke to find a dragon chewing on his face—and his heart leapt for joy! He’d been dreaming of going back to the Archipelago, the secret cluster of islands where all the creatures of myth still live, and here was his summons.

But there is a poison spreading in the Archipelago. Rooting it out will involve a daring rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, a stealthy entrance to a dragon’s lair, and a death-defying plan to save a prisoner held in the heart of a castle. At the center of this storm is Anya: a small girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket, and a ravenous hunger for justice.

Katherine Rundell’s second thrilling installment in the Impossible Creatures series involves castles, dragons, and revenge—the things of which great stories are made. The splendors within are brought to life with fifty illustrations, including a map and a bestiary of magical creatures.

Register now to go behind-the-scenes of the making of the Impossible Creatures books–just in time for The Neverfear’s (Book #3)’s release on September 1, 2026!

About the Author:

Katherine Rundell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King. Her other books for children include Rooftoppers, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer, and The Good Thieves. For adult readers, Rundell has written Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures and Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. She has received the British Book Award for Book of the Year and Author of the Year. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of St. Catherine’s College, Oxford.