Clan Announcements

Dear Clanners,

In case you missed Part I of the Survival Challenge a few months ago, you can find it at the link below, and still test your skills at surviving a day in a hostile new world! In case you’ve been wondering where on earth Part II has been, well wonder no more – it is currently being written and we are aiming to have it released by 25 November. We’re intending for it to be over double the length of the previous Challenge, with much heftier – and more difficult – decisions to make based on the situation you found yourself in at the end of Part I.

In the meantime, don’t forget to drop by the forums and let us know what you thought of Part I – praise, criticism, comments are all welcome!

You can find Part I here.

Dear Clanners,

Quick heads-up for everyone – on the 5th of November Michelle Paver, author of Gods and Warriors and the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, will be speaking on Puffin virtuallyLIVE about Gods and Warriors and her experiences researching and writing the second book in the series. Additionally, you’ll be able to hear her give some behind-the-scenes info on the first book, Gods and Warriors, and some insight as to how she recreated the Bronze Age world in which the story takes place, particularly with regards to some of the book’s less human characters! As if that’s not enough to convince you to watch the event, if you log in and watch the event live on the Puffin website you’ll be in with a chance of winning 30 copies of Gods and Warriors for your school! Interested? Then tune in to the following website on Nov 5th 2012 at 14:00 GMT – just click here!

Gather round, brave Clanners, to try your hand at survival in one of the most desperate and dangerous situations you can think of. Washed up on a beach alone, starving, with nothing but rags to your name, you face a struggle that will challenge you and force you to keep all your wits about you as you contend with starvation, the elements, and even the wild beasts of a forest simply to stay alive. You’re not alone, though – you’ll be able to compare notes with your fellow Clanners in the GODS AND WARRIORS forum and see who is doomed to death, who is struggling for survival and who is a born Survivor!

PLEASE NOTE! The Survival Challenge uses a different format to the vBulletin forums we use here on The Clan. You will need to re-register when it asks you to login; you can use the same username and email you’ve used for The Clan forums (in fact it’s easier if you do).

If you think you have what it takes to be a Survivor – take on the first part of the Survival Challenge and do your best to stay alive!

The very first competition heralding the arrival of Gods and Warriors has officially started – and we encourage everyone to take part! Will you be one of the wisest members of The Clan?

The Wisdom Contest is now open to all Clanners and non-Clanners – so whether you’re a newcomer to the site or a veteran of The Clan, why not pit your wits and wisdom against others in a test of your knowledge of the first four chapters of Gods and Warriors? Start by going to the ‘Competitions’ tab above, and go to the most recent entry; or simply check out the Wisdom Contest here!

Ryan over at http://www.empire-of-books.com/ has uploaded a review of Michelle’s upcoming first book in her new series, Gods and Warriors! Get over there now and check it out – it’s a fairly in-depth review that doesn’t go too far into spoiler territory and should give you a great idea of what Gods and Warriors is all about! Let us know what you thought of Ryan’s review (and of Gods and Warriors, if you’re lucky enough to have it already) here in the Gods and Warriors forum on The Clan here.

Dear Clanners,

The winner of the audio blog tour competition is none other than ScarWolf! Congrats Scar! We’re sure you’ll enjoy your prizes – a signed copy of GODS AND WARRIORS, soon to be released (27th August) and a special poster also signed by Michelle Paver herself!

In case you’ve missed it, you can still listen to the entire first chapter of GODS AND WARRIORS on The Clan at the following link: http://wolfbrother.com/and-the-audio-blog-tour-comes-home-to-the-clan

We hope you’ve enjoyed the last week – as the release date for GODS AND WARRIORS grows ever closer the excitement here on The Clan will continue to mount – we can’t wait!

Hi Clanners!

It’s the seventh and final day of the Audio Blog Tour, and we hope you’ve been keeping up with the instalments of GODS AND WARRIORS’ first chapter over the last six days. Today we’ve got the ENTIRE  first chapter here, on The Clan, for you to listen to! Just open this post up to listen.

Enjoy listening – check back today at 17:00GMT for the announcement of the lucky winner of the Audio Competition, who’s going to be receiving a signed copy of GODS AND WARRIORS and a signed poster in the post very shortly!

Missed the Superfan event?  Don’t worry, we’ve got a terrific video for you… and even better, the fantastic news that Michelle will be doing a Clan-only, virtual Superfan event in a few weeks’ time… live via video for all fans worldwide!

Keep watching the Clan for the latest news on this (it’s likely to be a Sunday towards the end of September).  And here’s a taster of the last terrific Superfan event hosted by Puffin… just to whet your appetite!

We regret that the wrong blog entry was posted yesterday – you can find extract #5 here at the Overflowing Library: www.overflowinglibrary.com

And today’s entry (Day #6) can be found at http://booksofamber.blogspot.co.uk/ . Apologies for the confusion!

Check out the next audio clip HERE: http://booksofamber.blogspot.co.uk/

And if you haven’t already, check out Day #1 for a cool competition to enter with some awesome prizes!

Check out today’s extract from GODS AND WARRIORS at http://thebookaddictedgirl.blogspot.co.uk/ ! And if you haven’t already, check out Day #1 for info on a fantastic competition we’re running alongside the tour!

Check back tomorrow for the fifth instalment in the audio blog series…

And as Day #3 of the audio blog tour dawns upon us, the next audio extract of GODS AND WARRIORS is up at http://www.thirstforfiction.com/!

Check it out and have a listen – and if you haven’t already, go back to Day #2 and Day #1 of the tour to catch up on the previous extracts! Also, there’s a competition to be entered to be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of GODS AND WARRIORS and a signed poster too – go check out the Day #1 entry here on the front page for more!

It’s the second day of the pre-publication audio blog tour for GODS AND WARRIORS – and today the blog to visit is Writing from the Tub, which you can access at the following link:

http://carlybennett.blogspot.co.uk/

Check out the second audio extract at the blog above, and if you haven’t already, check out Day #1 of the audio blog tour at www.wondrousreads.com with the first audio extract! Don’t forget to enter our competition in yesterday’s post – answer a simple question to be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of GODS AND WARRIORS and a signed poster!

Check out the fantastic Clan Twitter that’s just gone live HERE:

http://twitter.com/Godsandwarriors

Run by one of our fantastic Clan Guardians – Wolfbrother – it’s going to be receiving some exclusive updates on the build-up to the release of Gods and Warriors on August 27th! Keep checking back on the Twitter page for more (and if you haven’t already, check out and ‘like’ our Facebook page for pictures, info and updates on Michelle’s upcoming events leading up to the big day at the following link – just click here)

For those of you keen on social networks, there’s now an official Clan page going live on Facebook! Check out the following link for more…

Be sure to visit, ‘like’ the page, get your friends to do so too, and have a look at some of the Facebook-exclusive photos we have of Michelle and her journeys over the last few years.

We’re also looking to release some exclusive Gods and Warriors artwork over the next few days on the Facebook page, so keep an eye out…

You can check out the page HERE!

The SuperFan Event on July 14th in London is the biggest (free!) event The Clan has ever organized – and places are filling up quickly. All Clanners are invited – but if you want to come to this momentous occasion, you must let us know immediately!

What Will Happen:

• An exclusive Clan-only preview of this year’s truly momentous happenings
• An exclusive first look at the brand new Puffin trailer for Gods & Warriors
• A chance to meet Michelle one-to-one and to hear her talk about her research and writing for the new series
• A Q&A session where you can put all your burning questions to Michelle – so come with your questions prepared!
• The ultimate SuperFan Michelle Paver Quiz – test your knowledge on all things Chronicles of Ancient Darkness for the chance to win one of five exclusive proof copies of Gods and Warriors!
• A book signing session with Michelle – bring copies of anything you already own and want signed!
• AND… A *big* surprise announcement that many Clanners have been asking about for years!  Can you guess what it is…?

This is the biggest, most important event in The Clan’s history.  We want as many readers as possible to be able to come, because it will truly be a unique day.  However – places are going quickly.

Who Can Come:

*  Clanners, a parent/guardian and a friend (unfortunately we can only accept 1 parent/guardian per Clanner unless there are special circumstances).

*  If you are under 18, you *must* bring a parent or guardian.

*  Older fans will be made *especially* welcome.  We recognize that the most stalwart of Michelle’s fans (who’ve been with her since the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series) are now 18 or over – you are our ambassadors, and your presence on the day will be highly valued.

Please note: due to European law, the event’s organisers (Puffin) cannot extend this invitation to non-UK residents. I realise this is a massive disappointment, but if there is enough interest, we at The Clan will be looking into speaking to Michelle’s foreign language publishers and looking at possibly running similar Superfan events in separate countries.

Where:

Puffin Books

10th Floor, 80 Strand,

London, WC2R 0RL

When:

Saturday 14th July (1:30pm for a 2:00pm start / finish by 4:30pm)

We’ll let you know more soon!

So if you live in the UK, would like to come spend a great day out in London with Michelle, The keenest Clanners and her publishers, let us know IMMEDIATELY! Please email nanuak [AT] jointheclan.com with the subject heading ‘Superfan Event’, and include your name (and that of your guardian if relevant) and your username on The Clan. You’ll receive a confirmation email closer to the event.

We cannot guarantee how long we will be accepting attendees to this event – if you want to come, please get in touch as soon as possible!

One of the most active parts of The Clan is The Campfire, our role playing board. Clanners have spent years exploring and extending the world of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness in long-running role playing games, and we thought that a great way to introduce more Clanners to the times and customs of Gods and Warriors would be through a huge RP in July!

Join The Clan and be active for at least five days and make 12 posts if you’d like to participate in this original and thrilling role play!

How will this work? Well, let’s start with your characters! Your characters could be from anywhere in the Mediterranean and they will not be allowed any weapons or tools at the start. Unless they are from Greece or Egypt, they will also be likely to still have long hair. Their appearance and cultural beliefs must conform with what we know about people in the early Bronze Age.

There will be no more than five (5) players at one time — this does not include any Clan Guardians or event organisers who will be playing our benevolent narrators.

Remember, you need to have been a member of The Clan for at least five (5) days and made at least twelve (12) posts in order to role play! You have plenty of time to do this right now.

Join The Clan if you’d like to participate in this original and thrilling role play!

Yes, we know — a lot of the recent activities on The Clan have focused on art and writing. Here’s something a little different!

While we know some things about what our Bronze Age ancestors ate, we don’t know all the details. We can make educated guesses about some things, and one of those things is bread.

Let’s assume that our ancestors baked and ate bread — in fact, let’s expand the grand Virtual Museum with a gallery of bread that could have been baked and eaten by Bronze Age families!

We know that wheat (from various species) was consumed at that time, as was spelt, so if you can get your hands on some spelt or wholemeal flour, plus a couple of other simple ingredients, mix up your dough, stick it in the oven, and travel back in time.

While you are welcome to devise your own recipes (please share them with us so we can all learn), helpful folks on the Internet have also created some for people who don’t have much of a clue about baking. Here are a couple to get you started:

• Traditional Spelt Loaf recipe by Shipton Mill
• Sweet Hazelnut Bread from h2g2 (which notes, “You can also experiment with other native plants and herbs for different flavours; try using wild (hedge) garlic, burdock roots, ramsons (wild onions), young nettles or berries to add to the basic recipes…”)

Remember, if you’re not too familiar with the oven, please ask for help. I’m sure your parents / guardians / personal chefs would be very pleased to assist you in the mission of baking your own bread.

All Clanners who bake a loaf and post a photo as well as the recipe you used by 30th June 2012 will be awarded 8 Nanuaks, and your photos will be added to the Virtual Museum!

Updates below!

We now have confirmation that the first ClanCast of 2012 is scheduled for 15th April 2012, from 4-6pm BST (GMT +1) — after being postponed from February. To calculate when that is in your part of the world, use the Time Zone Converter.

Now that some proofs of Gods and Warriors have been released, as well as that rather beautiful jacket, I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions for Michelle about her new series. And now’s your chance!

For details on how you can ask Michelle a question during the ClanCast, please see the announcement thread.

Date: 15th April 2012
Time: 4-6pm BST
Where: Online, of course!

Subscribe to the ClanCast on iTunes / your favourite feed reader:

Direct download

Update: this Sunday’s ClanCast will be held in conjunction with the Litopia After Dark live radio programme, which is accessed via http://www.litopia.com/radio/live-events/. Michelle will be signing and dedicating 20 copies of her ghostly novel Dark Matter live on the show! To find out how to be one of the lucky 20, please tune in promptly at 4pm UK time this Sunday, 15th April!

Michelle has kindly arranged with Admin to go into the studio for another ClanCast — yay!

As you know, she has been very busy with Gods and Warriors — her new series of books set in the Bronze Age. The Clan will be holding special activities all year long to commemorate this momentous occasion, and the ClanCast is just the first of many events this year.

For details on how you can ask Michelle a question during the ClanCast, please see the announcement thread.

Date: 12th February 2012
Time: 4-6pm GMT
Where: Online, of course!

Subscribe to the ClanCast on iTunes / your favourite feed reader:

Direct download

The Clan’s foray into pseudonymous social media domination continues, with our new Tumblr! Follow us at jointheclan.tumblr.com to get the latest news from The Clan and Michelle Paver.

(You’ll still get all the news first if you actually join The Clan. Why wait? It’s free, safe, and there are no ads.)

Apologies for being a day late — I was enjoying the festive break far too much!

Three (yes, three) of our four Clans have now breached the 1,000 Nanuaks threshold, just in time for the Great Reset of 2012. I will be virtually zeroing the Leaderboard tallies in order to give newer Clanners the chance to join in. Your Nanuaks are safe; they will just be adjusted for Leaderboard purposes.

We’ve got a clear winner for 2011 — gryffindorhg, with their unflagging dedication to the wiki, has ended the year with a well-deserved win. A love for all things Clan-related and high levels of activity earns you Nanuaks on The Clan, and you can use them to buy rarities and exclusives in our Shop, as well as extra privileges on the site.

There are Michelle Paver fans, and there are Michelle Paver fans. We think we’ve got a great community in The Clan, and we recently refreshed The E-Team, an elite group of super-dedicated Clanners who take their passion for Michelle Paver’s work outside The Clan to recruit new members. And we’re now looking for more.

E-Teamer CJ Watso has designed a simple application form for Clanners who would like to become part of The E-Team. And what’s so great about The E-Team? Well, we like to reward dedication and passion, and E-Teamers are the first Clanners the admin tell about new and exciting things happening on The Clan, including upcoming work by Michelle. With the first book in Gods and Warriors being published next year, being in The E-Team could give you some major bragging rights among your friends.

So there’s no time to waste — if you’ve been promoting Michelle Paver’s work and The Clan to your friends, get your application together now and you could be enjoying the benefits of being Elite very soon.