Taran Matharu
Taran Matharu was born in London in 1990 and found a passion for reading at a very early age. His love for stories developed into a desire to create his own during early adolescence, beginning his first book at 9 years old.
Keen to explore a new avenue and get inside the publishing world, Taran landed an internship in Digital Sales at Penguin Random House. Thereafter, while taking time off to travel, he began to write the Summoner series at the age of 22, taking part in Nanowrimo 2013. Thanks to Wattpad.com and updating daily, its popularity dramatically increased, reaching over 3 million reads in less than 6 months. To date, he has had over 8 million reads on Wattpad.
His Summoner trilogy consists of The Novice (2015), The Inquisition (2016) and The Battlemage (2017). This trilogy was acquired by Macmillan in the US, and in fourteen other languages worldwide. The series is a New York Times bestseller.
Taran has since written a prequel to this bestselling series, The Outcast (2018) and a companion guide called the Summoner's Handbook (2018). His 3-book YA fantasy series titled Contender was sold to the US in a major six figure deal, and also to the UK. This trilogy consists of The Chosen (2019), The Challenger (2020) and The Champion (2021).
Dragon Rider, Taran’s latest trilogy and first adult novel, was sold to UK and US in a six figure pre-empt. The first book in the series was published in the UK and US in April 2024.
Praise for The Summoner series:
‘Brilliant and colourful...This superb story, with strong characters and a narrative which both flows with its sweeping backdrop and draws brilliant details, now deserves all the success that will come its way’ — The School Librarian
‘Fantasy lovers will love the demonic detail’ — Sunday Express
‘Influenced by Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings and video games, it appeals to fans of all of these’ — The Sunday Times
‘The pace is so fast and so thrilling that even less than regular readers will be hooked’ — The Guardian
Rights sold:
The Summoner Trilogy: Hodder Children’s Books (UK), Macmillan (US and Canada), Record (Brazil), Ecliptic (Bulgaria), Alpress (Czech Republic), Forlaget Forar (Denmark), Hachette Jeunesse (France), Heyne (Germany), Fumax (Hungary), Unieboek (Netherlands), Jaguar (Poland), Storia (Romania), EKSMO (Russia), Planeta (Spain), Crown (Taiwan), Ithaki (Turkey)
The Summoner’s Handbook: Hodder Children’s (UK), Square Fish (US), Alpress (Czech), Van Goor (Netherlands), Jaguar (Poland)
The Contender Trilogy: Hodder Children’s (UK), Square Fish (US), Alpress (Czech), Forar (Denmark), Van Goor (Netherlands), Jaguar (Poland), Urano (Spain), and Audible (Audio)
Dragon Rider: HarperVoyager (UK), HarperVoyager (US), Forar (Denmark), Heyne (Germany), Mondadori (Italy), Van Goor (Netherlands), Jaguar (Poland), and Urano (Spain)