![A woman holds a microphone and interviews an author seated next to her]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1759508439/usmk12org/mjyo1ro3ytxwau5qcxqg/IMG_7374_WR.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1759508439/usmk12org/mjyo1ro3ytxwau5qcxqg/IMG_7374_WR.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1759508439/usmk12org/mjyo1ro3ytxwau5qcxqg/IMG_7374_WR.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1759508439/usmk12org/mjyo1ro3ytxwau5qcxqg/IMG_7374_WR.jpg","width":1000}])
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Elaine Griffin, head of Middle School at University School of Milwaukee, interviewed best-selling author Katherine Rundell at Boswell Books in Milwaukee. Rundell was promoting her latest book, “The Poisoned King,” which is the second book in the “Impossible Creatures” series. “In the United Kingdom, Rundell speaks to auditoriums of 2,000 people, so it was incredible to interview her in such an intimate setting,” said Griffin. The first book of the series, “Impossible Creatures,” was ranked number one on the New York Times bestseller list in 2024 and “The Poisoned King” currently sits at number two on that list.
Griffin compared Rundell to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, calling her “an Oxford intellectual who also writes children's novels.” During the conversation, Rundell talked about how her scholarship on the Renaissance poet John Donne informs her children’s fiction, specifically Donne’s message that it is essential to live with focus and intention.
Ivana Renteria, Middle School librarian at USM, arranged to have Griffin interview Rundell when Boswell reached out to her about potential candidates. Griffin had previously written an article about Rundell’s work last spring, and made Rundell the subject of her 8th Grade Closing Ceremony speech this past June.
