Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial

An action-packed new adventure series from Blue Peter Award-winning author Kieran Larwood and Waterstones Children's Book Prize winner Joe Todd Stanton. Young readers will love discovering the world of the Dungeon Runners!





The Week Junior Children's Book of the Year, Younger Fiction 2025



"A funny and exciting fantasy adventure story" - Frank Cottrell-Boyce, The Times





CALLING ALL DUNGEON RUNNERS - There's space for a new team of heroes. This is your chance to enter the leagues and fight your way to the top!





Kit has dreamed of being a Dungeon Runner all his life, although being a gnorf (part gnome, part dwarf) means he's much smaller than the other competitors.





But when a space opens up for a new team in the Dungeon Running League, Kit doesn't want to miss this chance to try out! With his new friends Sandy and Thorn, they're ready to take on anything - mazes, puzzles, monsters, treasure and most of all adventure!





Are you ready for the games to begin?



Welcome to the Dungeon!





"Highly illustrated, humorous and immediately enthralling, this first volume in a new series will appeal to 7+ D&D fans in particular." - Guardian





"Presented in large, clear font and with black and white illustrations throughout, this funny, exciting, imaginative adventure story is a great introduction to fantasy fiction for newly independent readers" - BookTrust





The adventures continue in...





- Dungeon Runners: Sky Battles





- Dungeon Runners: Ocean Chase





- Dungeon Runners: Fang Attack



Kieran Larwood (Author)

Kieran Larwood was born in Kenya. He moved to the UK when he was 2 and lived in various places before settling on the Isle of Wight where he can still be found: exploring rockpools, climbing trees and writing - slowly disappearing behind a mountain of notebooks and empty coffee mugs. He taught Reception class in a primary school for fifteen years before becoming a full-time author.



Kieran's books have won several awards, including the Blue Peter Best Story and the Prix Sorcières.



He is inspired by a life-long love of fantasy stories, which all began when - as a young boy - he picked up a copy of The Hobbit and saw the map inside. It just goes to show - you never know where opening a book will lead...



Joe Todd Stanton (Illustrator)



Joe Todd-Stanton grew up in Brighton, England, and was taught to draw by his mother, who is also an illustrator. He studied at UWE Bristol, receiving a first class degree in Illustration. Todd-Stanton has been commissioned to work for clients such as Oxford University Press, Usborne Publishing, and Aquila magazine. His work has been highly



praised and his book The Secret of Black Rock was longlisted for The C ILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2018 and won a 2018 Waterstones Children's Book Prize.