Canon

Canon, in the context of a fictional universe, comprises those novels, stories, films, etc., that are considered to be genuine or officially sanctioned, and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have existence within the fictional universe. In order for a setting to appear coherent, especially in fictions that contain multiple parts, both creators and audiences sometimes find it useful to define what has and has not "actually happened" in that universe.^[1] Material that is considered canon comes from the original source or author of the fictional universe.^[1] Spin-offs and adaptations to other media are often non-canon, and fanfiction is always non-canon, due to it not being published or released by anyone associated with the official franchise.^[1]

Authors of Warriors series, Victoria Holmes, Kate Cary, Cherith Baldry, and Tui Sutherland have connected with fans in the past to reveal information about the books and characters. They have done this through Erin Hunter Chats on Wands and Worlds,^[2] and also through the Warriors official forums.^[3] In addition, Kate and Vicky have social media accounts on various platforms which they've used to answer fan questions, and deliver news about new things in the Warriors world.^[4][5] The most notable of these are Vicky's Facebook and Kate's BlogClan.^[4][6]

Canonicity in Warriors

All books in the Warriors series are canon, as they've all been released by HarperCollins under the Warriors franchise.^[7] Warriors graphic novels are considered canon as well, despite mainly being released by TokyoPop, because they are officially sanctioned and published.^[8]

The books themselves are notoriously inconsistent. Reasons for this vary to different authors writing different books, to unexplained editorial changes.

The Official Site's family tree is considered non-canon. The tree itself is littered with contradicting sources not found within the books themselves. Family relations are listed under continuity, meant to act as a listing for the non-canon information, but, due to the site's official status, still listed on the Warriors Wiki.

Some instances result in two contradicting sources leading to an uncertain result. For example, Rippletail was on Tigerheart's patrol during Tigerheart's Shadow,^[9] but in River of Fire, he is replaced by Slatefur and Slatefur subsequently takes his place in future books.^[10] While Rippletail's appearance was documented first, Slatefur's appearance is considered canon due to his appearances in further books, and Rippletail's a mistake in Tigerheart's Shadow.

A different example of above is the canonical mentor of Hollytuft. Bramblestar's Storm shows that her mentor was Cloudtail,^[11] but The Apprentice's Quest states that her mentor was Blossomfall.^[12] Due to both being singular mentions, it is unknown which cat was really her mentor, and the other the mistake.

Earlier books such as Secrets of the Clans, have been contradicted by newer releases, and the Warriors Wiki will instead include the newer information over the older. Examples include:

• The founding of the Clans, contradicted by Dawn of the Clans.
• Naming system, contradicted by Dawn of the Clans.
• Some mentor/apprentice pairings, contradicted by later releases.

However, it should be noted that if a statement in an earlier book is NOT contradicted by a later source, it can remain as a canon statement.

Canon books in Warriors

• The Prophecies Begin
• The New Prophecy
• Power of Three
• Omen of the Stars
• Dawn of the Clans
• A Vision of Shadows
• The Broken Code
• Super Editions
• Novellas
• Ravenpaw's Path
• Tigerstar and Sasha
• Graystripe's Adventure
• SkyClan and the Stranger

See also

• Warriors books
• HarperCollins
• Social media

Notes and references