Garner worked as a labourer until his first book The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was published in 1960. It is set in the Alderley Edge mines and the story is about wizards and knights underground, just like in the stories Garner's family would tell. After the book was published, Garner gave up his job and started working as a television reporter instead. He made very little money. At this time, he started to work on a second book called The Moon of Gomrath. In 1965, Elidor was published, telling the story of four children who enter a fantasy world.