Holm was a former Annalist of the Black Company, many generations before Croaker's modern Annals. Along with Annalists Straw, Lees, and Agrip, Holm wrote the Book of Kette early in the Company's second century, when the group was in the service of a tyrant called the Paingod of Cho'n Delor. During Straw's time, and presumably Holm's as well, the Company numbered more than 6,000 strong and consisted entirely of black men.
In The Black Company, Annalist Holm was mentioned in passing by Croaker during the introduction to his well-received reading from Annalist Straw. This reading was during the Company's time in the city of Lords.