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Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Maria Funke (German: [kɔʁˈneːli̯a ˈfʊŋkə] ⓘ; born 10 December 1958) is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late 1980s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's "bestselling author for children". Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of 2012, Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide.
Funke achieved acclaim as the author of the children's novels The Thief Lord (2002) and Dragon Rider (2004), which were translated and released in English after originally being published in Germany. She subsequently achieved wider recognition with the Inkheart series of novels, which include Inkheart (2003), Inkspell (2005), and Inkdeath (2007). The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, and Inkheart have all been adapted into feature films and spent numerous weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Often referred to as the "German J. K. Rowling", Funke was chosen by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in their 2005 list.
Cornelia Funke was born in 1958 in the town of Dorsten in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to Karl-Heinz and Helmi Funke. As a child, she wanted to become an astronaut or a pilot, but ultimately decided to study pedagogy at the University of Hamburg. After finishing her studies, Funke worked for three years as a social worker. During her social work she focused on working with children who came from deprived backgrounds. She had a stint illustrating books, but soon began writing her own stories, inspired by the sorts of stories that had appealed to the deprived children she had worked with. She wrote her first story at the age of 28.
During the late 1980s and the 1990s, Funke established herself as a writer of children's fiction in Germany. Her early work includes two children's series—the fantasy-oriented Gespensterjäger (Ghosthunters) and the Wilde Hühner (C.H.I.X.) line of books. Only in 2002 did her novels begin being translated into English. Barry Cunningham, a publisher who was well known for signing J. K. Rowling and publishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, received a letter from a young bilingual girl who asked why Funke's novel hadn't been translated into English yet. Cunningham sought out Funke and decided to release her novels in English through his newly-formed publishing house, The Chicken House.
Funke's first book to be translated into English was The Thief Lord, originally published in 2000 as Herr der Diebe. The translation, released by The Chicken House in 2002, won widespread acclaim and reached several bestseller lists. It was later adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2006.
Another early English translation was Dragon Rider, originally published in Germany in 1997 as Drachenreiter. Released in the United States in 2004, it became a massive success, and remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 78 weeks, reaching number one on the Children's Best Seller list. A sequel, Dragon Rider: The Griffin's Feather, was published over a decade later, in 2017, and a feature film adaptation of the same name was released in 2020.
Funke found further acclaim with Inkheart (2003), which won the 2004 BookSense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature. Inkheart was the first part of a trilogy and was continued with Inkspell (2005), which won Funke her second BookSense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature in 2006. The trilogy was initially concluded in Inkdeath, but was revived in 2020 when Funke announced that a sequel called Die Farbe der Rache (The Color of Revenge) will be published by October 2021 in Germany.
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Cornelia Funke
Cornelia Maria Funke (German: [kɔʁˈneːli̯a ˈfʊŋkə] ⓘ; born 10 December 1958) is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late 1980s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's "bestselling author for children". Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of 2012, Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide.
Funke achieved acclaim as the author of the children's novels The Thief Lord (2002) and Dragon Rider (2004), which were translated and released in English after originally being published in Germany. She subsequently achieved wider recognition with the Inkheart series of novels, which include Inkheart (2003), Inkspell (2005), and Inkdeath (2007). The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, and Inkheart have all been adapted into feature films and spent numerous weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Often referred to as the "German J. K. Rowling", Funke was chosen by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in their 2005 list.
Cornelia Funke was born in 1958 in the town of Dorsten in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to Karl-Heinz and Helmi Funke. As a child, she wanted to become an astronaut or a pilot, but ultimately decided to study pedagogy at the University of Hamburg. After finishing her studies, Funke worked for three years as a social worker. During her social work she focused on working with children who came from deprived backgrounds. She had a stint illustrating books, but soon began writing her own stories, inspired by the sorts of stories that had appealed to the deprived children she had worked with. She wrote her first story at the age of 28.
During the late 1980s and the 1990s, Funke established herself as a writer of children's fiction in Germany. Her early work includes two children's series—the fantasy-oriented Gespensterjäger (Ghosthunters) and the Wilde Hühner (C.H.I.X.) line of books. Only in 2002 did her novels begin being translated into English. Barry Cunningham, a publisher who was well known for signing J. K. Rowling and publishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, received a letter from a young bilingual girl who asked why Funke's novel hadn't been translated into English yet. Cunningham sought out Funke and decided to release her novels in English through his newly-formed publishing house, The Chicken House.
Funke's first book to be translated into English was The Thief Lord, originally published in 2000 as Herr der Diebe. The translation, released by The Chicken House in 2002, won widespread acclaim and reached several bestseller lists. It was later adapted into a feature film of the same name in 2006.
Another early English translation was Dragon Rider, originally published in Germany in 1997 as Drachenreiter. Released in the United States in 2004, it became a massive success, and remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 78 weeks, reaching number one on the Children's Best Seller list. A sequel, Dragon Rider: The Griffin's Feather, was published over a decade later, in 2017, and a feature film adaptation of the same name was released in 2020.
Funke found further acclaim with Inkheart (2003), which won the 2004 BookSense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature. Inkheart was the first part of a trilogy and was continued with Inkspell (2005), which won Funke her second BookSense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature in 2006. The trilogy was initially concluded in Inkdeath, but was revived in 2020 when Funke announced that a sequel called Die Farbe der Rache (The Color of Revenge) will be published by October 2021 in Germany.