Cornelia Funke biography

Cornelia Funke portrait image

Born on 10th December 1958 in Dorsten, Germany, Cornelia Caroline Funke aspired to being an astronaut when a child but took the route of studying education theory at Hamburg University. After graduating Funke (pronounced - FOON-ka) took the position of Social Worker and dedicated her three years in this role to deprived children. She then took a job as an illustrator and board game designer after completing a postgraduate course at Hamburg University of Design but soon realised that she wanted to write and illustrate her own stories; her time working with children had certainly given her an insight into the type of stories that children wanted to read and enjoy. Establishing herself with the Ghosthunters (Gespensterjäger) and Wild Chicks (Wild Hühner) series of books in her home country it was the fantasy novel Dragon Rider in 1996 that saw her on the New York Times bestseller list for 78 weeks and brought her writing to an international audience. She has since gone on to write several popular titles not least the Inkheart trilogy. After receiving critical acclaim and several awards including the Book Sense Children’s Literature Award she moved to Los Angeles in 2005 with her husband Rolf and their children Anna and Ben. However, the joy of her success has also been tinged with sadness as Rolf her husband of 25 years died of cancer in 2006. The Inkheart trilogy was completed in 2008 with the book Inkdeath following the release of Inkspell which won her the Book Sense Book of the Year Children’s Literature Award in 2006 and Inkheart has now become the subject of a multi-million pound film staring Brendan Fraser.

Cornelia Funke books

  • Die Wilden Hühner (1993)
  • Die Wilden Hühner auf Klassenfahrt (1995)
  • Die Wilden Hühner, Fuchsalarm (1998)
  • Die Wilden Hühner und das Glück der Erd, (2000)
  • The Thief Lord (2000)
  • Die Wilden Hühner und die Liebe (2003)
  • Inkheart (2003)
  • Die Wilden Hühner - gestohlene Geheimnisse (CD-ROM) (2004)
  • Dragon Rider (2004)
  • The Princess Knight (2003)
  • Pirate Girl (2005)
  • Inkspell (2005)
  • The Wildest Brother (2006)
  • When Santa Fell to Earth (2006)
  • Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost (2006)
  • Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (2006)
  • Princess Pigsty (2007)
  • Igraine The Brave (2007)
  • Ghosthunters And the Totally Moldy Baroness! (2007)
  • Ghosthunters And The Muddy Monster Of Doom! (2007)
  • Meggie's Journal (2008)
  • Inkdeath (2008)

 

Cover image of Greg Denny's Deep into the Heart of a Rose

Fantasy Book Review Book of the Month, February 2012

A Tolkien inspired romantic fantasy that all starts with an extremely loving and well written letter... G.T. Denny's novel, Deep into the Heart of a Rose, will help usher in a new generation of love sick teens. If you love fantasy and adventure fiction then this book is for you. Well written, charmingly detailed and epic, this truly is a must read for 2012.

Read our full review of Deep into the Heart of a Rose

For more information, visit http://gtdenny.com/

We are constantly running special features on topics and events that we feel particularly passionate about. Please find this month's highlights below.

An image taken from the book cover of Echoes of the Past by Tim Marquitz.
Echoes of the Past
Excerpt from Tim Marquitz's new Demon Squad novel.
A cover image of Alt Hist Issue 3.
Alt Hist Issue 3
Historical fiction, historical fantasy and alternate history
Cover image of David Kowalski's The Company of the Dead.
The Company of the Dead
David Kowalski on the process of writing.
An image from the cover of Robin Hobb's City of Dragons.
Contemporary Dragon Lore
Robin Hobb on Dragons, Lore and Fictional Journeys.
A portrait image of Mr Norrell by illustrator Portia Rosenberg.
Fantastic Fantasy Artwork #3
Portia Rosenberg
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
The Sword and the Dragon banner image