A young German girl living in Britain asked Barry Cunningham, Publisher and Managing Director of Chicken House (now an imprint of Scholastic) why her favourite author’s books were not in English, he got down to work. He tracked down Cornelia Funke’s latest title at that time, Herr der Diebe and published its translation The Thief Lord. The minute it hit the stands it made it to the New York Times bestseller list and won the prestigious Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the best translated children's book of the year; the Book Sense Book of the Year Award; and many other accolades.
Writing journey
Cornelia Funke was born on December 10, 1958 in Dorsten, Westphalia, Germany. As a child, she wanted to be an astronaut and/or a pilot. Instead, she ended up studying Pedagogy (theory and practice of education) at the University of Hamburg. She went on to become a social worker, working with children from deprived backgrounds. She did a stint at illustrating books, and soon began to write her own books. She told stories with fantastic creatures and magical worlds.
Following The Thief Lord , she wrote Dragon Rider , a story of a dragon’s search for home. Her acclaimed trilogy, beginning with Inkheart and its sequel Inkspell stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for a long time. Inkheart was adapted into a major motion picture. The final book in that series — Inkdeath was published in 2008.
She has also authored the popular Ghosthunter series, Igraine the Brave and When Santa Fell to Earth. Her picture books, The Princess Knight and Pirate Girl, are also popular.
In 2005, Time magazine named Cornelia Funke among its “100 Most Influential Men and Women”. Cornelia’s fans are sometimes referred to as Funkies.
Some books
The Wild Chicks
Saving Mississippi
Ghost Knight
Emma and the Blue
Genie
Lilli and Fin
The Golden Yarn
The Pirate Pig
The Wildest Brother
The Moonshine Dragon
