Cornelia Caroline Funke — About the Author
Cornelia Caroline Funke (FOON-ka) was born in 1958 in Dorsten, Westphalia, Germany. The author graduated from the University of Hamburg in Germany with a degree in education theory. She then completed a course in book illustration at the Hamburg State College of Design. Following that, Funke worked as a designer for board games and as an illustrator of children's books, which inspired her to become an author herself.
She went on to write over forty books and became a best selling author in Germany. Her work ranges from picture books, to books for first readers and younger children, to novels for older readers. It was a young girl in England who first wanted to know why her favorite author wasn't published in English, bringing Funke to the attention of The Chicken House, a Scholastic imprint. Her first English translation, The Thief Lord, immediately entered the New York Times bestseller list where it stayed for twenty-five weeks, peaking at number two. The novel went on to receive many accolades including the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.
The author is married to a book printer named Rolf. They have two children, Anna and Ben. The family now lives in California where the author continues to write in her native German. Her work is translated into English by Anthea Bell. Inkheart, published in English in 2003, was originally planned as a standalone novel. However, as the book was drawing to a close, Funke realized there was much more to tell. The story evolved into a trilogy with Inkspell published in English in 2005 and the final book, tentatively entitled Inkdeath, set to follow in 2007. Despite its title, the author has stated that the third book will not be as dark as Inkspell and the story will have a happy ending. Funke also hints that, due to readers' passion for the story in Dragon Rider, it may have a follow-up as well.
--Courtesy of Scholastic, Inc.
