Birth:
Cornelia Funke was born December 10, 1958 in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, GermanyCornelia Funke's Background and Writing:
Sometimes regarded as the German J.K. Rowling, Cornelia Funke (pronounced FOON-kah) earned her degree in education theory from the University of Hamburg and after graduation studied book illustration at a design college. She began a career as a book illustrator and game designer, but lost interest in the work after a few years.As a young girl, Funke had been a lover of fantasy - the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and J.M. Barrie - and decided, at age 28, to write her own books. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she became a rather well-known author of children's books in her native Germany, but her breakthrough came in 1997 when Dragonrider and later The Thief Lord (2000), both huge successes in Germany, were met with international attention. In fact, as soon as The Thief Lord reached the United States, it hit the New York Times bestseller list and remained there for 25 weeks.
Funke's now international fan base was clamoring for more, and in 2003 she gave it to them in the form of Inkheart, a rich fantasy story centered around a 12-year-old book lover whose father has a unique gift for bringing the world of books to life. Inkheart was the first in a trilogy and Funke followed with Inkspell (2005) and Inkdeath (2008).
Funke and her husband, Rolf, and two children, Ben and Anna, moved to Beverly Hills, California in 2005. Sadly, Rolf Funke died of cancer in 2006.
Selected Work by Cornelia Funke:
- Dragonrider (1997)
- The Thief Lord (2000)
- Inkheart (2003)
- Inkspell (2005)
- Inkdeath (2008)
