Official Site Chat: October 14, 2006

~CORNELIA FUNKE BIOGRAPHY~

-Education and Early Career-

The German author Cornelia Funke was born in 1958 in Dorsten, Westphalia. As a child she dreamed of
becoming an astronaut - until she discovered military training was involved. After her Abitur (final school
exam) she moved to Hamburg, where she graduated with a degree in education theory. Following college,
she worked for three years as a social worker on education-related projects.

-Early Inspiration-

During her time as a social worker, Cornelia worked with children from impoverished backgrounds and
discovered the kinds of stories that grasped their imaginations. These were the stories she wanted to
illustrate - and ultimately write: the kind that would appeal to bookish children as well as inspire those
kids who hadn't yet had many positive reading experiences.

-Cornelia the Illustrator-

Following a postgraduate course in book illustration at the Hamburg State College of Design, she worked
as a board game designer and children's book illustrator, although she found herself disappointed in the
way some of the stories were told. Cornelia wanted to draw fabulous creatures and magical worlds rather
than familiar situations of school and home, and so she was inspired to write her own stories for young
readers.

-Cornelia the Bestselling Author in Germany-

At the age of 35 Cornelia realized her true love of storytelling and became a full-time writer. She has since
written more than 40 books, ranging from illustrated titles and short novels for young readers - including
the Ghosthunters series - to longer novels for older children.
Although she quickly became one of the most popular children's authors in Germany, Cornelia Funke was
practically unknown in the United States or Great Britain. Had it not been for a devoted young reader, this
could still be the case.

-Translation into English-

Barry Cunningham, the publisher of a small, innovative publishing house in rural England called The
Chicken House, received a letter from a bilingual (English and German) young reader who wanted to know
why books by her favorite author didn't exist in English. Intrigued, Barry set out to track down what was
then the latest title by Cornelia Funke, Herr der Diebe.

-International Success-

When the English translation, The Thief Lord, was published in the United States by Scholastic in 2002 it
immediately entered the New York Times bestseller list and proceeded to climb to the number two
position. The Thief Lord has won the Swiss Youth Literature Award, the Zurich Children's Book Award,
the Book Award from the Venice House of Literature, and the Torchlight Children's Book Award in
England. In America it won the 2002 Book Sense Book of the Year Award and the Mildred L. Batchelder
Award for the best translated children's book.
Cornelia's other novels include the highly acclaimed Inkheart, its soon-to-be-published sequel Inkspell,
and Dragon Rider, the number one New York Times bestseller.

-Genre and Settings-

The worlds and themes of Cornelia Funke's novels are diverse. The genre can be described as "magical
realism" - fantasy that's firmly rooted in a real world, with believable characters both human and
imaginary. The settings are often real places: Venice in The Thief Lord; Italy in Inkheart; and, in Dragon
Rider, such far-flung climes as Scotland, the Himalayas, Arabia, and India. Cornelia is currently working on
a book set within the cloisters of Salisbury Cathedral in England.

-Research and Writing-

Cornelia Funke researches each novel meticulously. Before writing Inkheart, for example, she delved into
the world of booksellers, book collectors, book thieves, and even book murderers, as well as reading about
martens and fire-eaters. She then imagines the characters and the places they might go, writing down plot
lines for the first 20 chapters. Then, and only then - after about six months - does she write the first
sentence. A major novel will take her about a year to write. She usually does three or four drafts before
giving the manuscript to her publisher. With each draft, she reads the whole text aloud to herself as she
works her way through it. She says, "Revision makes writing sparkle, makes it dense and beautiful."
Cornelia used to set herself specific writing times during the day, but as the popularity of her books, and
her own fame, have increased - with book tours, radio and television interviews, and filming now part of
her schedule - these days she quite often finds herself "scribbling in the middle of the night" to meet a
deadline. She always does her own sketches in pen and ink (her grandfather was a famous etcher), creating
pictures of her own characters to help her write about them.

-The Books as Films-

There has been enormous interest in Cornelia's novels, with fierce bidding by film company executives for
the rights. The Thief Lord and Inkheart are already in production, and Cornelia is closely involved with all
stages of each film's development - talking to the producers, reading the scripts, assisting with casting, and
visiting the sets. Filming has recently finished on TheThief Lord, with Cornelia and her family travelling to
Venice to watch some of the movie being made. Inkheart is being made into a film by New Line Cinema,
the company behind The Lord of the Rings. When she wrote Inkheart, Cornelia saw the character of Mo,
Meggie's father, as Brendan Fraser, the Hollywood actor. They have since become friends and it is his voice
reading Dragon Rider on the audio version. Dragon Rider has also been optioned as a film, and news about
its casting is eagerly anticipated.

-Family Life-

Cornelia Funke now lives in Los Angeles, California, with Rolf, her husband of 25 years, their teenage
daughter, Anna, and their young son, Ben. They have a crazy dog, Luna, nicknamed Loonie, and their house
is crammed with books and DVDs. Due to Cornelia's growing success, Rolf gave up his job as a printer to
become her "domestic support executive"! Other family members help out, too- her brother is her lawyer,
her sister deals with fan mail, and a cousin is her manager.

-Moving to America-

The family moved from Hamburg, Germany, to Los Angeles, California, in the spring of 2005. Cornelia
loves the reception her books have received in the United States and observes that "nowhere else have I
met so much book passion as in America."
The move has enabled Cornelia to have greater involvement in the making of the Inkheart movie and to
spend time with her American friends, including Brendan Fraser and the author Clive Barker. Cornelia
also loves visiting Great Britain and hopes to travel to Australia in 2006. She speaks English fluently.

-Politics-

Cornelia Funke is concerned about equality and fairness for everyone. She deplores cruelty to humans and
has been a member of Amnesty International for many years. She is also a member of the Green Party in
Germany. She has close links with two charities: Exilio, a Bavarian charity that helps refugees and victims
of torture, and Häusliche Kinderkrankenpflege, a charity in Hamburg whose primary aim is to take care of
sick children. Her books demonstrate her passion for fairness. The Thief Lord, in particular, expresses her
love and deep respect for children.


This is from www.corneliafunkefans.com.