Inkspell series in order

German author of children's fiction (born )

Cornelia Maria Funke^[1] (German:[kɔʁˈneːli̯aˈfʊŋkə]^ⓘ; born 10 December ) is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator.

She began writing novels in the late s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's "bestselling author for children".^[2] Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of , Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide.^[3]

Funke achieved acclaim as the author of the children's novels The Thief Lord () and Dragon Rider (), which were translated and released in English after originally being published in Germany.

She subsequently achieved wider recognition with the Inkheart series of novels, which include Inkheart (), Inkspell (), and Inkdeath (). The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, and Inkheart have all been adapted into feature films and spent numerous weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[4][5]

Often referred to as the "German J.

K. Rowling", Funke was chosen by Time as one of the most influential people in the world in their list.^[6]

Early life

Cornelia Funke was born in in the town of Dorsten in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to Karl-Heinz and Helmi Funke. As a child, she wanted to become an astronaut or a pilot, but ultimately decided to study pedagogy at the University of Hamburg.^[7] After finishing her studies, Funke worked for three years as a social worker.

Inkheart author

Inkheart book cover

Doria inkheart

Inkheart book 1

During her social work she focused on working with children who came from deprived backgrounds.^[8] She had a stint illustrating books, but soon began writing her own stories, inspired by the sorts of stories that had appealed to the deprived children she had worked with.^[7] She wrote her first story at the age of ^[9]

Career

During the late s and the s, Funke established herself as a writer of children's fiction in Germany.

Her early work includes two children's series—the fantasy-oriented Gespensterjäger (Ghosthunters) and the Wilde Hühner (C.H.I.X.) line of books.^[9] Only in did her novels begin being translated into English.^[9]Barry Cunningham, a publisher who was well known for signing J. K.

Rowling and publishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in ,^[10] received a letter from a young bilingual girl who asked why Funke's novel hadn't been translated into English yet.^[11] Cunningham sought out Funke and decided to release her novels in English through his newly-formed publishing house, The Chicken House.^[11]

Funke's first book to be translated into English was The Thief Lord, originally published in as Herr der Diebe.

The translation, released by The Chicken House in , won widespread acclaim and reached several bestseller lists.^[12] It was later adapted into a feature film of the same name in ^[13]

Another early English translation was Dragon Rider, originally published in Germany in as Drachenreiter.

Released in the United States in , it became a massive success,^[14] and remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 78 weeks,^[15] reaching number one on the Children's Best Seller list.^[5] A sequel, Dragon Rider: The Griffin's Feather, was published over a decade later, in ,^[16] and a feature film adaptation of the same name was released in ^[17]

Funke found further acclaim Inkheart (), which won the BookSense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature.^[18]Inkheart was the first part of a trilogy and was continued with Inkspell (), which won Funke her second BookSense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature in The trilogy was initially concluded in Inkdeath, but was revived in when Funke announced that a sequel called Die Farbe der Rache (The Color of Revenge) will be published by October in Germany.^[19]

Following the release of the first Inkheart novel, New Line Cinema bought the film rights to all three books for a cinema adaptation.

Funke moved to Los Angeles in after she had accepted the offer to participate as the film's producer alongside Barry Mendel.^[20] Principal photography on the Inkheart film began in ^[21] Directed by Iain Softley, the film is based on a screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire and features an ensemble cast that includes Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Rafi Gavron, Andy Serkis, and newcomer Eliza Bennett, among others.^[21] Upon release, the film received mixed reviews.^[22] In , a video game based on the film was released for the Nintendo DS.^[23]

In , Cornelia returned with her first book since Inkdeath in , Reckless.

The combined printing run for the first hardcover edition was 1,, copies.^[24] Two sequels, Fearless and The Golden Yarn, were released in and ^{[citation needed]}

In , the film Ghosthunters on Icy Trails (German original title: Gespensterjäger), based on her novel Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost!,^[25] was released in Germany on 2 April ^[26]

In , Funke published The Book No One Ever Read, the first work written by the author in English, as opposed to being written in German first.^[27] Funke calls the picture book her "Inkheart for kindergartners" and also illustrated the book herself.^[28]

On writing

On her personal website, Funke states that the vital starting point for a good book is an "idea".^[29] She said of ideas that "they come from everywhere and nowhere, from outside and inside.

I have so many, I won't be able to write them down in one lifetime."^[30] The characters, Funke elaborates, "Mostly they step into my writing room and are so much alive, that I ask myself, where did they come from. Of course, some of them are the result of hard thinking, adding characteristics, manners, etc., but others are alive from the first moment they appear", and pointed out that Dustfinger from Inkheart was one of the most vivid characters who ever popped into her mind.^[31] For aspiring authors, Funke says: "Read&#;– and be curious.

And if somebody says to you: 'Things are this way. You can't change it' – don't believe a word."^[32]

Her early time as a social worker has inspired the way in which she deals with the themes in her literature. In The Thief Lord, she shows children being in a difficult situation, but also still being children. Scipio says once that he is a good thief because he is small.

She is willing to celebrate children for their own strengths, not just their ability to act like adults. In her picture book, The Book No One Ever Read, Funke starts: "Every book longs to tell its story."^[27]

Personal life

Funke married printer Rolf Frahm in Their daughter, Anna, was born in and soon after their son, Ben, was born in ^[7] The family lived in Hamburg for 24 years,^[7] until they moved to Los Angeles in May ^[33][34] In March , her husband died of cancer.^[35] In , Funke then left the United States and moved to Tuscany, Italy.^[36]

Funke has been the official patron of the children's hospice Bethel for dying children since February ^[37] Since , she has been one of the German ambassadors of the UN Decade on Biodiversity.^[38] Since , she has also been the Official Patron of the charity Ecologia Youth Trust, which helps marginalised children and young people around the world.^[39]

Awards

Novels

• Funke, Cornelia; Latsch, Oliver ().

  The Thief Lord. New York: Perfection Learning Corporation. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;

• &#;&#;; Latsch, Oliver; Howard, Paul ().
  Cornelia funke books Tintenwelt Series 4 primary works • 7 total works Also known as: Inkworld (English) - Svet iz črnila (Slovenian) - Mundo de tinta (Spanish) - Mondo d'inchiostro (Italian) More.

  When Santa Fell to Earth. New York: Scholastic. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;

• &#;&#;; Bell, Anthea (). Igraine the Brave. New York: Chicken House/Scholastic. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
• &#;&#; (). Saving Mississippi. Frome: Chicken House. ISBN&#;.

  Tintenwelt trilogie cornelia funke biography images

  Die Tintenwelt-Tetralogie ist eine Jugendromanreihe der deutschen Autorin Cornelia Funke aus dem Bereich der Fantasy. Sie handelt von Büchern, den darin lebenden Figuren sowie vom Lesen und Vorlesen. Im deutschen Sprachraum wurden bis heute über 4 Millionen Bücher der Reihe verkauft.

  OCLC&#;

• &#;&#;; Latsch, Oliver; Offermann, Andrea (). Ghost knight. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
• &#;&#;; Funke, Cornelia; Williams, Allen (). Pan's labyrinth&#;: the labyrinth of the faun. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
  Tintenwelt trilogie cornelia funke biography Cornelia Maria Funke[1] is a German author of children's fiction. She was born on 10 December in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia. Funke is best known for her Inkheart trilogy (originally in German: Tintenwelt-Trilogie), published in the United Kingdom between –

  ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;, Young adult novelization of: Toro del Guillermo: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

Dragon Rider series

• Dragon Rider (, English release)
• Dragon Rider: The Griffin's Feather ()
• Dragon Rider: The Aurelia Curse ()

MirrorWorld series

Inkheart series

• Inkheart (, English release)
• Inkspell (, English release)
• Inkdeath (, English release)
• The Colour of Revenge ()

Ghosthunters

• Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (First Edition , English version )
• Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost (First Edition , English version )
• Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness! (First Edition , English version )
• Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom! (First Edition , English version )

C.H.I.X.

• Die Wilden Hühner () – The Summer Gang (C.H.I.X.

  – Book 1)

• Die Wilden Hühner auf Klassenfahrt () – The New Girl (C.H.I.X. – Book 2)
• Die Wilden Hühner – Fuchsalarm ()
• Die Wilden Hühner und das Glück der Erde ()
• Die Wilden Hühner und die Liebe ()
• Die Wilden Hühner – gestohlene Geheimnisse CD-ROM ()
• Die Wilden Hühner und das Leben (, written by Thomas Schmidt but including the characters from former Die Wilden Hühner books)

Picture books

• The Princess Knight ()
• Pirate Girl ()
• The Wildest Brother ()
• Princess Pigsty ()
• The Pirate Pig ()
• Emma and the Blue Genie ()
• The Book No One Ever Read ()

References

External links