Cornelia Funke was born in Dorsten in the region of Westphalia, Germany, in 1958. After completing secondary school she studied pedagogy in Hamburg and took a part-time degree in book illustration. She worked as an illustrator before starting to write her own stories for children and teens. In 1988 she published her first book, "Die große Drachensuche oder Ben und Lisa fliegen aufs Dach der Welt". Since then Cornelia Funke has written more than 40 books for young readers. Her works have received many awards in Germany and abroad and have been translated into many languages.
Her breakthrough came in 1993 with the children's book "Die wilden Hühner". She gained international renown with "Herr der Diebe" (The Thief Lord) in 2000 and the Inkheart trilogy (starting in 2003). In 2008 she received the Grand Prize of the German Academy for Literature for Children and Young Adults in Volkach.
Since 2005 Cornelia Funke has lived with her family in Los Angeles.