Cornelia Funke Moves to Little, Brown

By John A. Sellers -- Publishers Weekly, 11/12/2008 7:51:00 AM

Cornelia Funke.
Photo: Rolf Frahm.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has inked a multi-book deal with bestselling author Cornelia Funke, whose previous titles have been published in the U.S. by Scholastic’s Chicken House imprint. “Cornelia Funke is that rare breed of writer in the tradition of the master storytellers from the Brothers Grimm and Charles Dickens to Roald Dahl and Philip Pullman,” said Megan Tingley, senior v-p and publisher at Little, Brown BFYR, in a statement. “We are honored to be the new U.S. publishing home of this magnificent talent.”

Tingley and editorial director Jennifer Hunt, who will edit Funke, have acquired North American rights for a publishing program that will include middle-grade and young adult novels, as well as a picture book. Funke’s first title with Little, Brown will be the novel Reckless, about two modern brothers in a magical 19th century world reminiscent of Grimm’s fairy tales. Reckless is tentatively scheduled for 2010 publication and will be followed by the middle-grade novel The Knight and the Boy.

Funke’s bestselling Inkheart trilogy wrapped up earlier this fall with the publication of Inkdeath (Scholastic/Chicken House, Oct.). A movie adaptation of Inkheart, the first book in that series, heads to theaters January 23; the New Line film stars Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany. The trilogy has sold more than 2.5 million copies in the U.S. and more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.

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