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Cornelia Funke returns to the world of Inkheart with Chicken House
Chicken House has snapped up Cornelia Funke’s The Colour of Revenge, a return to the fantasy world of the author’s Inkheart trilogy, translated by Funke’s daughter Anna Schmitt Funke.
Publisher Barry Cunningham acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Jenny Savill at Andrew Nurnberg Associates. The novel will be published in hardback as a lead title for Chicken House on 10th October 2024 with Scholastic publishing simultaneously in the US. Publication will be supported in the UK with a “major” PR and marketing campaign including a keynote appearance at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival.
The Colour of Revenge has already been published in Germany with Dressler and became a number one bestseller on both the children’s and adult lists in Spiegel magazine. The novel is a standalone for readers aged 10 years and older and will feature “striking” illustrations from the author herself.
The synopsis reads: “After five happy years, Meggie, Mo and the other heroes of Inkheart learn that their nemesis Orpheus is back. With a master stroke of evil, he has discovered bewitched paint– commissioning portraits of his enemies that will destroy them for ever. Only Dustfinger, the hero of the previous Inkheart novels, can save them, together with his brave stepson, Jehan, and his enigmatic friend, Lilia.”
The Inkheart trilogy – Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath – have sold more than six million copies worldwide according to the publisher, with the first in the series adapted for film in 2008 starring Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren.
Funke said: “It was such a thrill for me to return to Inkworld. I hope my English language readers will feel the same reading The Colour of Revenge. And of course, this journey must continue with Chicken House!”
Cunningham added: “I feel like a fan with the best gift from an author ever! If the return to Inkheart wasn’t enough, it has changed and intensified with new characters and threats, all told in the fresh language of a brilliant young translator – Cornelia’s own daughter!”
