Cornelia Funke - Harbour Front Literaturfestival

Featuring: Elias Linnekuhl (illustrator)
Reading and discussion
Presented by Thalia
Recommended for ages 7 and up

Do fairies exist? Emma would answer that question quite decisively: of course not! Because Emma is eleven years old, finds school exhausting, and is interested in things you can observe, touch, save, or explore: plants, snails, animals, the overgrown park next door. She’s not a girl who believes in fairy tales. She’s a girl who wants to go outside.

But what if the world out there is much bigger than you think? What if a strange insect lures you deep into a thicket of blackberries? And what if you suddenly find yourself in a blooming clearing—beautiful, mysterious, and not without danger? The next moment, Emma has shrunk to the size of a mouse. Creatures with wings flutter above her. Fairies, then? Indeed. Unfortunately, these fairies are anything but delighted that a human has discovered their hidden world. Some want to leave Emma to the foxes. Only the thistle fairy, the dandelion fairy, and the little bellflower fairy dare to help her.

Cornelia Funke’s new children’s book, *Emma Doesn’t Believe in Fairies*, is an adventurous journey into a world that lies very close to us yet is often overlooked: in grasses, flowers, thorns, insects, small animals, and everything that isn’t made by humans. Emma learns to talk to plants and animals. But she also learns that this world is under threat—and that wonder is never harmless when it leads to responsibility.

Cornelia Funke is coming to Hamburg for the Harbor Front Literature Festival with her illustrator, Elias Linnekuhl. Together, they’ll talk about fairies, foxes, and blackberries; about nature and imagination; and about drawing, writing, and inventing.

Elias Linnekuhl, an illustrator and animator who studied illustration in Hamburg, blends scientific and fantastical themes in his artwork; his 2D worlds invite viewers to wander and explore. He is part of Cornelia Funke’s Artist-in-Residence program and, when he has time, animates insects.

Cornelia Funke has inspired generations of children to read with books such as *The Thief Lord*, *Inkheart*, and *Dragon Rider*. Today she lives in Volterra, Italy, where she is developing a project for young artists and conservationists. In 2020, she received the German Youth Literature Prize for her entire literary body of work.

An event for children, parents, and anyone who wants Cornelia Funke to show them just how much adventure can be found in a blackberry thicket, an insect, and a close look at nature.