David M. Cornish (born 1972) is an illustrator and fantasy writer from

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

Biography

Cornish studied illustration at the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

, where in 1993 he began to compile a series of notebooks: over the next ten years he filled 23 journals with his pictures, definitions, ideas and histories of his world, the "Half-Continent". It was not until 2003 that a chance encounter with a children's publisher gave him an opportunity to develop these ideas further. Learning of his journals, she urged him to write a story from his world. Cornish was sent away with the task of delivering 1,000 words the following week and each week thereafter. Abandoning all other paid work, he spent the next two years propped up with one small advance after another.

Awards and honours

Publications

As writer

''Monster Blood Tattoo'' series

* ''

Foundling Foundling or The Foundling may refer to: Places * Foundling hospital, an institution where abandoned children were cared for ** Foundling Hospital, Dublin, founded 1704 ** Foundling Hospital, Cork, founded 1737 ** Foundling Hospital, founded 17 ...

'' (2006, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers) * ''

Lamplighter A lamplighter or gaslighter is a person employed to light and maintain street lights. These included candles, oil lamps, and gas lighting. Public street lighting was developed in the 16th century. During this time, lamplighters toured public s ...

'' (2008) * ''Factotum'' (2010) * ''Tales from the Half-Continent'' (2014)

As illustrator

Standalone books

* ''Emily and the Dragon'', written by Lyn Lee (2005,

Scholastic Press Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

)

''The Sunken Kingdom'' series

Cornish illustrated ''The Sunken Kingdom'' series, which was written by

Kim Wilkins Kim Wilkins (born 22 December 1966) is an Australian writer of popular fiction based in Brisbane, Queensland. She is the author of more than twenty-five mass-market novels, including her debut horror novel, ''The Infernal'' (1997), which won Au ...

. # ''Ghost Ship'' (2006,

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

) # ''Tide Stealers'' (2006,

) # ''Sorcerer of the Waves'' (2008,

) # ''The Star Queen'' (2008,

)

References

External links

Official blog

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, D. M. 1972 births Australian fantasy writers Living people Writers from Adelaide University of South Australia alumni Australian male novelists