D. M. Cornish

David M. Cornish (born 1972) is an illustrator and fantasy writer from Adelaide, South Australia.^[1]

D.M. Cornish
Born	1972 Adelaide, South Australia
Occupation	Illustrator, writer
Genre	Fantasy, picture books

Biography

Cornish studied illustration at the University of South Australia,^[1] 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.^[2]

Awards and honours

Awards for Cornish's writing

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2006	Foundling	Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel	Winner	[3]
2007		Children's Book Council of Australia Older Readers Book of the Year	Honour	[4]
2008	Lamplighter	Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel	Finalist	[3]
	Thorn Castle, Giant’s Lair, Black Crypt, Wizardry Crag	Aurealis Award for Best Children's Fiction	Finalist	[3]
2009	Lamplighter	Andre Norton Award	Finalist	[5]
2014	"The Fuller and the Bogle"	Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Short Story	Finalist	[3]

Publications

As writer

Monster Blood Tattoo series

Main article: Monster Blood Tattoo Series

• Foundling (2006, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers)
• Lamplighter (2008)
• Factotum (2010)
• Tales from the Half-Continent (2014)

As illustrator

Standalone books

• Emily and the Dragon, written by Lyn Lee (2005, Scholastic Press)

The Sunken Kingdom series

Cornish illustrated The Sunken Kingdom series, which was written by Kim Wilkins.

1. Ghost Ship (2006, Random House)
2. Tide Stealers (2006, Random House)
3. Sorcerer of the Waves (2008, Random House)
4. The Star Queen (2008, Random House)