Elaine Cunningham grew up in New York state and New England. She earned a degree in music, taught Music and History for several years, and then went back to grad school.

Cunningham started writing when her oldest son was a baby. She has written a number of fiction novels set in the Forgotten Realms. Her first book was titled Elfshadow: "Even though its my first book and admittedly has some rough spots, I think that Elfshadow [1991] remains my favorite." Cunningham grew fond of the book's stars, Arilyn Moonblade, a half-elf with blood ties to the royal family, and a bard name Danilo Thann. "I’ve written two sequels (Elfsong [1994] and Silver Shadows [1996]) and several short stories... I really enjoy time spent with them." Her 1998 book Evermeet: Island of Elves chronicles the whole history of Evermeet, and featured the return of Arilyn and Danilo: "Evermeet still terrifies me, but I think it turned out to be a good story. It adds a bit more color and dimension to Toril's elves, and perhaps suggests a few new ways to think about them."

Amongst Elaine's most popular characters are the half-elf Arilyn Moonblade, the bard Danilo Thann, the quirky drow wizard Liriel Baenre, her companion the Rashemi berserker Fyodor, and Elaith "The Serpent" Craulnober (created by Ed Greenwood).

Elaine is also the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Journey, from the Star Wars New Jedi Order saga.

Elaine lives in New England with her husband, their two sons, and two eccentric Siamese cats.

• Songs & Swords (featuring Arilyn, Danilo and Elaith)
• I. Elfshadow (1991/2000 reprint)
• II. Elfsong (1994/2000 reprint)
• III. Silver Shadows (1996/2001 reprint)
• IV. Thornhold (1998/2001 reprint)
• V. The Dream Spheres (1999)

• Starlight and Shadows (featuring Liriel, Fyodor, Gorlist and Zz'Pzora)
• I. Daughter of the Drow (1995)
• II. Tangled Webs (1996)
• III. Windwalker (2003)

• Island of Elves (1998)

• Counselors & Kings (featuring Matteo and Tzigone)
• I. The Magehound (2000)
• II. The Floodgate (2001)
• III. The Wizardwar (2002)

• A Novel of Waterdeep (With Ed Greenwood; 2005)

• Forgotten Realms anthology novellas
• "The Bargain"—Realms of Valor (1993)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "The More Things Change"—Realms of Infamy (1994)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "The Direct Approach"—Realms of Magic (1995)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Rite of Blood"—Realms of the Underdark (1996)/The Best of the Realms, Book 1 (2003)
• "Secrets of Blood, Spirits of the Sea"—Realms of the Arcane (1997)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "The Great Hunt"—Dragon magazine #246 (1998)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Speaking with the Dead"—Realms of Mystery (1998)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Stolen Dreams"—Dragon magazine #259 (1999)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Fire is Fire"—Realms of the Deep (2000)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Possessions"—Dragon magazine #282 (2002)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "A Little Knowledge"—Realms of Shadow (2002)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Gorlist's Dragon"—Realms of Dragons (2004)
• "Games of Chance"—Dragon magazine #335 (2005)/The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "The Knights of Samular"—The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Tribute"—The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)
• "Answered Prayers"—The Stories of Elaine Cunningham (2007)

• Del Rey's Star Wars books
• Dark Journey, Book 12 (featuring Jaina Solo)

• The Changeling Detective Agency series
• I. Shadows in the Darkness (2004)
• II. Shadows in the Starlight (2006)

• Fantasist Enterprises anthology novellas
• "Juniper"—Dark Tales of Elves (2005)
• "Raven"—Tales of Fantasy and Horror (2005)
• "Dead Men Tell No Tales"—Sails & Sorcery (2007)

• Star Wars Gamer Magazine short stories
• Red Sky, Blue Flame
• The Apprentice

• (From Candlekeep web forums): Ravens and crows will also interact with humans. Occasionally they'll imitate human behavior (such as helping gardeners pull weeds.) Sometimes they're willing to cut a deal. I've got one going with the local "raven mafia." They always gather on trash pickup day, but in exchange for some "protection bread," they'll leave my trash alone and even chase other birds away from it.

• (From Elaine Cunningham's website, on the subject of author photos): I find this sort of thing unnecessary and irrelevant. It's like that scene from "Wizard of Oz," when the wizard admonishes Dorothy and company, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" It's the illusion...in this case, the story...that matters. What difference does it make if an author is male or female, young or old, or for that matter, a Caucasian human or a sentient dolphin?