Cosentino

The Arts

Cosentino is Australia’s premier illusionist and escapologist – a magician to his fingertips, a man who constantly challenges our notions of what is possible. The LA Times has said of him that ‘Cosentino mirrors the legendary Harry Houdini’ – and like Houdini, he is a true pioneer and trailer blazer.

Cosentino was the first Australian magician to have his own shows on prime-time television, and these TV spectaculars have now been broadcast in over forty countries. Recognised by his peers as the International Magician of the Year, he is one of Australia’s most popular performers, and stages his award-winning live shows to full houses across the globe.

But Cosentino’s greatest trick of all? Well, that’s something completely different. It was learning how to read. He was a twelve-year-old boy with learning difficulties, teased and isolated, who struggled with reading and schoolwork. But one day, in a library, he found a illustrated book about magic – and that unlocked something in him. That magic book not only inspired him to learn to read, it propelled him on an extraordinary journey – from a shy boy with low self-esteem to the international star that he is today.

Now an accomplished author with Scholastic Australia, his Children's book 'The Mysterious World of Cosentino' is a wonderful mix of magic and adventure.