Markus Zusak
1975
Markus Zusak is an award winning Australian author of German descent. During his writing career, Markus has written five novels with a sixth book in the works. Critics around the globe have named Markus a “literary phenomenon.” Markus Zusak was born on June 23, 1975 in Sydney Australia, where he currently still resides. Two of his five novels have been international bestsellers, being translated in to multiple languages and released in several countries. His mother was from Germany, and Markus was always fascinated with the history of World War II. He often read and listened to stories about the Nazis treatment of the Jews in his mother’s hometown. In an interview with a local newspaper, Markus explained that he feels there is a strong misconception about the Germans during World War II, in that not every German supported the Nazi regime. There were many who rebelled against the ideology of the Nazis. His father was a painter, and a young Markus wanted to follow in his footsteps. Markus was very clumsy, often causing more trouble for his father when he went to work with him. He finally realized that a life of painting just wasn’t for him. During his teenage years he began to pick up and read more and more books. It was during this time that he decided that he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life, and that was to write. Some of his early inspirations were What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Rumble Fish, and some of S.E. Hinton’s works. After writing his first novel, which was still unpublished, Markus spent 7 years submitting his work to publishers in hopes of getting his first break. After seven years and rejection letter after rejection letter, his first novel was finally published. Markus describes his daily routine as very planned and thought out. He knows when his day will start, and when he will be finished with his work each day. Markus says that he gets his ideas for writing from the past twenty years that he spent thinking about it.