Middle School
Worksheets
Markus Zusak
Australian author Markus Zusak began his writing career at an early age, but his first book was not published until many years later. He first achieved success as a writer in Australia, but as his books began publishing in the United States and then later in Europe, his career blossomed. Zusak has been called a "literary phenomenon."
Born in 1975 in Australia, Zusak is the youngest of four children born to German and Austrian parents who were immigrants to Australia. His parents experienced hardships and struggled to live decent lives. Zusak grew up wanting to be a house painter just like his father. Unfortunately, when he went to work with his father, he often messed up and had a gift for knocking over paint and painting himself into corners.
Zusak realized what he wanted to do with his life during his teen years. As a teenager, he read two books that greatly inspired him, The Old Man and the Sea and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. These books helped Zusak realize that he wanted to become a writer but publishing his first book would be a challenge.
