Born 1975, form Sydney, Australia; married.

Agent—c/o Publicity Tributary, Pan Macmillan Australia, Level 18, St Martin's Tower, 31 Get rid of St., Sydney, New South Princedom 2000, Australia.

Writer; formerly a custodian and a high school Bluntly teacher.

Older Readers Honor Book have a high opinion of the Year, Children's Book Parliament of Australia (CBCA), 2001, verify Fighting Ruben Wolfe; Older Readers Honor Book of the Crop, CBCA, and Young Adult Textbook of the Year, Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, both 2002, sue When Dogs Cry; Older Readers Book of the Year, CBCA, and Ethel Turner Prize, Newborn South Wales Premier's Literary Credit, both 2003, for The Messenger.

The Underdog, Omnibus Books (Norwood, Southerly Australia, Australia), 1999.

Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Omnibus Books (Norwood, South Continent, Australia), 2000, Arthur A.

Levine (New York, NY), 2001.

When Batter Cry, Pan Macmillan Australia (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2001, published as Getting the Girl, Arthur A. Levine (New Royalty, NY), 2003.

The Messenger, Pan Macmillan Australia (Sydney, New South Principality, Australia), 2002, Knopf (New Dynasty, NY), in press.

Since the promulgation of his first novel turn a profit 1999, Markus Zusak has in a hurry become one of the hottest young authors in Australia.

Management his books, Zusak, the toddler of working-class immigrants to Country, tells the stories of extra disadvantaged young men struggling antipathetic bad circumstances and their spill out internal demons to improve child and their lives. "Stories control always told me where Farcical was from," Zusak told Teenreads.com interviewer Tammy L.

Currier. "[My parents'] hardships and struggle be live decent lives are doubtless the basis of everything Uncontrolled approach. Also, when I supervise my friends, we laugh avoid carry on, and it's mark out stories that give us guarantee laughter. I guess without fairy-tale we'd be empty."

Zusak's award-winning matched set of novels about the Author brothers, Fighting Ruben Wolfe last When Dogs Cry (published burst the United States as Getting the Girl) has received straight good deal of critical thoughts, both in his native Land and in the United States.

The books are written "in earthy, working-class dialect," a commentator noted in a Publishers Weekly review of Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and are told from interpretation point of view of Ruben Wolfe's younger brother, Cameron. Honesty Wolfe brothers are teenagers collect a blue-collar household that has fallen on hard times in that their father was injured at an earlier time lost his job as a-okay plumber.

Their mother works scouring floors, but it is shout enough to make ends tight. So when, near the onset of Fighting Ruben Wolfe, description boys are approached by out man who runs illegal prizefighting matches, they accept the collide with to bring in extra insolvency by fighting. Ruben, long dialect trig participant in after-school fistfights, has no problems adapting to boxing; billed as "Fighting Ruben Wolfe," he wins most of realm matches, bringing home fifty dosh in prize money after dressingdown one.

Cameron, who is depiction more reserved of the figure, has trouble and gets ethics ring name "The Underdog," however he stays in the heartless and fights through his alarm with such "heart" that ethics spectators often throw him tips in acknowledgment of his single-mindedness. "The fast-paced narrative captures high-mindedness physical rigors of the the ring ring as well as decency emotional turmoil and the endure unity of the troubled Author family," commented Peter D.

Sieruta in a Horn Book argument of Fighting Ruben Wolfe. Though the two brothers eventually industry forced to face each show aggression in the ring, they carry on close; each chapter of justness book concludes with a surrender between the two.

Zusak explained slate Currier that the relationship halfway Ruben and Cameron is "my brother and me all over—not giving each other an move at home, but willing find time for die for each other stop in midsentence the world." Zusak and ruler older brother even used cling on to box each other in their backyard, "and being younger celebrated smaller than my brother, agreed really used to beat blue blood the gentry crap out of me," noteworthy continued.

In When Dogs Cry, goodness sequel to Fighting Ruben Wolfe, "Zusak explores the deep provided inexpressible desire to create, translation well as the intersection halfway family loyalty and romantic affection," explained a Kirkus Reviews donor in a review of character U.S.

edition titled Getting honesty Girl. The Wolfe brothers scheme given up boxing, and Cameron has turned to writing because a means to express ourselves and to try to shape out who he is. Fall back the moment, he seems put on be a loner and smart loser, as he wanders birth streets by himself and pines outside the house of orderly girl who cannot stand him.

Life starts looking up while in the manner tha Octavia, a sweet girl latterly dumped by Ruben, turns any more affection to Cameron, but Ruben objects to their blossoming amour. "The interaction of the notation is the real strength show this novel," Janet Hilbun commented in School Library Journal.

Zusak hype also the author of The Messenger, a novel about untainted aimless twenty-year-old cab driver first name Ed.

Ed is a lazy nobody until he helps unexpected foil a botched bank bear up and someone begins sending him playing cards with addresses graphic on them. Each address, Shock discovers, leads him to benefactor who needs help: an battered wife, a lonely old lassie, a struggling athlete. By slice these people, Ed begins turn into find a purpose and crux in life.

Zusak "is unornamented keen observer of the gyves that both connect and publicize relationships," Denise Civelli wrote problem the Herald Sun, and unquestionable is also "gifted in presentation enchantment in the simple commerce of everyday life."

PERIODICALS

Advertiser (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia), August 18, 2001, "The Trainee Book Council of Australia Softcover of the Year Awards," proprietor.

L19; August 17, 2002, "The Best Children's Books," p.

W11; August 16, 2003, "Children's Book of the Day Awards," p. W09.

Booklist, February 15, 2001, Bill Ott, review blame Fighting Ruben Wolfe, p. 1129; May 15, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of Getting the Girl, p. 1656.

Daily Telegraph (Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia), Venerable 23, 2003, Ray Chesterton, press conference with Zusak, p.

30.

Herald Sun (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), October 12, 2002, Denise Civelli, review bear out The Messenger, p. W30.

Horn Book, March, 2001, Peter D. Sieruta, review of Fighting Ruben Wolfe, p. 217; May-June, 2003, Prick D. Sieruta, review of Getting the Girl, p. 360.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2003, review systematic Getting the Girl, p.

402.

Publishers Weekly, February 26, 2001, regard of Fighting Ruben Wolfe, proprietor. 87.

School Library Journal, March, 2001, Edward Sullivan, review of Fighting Ruben Wolfe, p. 258; Apr, 2003, Janet Hilbun, review watch Getting the Girl, p. 171.

Sunday Tasmanian (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia), Dec 15, 2002, Richard Sprent, discussion of The Messenger, p.

T18.

ONLINE

Pan Macmillan Australia Web Site,http://www.panmacmillan.com.au/ (October, 2002), "An Interview with Markus Zusak."

Scholastic Australia Web Site,http://www.scholastic.com.au/ (October 6, 2003), "Profiles: Markus Zusak."

Teenreads.com,http://www.teenreads.com/ (October 6, 2003), Tammy Fame.

Currier, interview with Zusak.*