Markus Zusak is the author of six novels, including I AM THE MESSENGER, BRIDGE OF CLAY, and the worldwide phenomenon, THE BOOK THIEF – which is translated into more than fifty languages, and has spent more than a decade on the New York Times bestseller list. THE BOOK THIEF has received numerous international honours, ranging from literary awards to readers’ choice prizes, and has been adapted for film and theatre, and now, for the first time, a musical. The novel was written in Sydney – Zusak’s home – and was born from the stories of his parents, who immigrated to Australia from Germany and Austria. It was supposed to be a short novel, not more than a hundred pages – it turned out to be a 580-page epic, and one of the most beloved books of the twenty-first century.