Do we like Markus Zusak?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A clean search on harm and conduct, and a firm anti-censorship stance, but not much on the record about what he's done for others.
On the scandal front, there's honestly nothing. Searches for lawsuits, court cases, allegations and backlash against him came back empty, and no tabloid noise turned up either. That's a rare thing to say about anyone famous.
On the harm check, his recent public comments point the right way. In a May 2026 Book Riot interview he said “campaigning against censorship is so important”, and he told the Lagos Review that controlling stories erodes empathy. We found nothing from him on trans rights, climate or migrants either way, so that's a gap rather than a tick.
On the good stuff, fans clearly adore him. He says readers telling him it's their favourite book is something he “could never get tired of hearing”. The Book Thief is also headed to the London stage in 2027 at the Lyric Hammersmith, which says plenty about how the story has lasted.
So: would we support him? Yes. He passes both tests on what we could find, with a modest asterisk that the record is short on public stands for LGBTQ+ people or the planet. A quiet bloke who writes about empathy and speaks up against book banning is an easy one.