Geraldine Brooks
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
As many children do, Geraldine Brooks grew up devouring tales from faraway lands, replete with landscapes.
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Full Bio
As many children do, Geraldine Brooks grew up devouring tales from faraway lands, replete with landscapes and monuments foreign to her own suburban Sydney home. Her books’ settings were hardly fictional however: The Wind in the Willows and The Secret Garden take place in a very real but distant world—England. “They were good books, but they came between me and my country,” Brooks says. “Australia had been an independent nation since 1901, but in the 1960s, my imagination was still a British colony.”
Though she originally planned on composing a great Australian novel, instead she has produced a large body of international bestsellers whose characters and themes transcend geographic boundaries. Her first novel, the international bestseller Year of Wonders, follows a young woman’s battle to save her family and her soul from the plague in a small Derbyshire village in 1666. People of the Book is an intricate, ambitious novel that traces the journey of a rare illuminated Hebrew manuscript from Convivencia Spain to the ruins of Sarajevo, from the Silver Age of Venice to the sunburned rock faces of northern Australia. The Pulitzer Prize-winning and internationally best-selling novel March retells Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic Little Women from the point of view of “Mr. March,” the absent father who goes off to war. Her most recent bestseller, Caleb’s Crossing, takes place in 1665 Martha’s Vineyard and centers on a forbidden friendship.
In her keynotes, Geraldine Brooks shares her insights into “The Writing Life”—the title of a Washington Post article of hers on her desire to write about her native Australia—with audiences throughout the world. She explains that in order to write about—or simply understand—one’s native country or culture, one must approach it like a foreigner in order to reap all of its richness.
Brooks grew up in Australia. She attended Sydney University and worked as a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. As the Greg Shackleton Memorial Scholar, she completed a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University in New York City. Subsequently, Brooks worked for The Wall Street Journal, where she covered crises in the Middle East, Africa, and the Balkans. In 1990, Brooks (with Tony Horwitz) received the Overseas Press Club’s Hal Boyle Award for Best Newspaper or Wire Service Reporting from Abroad for coverage of the Persian Gulf.
Brooks is also the author of Foreign Correspondence, a travel and adventure memoir which chronicles a childhood enriched by pen pals from around the world and her adult quest to find them. Foreign Correspondence won the Nita B. Kibble Award for women’s writing. Her first book of nonfiction, Nine Parts of Desire, was based on her experiences among the Muslim women of the Middle East and is an international bestseller that has been translated into 17 languages.
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Ernie was perfect for our Elders Conference at Little River Casino Resort in Manistee, Michigan. We will definitely be using PDA again!
LITTLE RIVER BAND OF OTTAWA INDIANS
Our speaker was great and the crowd enjoyed her! She was very engaging. Thank you again PDA for the great list of suggestions!
MEDTRONIC
Everything went great! and our speaker was wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help PDA! Looking forward to the next one.
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – KANSAS CITY
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BAYLOR UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Dear PDA Group, Thank you so much for your hard work in scheduling our speaker! From the moment we reached out to you the first time, you worked with us on all details and logistics and kept us up-to-date on the progress. Thank you for all your hard work on making our event such a success! We couldn't have done it without you and your team!
SAP COMPANY
Thank you again, Dr. Kimbrough, for a great presentation, our attendees are still talking about it!
CAMPUS LABS
Dr. Henry Lee's presentation was entertaining, insightful and wise. I, and everyone at Pfizer, especially appreciate the remarks you directed about following your passion and preparing yourself to excel. Thank you, everyone, at PDA for helping to make this happen!
PFIZER
The event was successful! I received many messages expressing how awesome, outstanding and inspiring Ms. Webb-Christburg's speech was."
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. MEMORIAL BREAKFAST, BOSTON, MLK SPEAKER
Everything went well. Atsuko was very easy to work with and the students enjoyed her performance! Thank you again for your recommendation and I hope to work with you again in the future!
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Dr. Novello left this morning after a very successful event on our campus! Thank you PDA Group for your help from the first phone to the last you were with us every step of the way.
GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY
Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!
WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can't wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.
FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
Thank you, Peter, for all your help, you'll be happy to know that the event went incredibly well! Aneesa Ferreira was by far one of the best speakers we've ever had!
FURMAN UNIVERSITY
Topics
The Writing Life
Videos
Author Geraldine Brooks delves into an untold story of a racehorse and his caretaker
Pulitzer-prize winning author Geraldine Brooks on her new book, “Horse”
Books
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