Gerry Burke was born in Healesville, Victoria, home to one of Australia’s quirkiest animals, the platypus. He was educated at Xavier College, before taking-on an accountancy course while employed by an international mining company. This was a commitment that lasted for twelve years, partly spent in New Guinea. Dramatically, the author then switched careers and joined an advertising agency in Melbourne, as a copywriter.
Gerry’s advertising career took him to Britain, America, Hong Kong, Singapore and a number of Australian cities. He was employed by some of the world’s largest ad agencies, before branching out and starting his own company on his own terms. GerryCo provided advertising, marketing, film and video production to local and overseas clients.
In parallel with these activities, Gerry maintained an ongoing interest in the thoroughbred horse racing industry, as an owner and breeder, having raced more than twenty thoroughbreds.
The author’s humorous stories and commentary were first made available for general consumption in 2009, with the release of his first book, From Beer to Paternity. A number of short story collections followed, in which the ubiquitous discount detective Paddy Pest was introduced to the unsuspecting public. To date, fourteen of his books have received seventeen international awards in the categories of General Fiction, Humour and Science Fiction
Gerry is single and lives in Melbourne, Australia.
