Walter Dean

On July 1, 2014, Myers died at Beth Israel Medical Center in Midtown Manhattan after a brief illness. His last written work was an op-ed for The New York Times, "Where Are the People of Color in Children's Books?" in which he calls for a more complete representation of African Americans in children's literature. A We Need Diverse Books grant and award were named after him.

Myers was the third U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving in 2012 and 2013. He also sat on the Board of Advisors of the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators (SCBWI).

Myers wrote well in high school, which his teacher Bonnie Liebow recognized. She also suspected that he would drop out and advised him to keep writing no matter what happened. He did not exactly understand what that meant but years later, while working on a construction job in Chicago, he remembered her words. Myers would write at night, soon writing about his difficult teenage years. When asked what he valued most, he replied, "My books. They were my only real friends growing up." Myers attended Public School 125 on Lasalle Street and Stuyvesant High School, before dropping out to join the U.S. Army on his 17th birthday.

A prolific author, Myers wrote over a thousand books for children and young adults during his forty five year writing career. Myers writing focused on his hard experiences as a teenager and he worked to show troubled teens that reading is a necessity in life. For the years 2012 and 2013 Myers was the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by appointment of the Library of Congress, a two-year position created to raise national awareness of the importance of lifelong literacy and education. During his time as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, Myers toured the United States advocating reading and used the slogan "Reading is Not Optional" to inspire teens to read.

Myers was a finalist for the for Young People's Literature: in 1999 for Monster, in 2005 for Autobiography of My Dead Brother, and in 2010 for Lockdown. Myers is mentioned in Sharon Creech's 2001 poetic novella Love That Dog, in which a young boy admires Myers and invites him to visit his class.

Myers received the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1994 for his contribution in writing for teens. For his lifetime contribution as a children's writer he was U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010. The ALA Margaret A. Edwards Award recognizes one writer and a particular body of work for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". Myers won the annual award in 1994, citing four books published from 1983 to 1988: Hoops (1983), Motown and Didi (1985), Fallen Angels (1988), and Scorpions (1988). The young-adult librarians observed that "these books authentically portray African-American youth, but their appeal is not limited to any particular ethnic group. The writing of Walter Dean Myers illustrates the universality of the teenage experience in urban America." He was a two-time runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal, recognizing the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", in 1989 for The Scorpion and in 1993 for Somewhere in the Darkness. The ALA split the Newbery several years later, establishing the Michael L. Printz Award for young-adult literature. Myers was the inaugural winner for Monster (HarperCollins, 1999), which was thereby designated the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit".

Myers first published book was a contest winner: Where Does the Day Go?, written by Myers and illustrated by Leo Carty (Parents Magazine Press, 1969). It won a Council on Interracial Books for Children Award, 1968.

Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was a writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem, New York City. A tough childhood led him to writing and his school teachers would encourage him in this habit as a way to express himself. He wrote more than one hundred books including picture books and nonfiction. He won the Coretta Scott King Award for African-American authors five times. His 1988 novel Fallen Angels is one of the books most frequently challenged in the U.S. because of its adult language and its realistic depiction of the Vietnam War.

Walter Milton Myers was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia on August 12, 1937. When he was two years old his mother died while giving birth to his younger sister, which left his father to support a large family. At the age of three Myers was given over to Florence Dean,the first wife of his biological father George Myers, and her husband Herbert. Florence and Herbert Dean raised him in Harlem, New York City. Herbert Dean was an African-American man and his wife was a German and Native American woman who taught English at the local high school. Myers later took "Dean" as his middle name in honor of his foster parents Florence and Herbert.