- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWalter Milton Myers
- Walter Dean Myers is a writer of children's books best known for young 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..
Myers was the third U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving in 2012 and 2013. He sat on the Board of Advisors of the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bazza the Beast
- SpousesJoyce Myers(1960 - 1970) (divorced, 2 children)Constance(? - July 1, 2014) (his death, 1 child)
- Father of author, Christopher Myers.
- He was a successful and prolific author of books for children and teenagers. He wrote than 100 books, selling 15 million copies. He was a three-time finalist for the National Book Award (in the Young People's Literature category). He won the Coretta Scott King Award six times, and was a Newbery Honor recipient twice.
- He read voraciously but dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Army at age 17. After his discharge three years later, he worked as a messenger, laborer, and factory worker.
- A high school teacher told him that he could write. He worked his way up to being an editor in a publishing house while writing on the side. When he was laid off as an editor in 1977, he stayed home and wrote full time.
- Jersey City, New Jersey
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