Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers, the recipient of the first annual Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, has been a versatile and prolific writer for more than 30 years. Raised in Harlem, the setting for many of his books, he earned a B.A. degree from Empire State College, despite having dropped out of high school.  He has received the Newbery Honor Award for "Somewhere in the Darkness" and "Scorpions" and the Coretta Scott King Award for "Now Is Your Time," "Scorpions," "Motown and Didi: A Love Story" and "The Young Landlords."  Other honors include the "Boston Globe-Horn Book" Award, American Library Association Margaret A. Edwards Award, New York Council on Interracial Books for Children Award and numerous notable and best book citations from the American Library Association. Most recently, "Harlem," a book of his poetry illustrated by his son, Christopher, was a Caldecott Honor Book.  He has said of his work, "Ultimately, what I want to do with my writing is to make connections_to touch the lives of my characters and, through them, those of my readers." Walter Dean Myers lives with his wife, Constance, in Jersey City, New Jersey.