New York Times bestselling author, Walter Dean Myers was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia. After the death of his mother, he was sent to Harlem where he lived with his foster parents, the Deans, from the age of three. As a child, he began writing little poems and short stories and found solace in books. At sixteen he dropped out of high school and joined the army on his seventeenth birthday.

After serving three years in the army he worked at various jobs including factory assembler, construction worker, employment interviewer, and mail handler in the Post Office.  His writing career began with the publication of some of his short stories in men’s magazines, the National Enquirer and literary quarterlies. In 1969, he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent’s Magazine Press.

Using meticulous research and his own life experience to inform his writing, Walter Dean Myers has since written more than 150 books. He has received every single major award in the field of children’s literature and is considered one of the preeminent writers for young people.

Walter Dean Myers is the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award, the 2012-2013 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. He is the author of two Newbery Honor books and five Coretta Scott King Awardees. In addition, he is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, a three-time National Book Award Finalist, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was the 2010 United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

Walter Dean Myers lives in Jersey City, NJ with his family. You can visit him online at www.walterdeanmyers.net.