Walter Dean Myers

1. Walter Dean Myers • 1937-present

2. As a child • Born in 1937 in West Virginia in the midst of the Great Depression. • His mother died when he was a toddler. He was adopted soon afterward by a family friend. • Foster father worked as a janitor and foster mother taught him to read.

3. Adolescence • Grew up in Harlem near Langston Hughes. • Suffered from a speech impediment in school. • Loved to read books. • Family was poor and couldn’t afford to send him to college. • Dropped out of school at age 17 and enlisted in the Army.

4. The writer • Put himself through college. • Started writing for magazines. • First novel was Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff. • Wrote about Harlem to give positive yet authentic images of African American community.

5. Filling a Void • Myers didn’t like how African Americans were portrayed as uneducated and “nonserious” in the media. • The characters in his books are thoughtful and real. • Settings are often urban, mixing danger with excitement. • Endings aren’t perfect or overly romanticized.

6. Notable Facts • Senior editor for the Bobbs-Merrill publishing house in the 1970s. • Young adult novels made him famous. • Makes appearances at schools and conventions to encourage writers and talk about his work. • He has had numerous works published, including novels, short stories, essays, poems, nonfiction titles and even plays.

7. Scorpions (1988) • Realistic fiction story about a 12-year-old boy who takes over a Harlem gang called the Scorpions. He gains possession of a gun, which brings consequences to the life of his best friend. • Won numerous awards, including Newberry Honor Book Award and Best Book for Young Adults.

8. Harlem, A Poem • Worked on this poem with his son Christopher who illustrated it. • Mixes imagery and history from Harlem. • Coretta Scottt King Award • Caldecott Medal Honor Book.

9. Monster (1999) • Realistic fiction about a 16-year-old on trial for murder. • Coretta Scott King Honor Book. • Michael L. Printz Award. • YALSA Best Book for Young Adults (2000).

10. 145th Street: Short Stories (2000) • A series of short stories written for young adults about life in Harlem. • Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor Book. • YALSA Best Book for Young Adults.

11. Novels • Fast Sam, Cool Clyde and Stuff (1975) • Hoops (1981) • Motown and Didi: A Love Story (1984) • The Outside Shot (1984) • Fallen Angels (1988) • Somewhere in the Darkness (1992) • The Glory Field (1994) • Slam (1996) • Autobiography of My Dead Brother, illus. by Christopher Myers (2005)

12. Nonfiction • Now Is Your Time! The African American Struggle for Freedom (1991) • Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary (1993) • Harlem, illus. by Christopher Myers (1997) • Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom (1998) • At Her Majesty’s Request: An African Princess in Victorian England (1999) • The Greatest: Muhammad Ali (2001) • Bad Boy: A Memoir (2001)

13. Poetry • Brown Angels: An Album of Pictures and Verse (1993) • Glorious Angels: A Celebration of Children (1995) • Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam, illus. by Ann Grifalconi (2002) • Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices (2004) • Jazz, illus. by Christopher Myers (2006) • Street Love (2006)

14. Plays • Cages, in Center Stage: One-Act Plays for Teenage Readers and Actors, edited by Donald R. Gallo, 1990 • Frederick Douglass: When the Lion Wrote History, ROJA Productions, 1994

15. References • Johnson, Anne Janette. “Walter Dean Myers.” Answers Corporation. 2011. March 7, 2011. <http://www.answers.com/topic/walter-dean-myers> • McElmeel, Sharron. “A Profile: Walter Dean Myers.” Sharron L. McElmeel. 2005. March 7, 2011. <http://www.mcelmeel.com/writing/myers.html> First appeared in Book Report, 07314388, Sep./Oct. 2001, Vol. 20, Issue 2. • “Myers, Walter Dean.” Advameg, Incorporated. 2011. February 9, 2011. <http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Myers-Walter-Dean.html> • “Walter Dean Myers.” ABC-Clio. 2003-2009. March 7, 2011 <http://www.authors4teens.com/wmyers>