About Walter Dean Myers
Walter Dean Myers was an American writer best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and raised in Harlem, New York City. A difficult childhood inspired him to write, and his teachers encouraged writing as a way to express himself. Myers 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. due to its adult language and its realistic portrayal of the Vietnam War. 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. 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). 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).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.