Highlighting Black Writers: Walter Dean Myers

     Walter Dean Myers is one of my favorite authors from my childhood. His compelling storytelling ability is mindblowing. I'd stay hooked in his books for days and gave them my undivided attention! The realism of his stories inspired me to write urban fiction. Walter Dean Myers was born in Martinsburg, Virginia. His mother passed away when he was very young and he was raised in Harlem by Herbert and Florence Dean with his older brother. Walter Dean Myers struggled with his speech as a kid, but was an avid reader. A high school teacher encouraged him to continue writing outside of school. However, he dropped out of school and joined the army at 17. In the army he started writing short stories and eventually wrote for a men's magazine. He felt encouraged to write about his life and experiences after coming across a short story by James Baldwin. He said he felt like that gave him permission to express his life stories through writing. A lot of his books have won awards and are found in children libraries or teen sections. 

"I write books for the troubled boy I once was, and for the boy who lives within me still. It’s what I do.” - Walter Dean Myers

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