Walter Dean Myers (pictured, via) has passed away. He was 76-years-old.
Myers enjoyed a 45-year career as a writer who penned more than one hundred children’s books. Some of his most beloved works include Fallen Angels (1988), Monster (1999), Bad Boy: A Memoir (2001), Autobiography of My Dead Brother (2005), and Sunrise Over Fallujah (2008). The publishing houses he worked with have a number of projects that will be posthumously released including On a Clear Day (2014), Juba! (April 2015), and a graphic novel adaptation of Monster.
Here’s more from the press release: “His impressive body of work includes two Newbery Honor Books, three National Book Award Finalists, and six Coretta Scott King Award/Honor-winning books. He was the winner of the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award, the first recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, and a recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. In 2010, Walter was the United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and in 2012 he was appointed the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, serving a two-year tenure in the position.”
Editor’s Note: This GalleyCat writer is currently employed at the Children’s Book Council.