We​ ​Need​ ​Diverse​ ​Books
announces

The​ ​2019​ ​Walter​ ​Dean​ ​Myers​ ​Awards​ ​and​ ​Honor​ ​Books
for​ ​Outstanding ​ Children’s​ Literature​
Teen​ ​and​ ​Younger​ ​Readers​ ​Categories

January​ ​14,​ ​2019

The​ ​We​ ​Need​ ​Diverse​ ​Books​ ​Walter​ ​Awards​ ​Judging​ ​Committee​ ​has​ ​selected​ ​the​ ​Winners​ ​and Honorees​ ​for​ ​the​ ​fourth​ ​annual​ ​Walter​ ​Dean​ ​Myers​ ​Awards​ ​for​ ​Outstanding​ ​Children’s​ ​Literature. This​ ​year’s​ ​awards​ ​comprise two​ ​categories:​ ​Teen​ ​(​ages​ ​13-18​)​ ​and​ ​Younger​ ​Readers​ ​(​ages 9-13​).​ ​One​ Winner​ and two Honor Books ​in​ each ​category​ ​have​ ​been​ ​named.

2019​ ​Walter​ ​Award,​ ​Teen​ ​Category
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperTeen/HarperCollins)

2019​ ​Walter​ ​Honors,​ ​Teen​ ​Category
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson (Katherine Tegen/Harper)
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette)

2019​ ​Walter​ ​Award,​ ​Younger​ ​Readers​ ​Category
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette)

2019​ ​Walter​ ​Honors,​ ​Younger​ ​Readers​ ​Category
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles (Cinco Puntos
Press)
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani (Kokila/Penguin Random House)

The​ ​Walter​ ​Awards​ ​Ceremony​ ​will​ ​be​ ​held​ ​Friday,​ ​March​ ​29,​ ​2019,​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Thomas Jefferson Building​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Library​ ​of​ ​Congress.​ ​Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Linda Sue Park​,​ ​will​ ​serve​ ​as​ ​the​ ​Ceremony’s​ ​Emcee​ ​and​ ​Guest Speaker. Honored guest Christopher Myers, son of the late Walter Dean Myers, will also speak.

The​ ​Ceremony​ ​will​ ​be​ ​preceded​ ​by​ ​a​ ​symposium​ ​on​ ​diversity​ ​in​ ​children’s​ ​literature,​ ​co-hosted by​ ​the​ ​Library​ ​of​ ​Congress.​ ​The​ ​symposium,​ ​titled​ ​“On Writing, Voice, and Courage: A Conversation with Walter Honorees,”​ ​will be​ ​moderated​ ​by​ ​Pura Belpré Award-winning author Meg Medina.

WNDB​ ​will​ ​be​ ​donating​ ​a​ ​minimum​ ​of​ ​2,000​ ​copies​ ​of​ ​each​ ​of​ ​the​ ​2019​ ​Walter​ ​Award-winning titles,​ The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes​,​ ​to​ ​schools​ ​with​ ​limited​ ​budgets​ ​across​ ​the​ ​United States.

The​ ​Walter​ ​Dean​ ​Myers​ ​Award,​ ​also​ ​known​ ​as​ ​“The​ ​Walter,”​ ​is​ ​named​ ​for​ ​prolific​ ​children’s​ ​and young​ ​adult​ ​author​ ​Walter​ ​Dean​ ​Myers​ ​(1937-2014).​ ​Myers​ ​was​ ​the​ ​third​ ​National​ ​Ambassador for​ ​Young​ ​People’s​ ​Literature,​ ​appointed​ ​in​ ​2012​ ​by​ ​the​ ​Library​ ​of​ ​Congress.​ ​He​ ​was​ ​a​ ​champion of​ ​diversity​ ​in​ ​children’s​ ​books.​ ​The​ ​Walter​ ​Awards​ ​honor​ ​Myers’​ ​memory​ ​and​ ​his​ ​literary legacy,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​celebrate​ ​diversity​ ​in​ ​children’s​ ​literature.

The​ ​2019​ ​Walter​ ​Awards​ ​Judging​ ​Committee:​ ​Maria​ ​Salvadore​ ​(Committee Chair, Politics​ ​and ​Prose​ ​Bookstore), L. Lee Butler (Librarian, The Key School), Laretta Henderson (Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Julia López-Robertson (Professor, University of South Carolina; Teacher Education, Language & Literacy), Candice Wing-yee Mack (Past-President of YALSA, Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library), Kathie Meizner (Library Manager, Montgomery County Public Libraries), John Williams (Librarian, Prince George’s County Memorial Library System).

For​ ​more​ ​information,​ ​please​ ​contact​ ​WalterAward@diversebooks.org​ ​.