Walter Dean Myers was an American writer, best known for young adult literature, who wrote more than one hundred books. Born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and raised in Harlem, he was inspired to write by a difficult childhood. His 1988 novel Fallen Angels realistically portrays the Vietnam War, and other titles include Monster, Riot, and the picture book Frederick Douglass: The Lion Who Wrote History. He won the Coretta Scott King Award five times and served as the third U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature from 2012 to 2013.
