FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Congratulations to the 2022 Walter Grant Winners

November 14, 2022

Washington, DC — We Need Diverse Books is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2022 Walter Dean Myers Grants. This year, WNDB awarded 11 grants at $2000 each to unpublished writers or illustrators from marginalized backgrounds who are working on children’s or young adult literature projects. 

The following 11 creators have been selected for the Walter Grants:

General Walter Grant

Jasmine Cui 

Anna Marie “Amie” Rodriguez 

Nia DeCoux Milner 

Talia Kimberly Wright 

Revy Sivilay

Trans Creator Grant

Logan Hoffman-Smith

Sunday Avanti

Native/Indigenous Creator Grant

Christine Hartman Derr

Kara Stewart

Muslim Creator Grant

Sarosh Arif

Hafsa Zulfiqar Unar 

Three of the 11 grants are designated for creators from specific marginalized groups: Two grants for trans creators, thanks to a donation from author Margaret Owen; two grants for Muslim creators, thanks to a donation from author Hanna Alkaf; and two grants for Native/Indigenous creators, supported by the WNDB Native Fund.

The Walter Grant program was initiated in 2015 to provide financial support to promising writers and illustrators from diverse communities. Since the program’s launch, WNDB has awarded 45 Walter Grants of $2000 each. Previous recipients include Jennifer de Leon, author of Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From (August 2020); Yamile Saied Méndez, author of Where Are You From? and winner of Lee & Low’s New Voices Award; Jacqueline Alcantara, author of The Field; and Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give, a #1 New York Times Bestseller that has also been adapted into a movie produced by Fox 2000 Pictures. The Walter Grant program was on hiatus in 2017 and 2019.

The 2023 Walter Grant cycle will open to applications next year in the spring.

About We Need Diverse Books. We Need Diverse Books is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that runs twelve exciting initiatives united under one goal—to combat systemic racism and oppression by creating a world where everyone can find themselves on the pages of a book. Established in 2014, WNDB strives to support and amplify diverse literature by mentoring marginalized creators, providing resources to diverse publishing professionals, and donating diverse books to schools and libraries nationwide. Learn more at diversebooks.org.

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Press Contacts: 

Alaina Lavoie, alainalavoie@diversebooks.org