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

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 email walteraward@diversebooks.org.