Award-Winning Author Walter Dean Myers to Speak Thursday

Renowned young adult author Walter Dean Myers will visit the Main Montclair Library Branch on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.

Organized by the nonprofit Friends of Bellevue Avenue Library, Myers will stop by for a presentation entitled It’s All About Reading, where he will tell stories, read from his books and talk with members of the audience. 

Due to limited space and anticipated demand, advance, in-person pick-up of tickets is required to attend. Tickets are available at main library, Bellevue Avenue Branch Library, and Watchung Booksellers.

Myers is among today’s most-honored authors and boasts more than 100 published books, including the New York Times best-seller “Monster,” the first winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, a National Book Award Finalist and a Coretta Scott King Honor Book.

“Meeting a beloved, successful author like Walter Dean Myers, hearing him share his insights, and having a chance to ask him questions is a highly educational and motivational experience for teen readers as well as their parents," said educator and Friends of the Bellevue Avenue Library President Sue Ridley.

"They learn about the art of storytelling and the publishing process, and take home valuable life lessons from the author’s works and personal experiences," she added.

Myers is also a three-time finalist for the National Book Award, nominated in 1999 for “Monster,” in 2005 for “Autobiography of My Dead Brother,” and in 2010 for “Lockdown.” He is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults and in 2009 delivered the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture, a distinction reserved for an individual who has made significant contributions to the field of children’s literature.

In 2012, Myers was appointed to a 2-year term as the Library of Congress's National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a position created to raise national awareness of the importance of lifelong literacy and education. Myers grew up in Harlem, which is the setting for many of his books, and currently resides in Jersey City, N.J.

The characters in Myers’s stories are often in challenging situations and without traditional support systems. With courage, dignity and determination, his characters eventually overcome obstacles and move beyond situations that have previously defined them. In addition to navigating the landscape of the story at hand, his characters also frequently face complex identity issues. Recurring themes in his works are interracial relations, juvenile crime and gang violence, and the struggle of inner-city kids to survive and thrive against serious odds.