The Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children's Literature, known as "The Walters," was created by the American nonprofit We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) in 2014, and the inaugural award was presented in 2016. Named after young adult author Walter Dean Myers, the award recognizes published, diverse authors who champion marginalized voices in their stories. The awards program is managed by WNDB's co-directors Kathie Weinberg and Terry Hong. In 2018, WNDB changed the categories from a single category of young adult titles to two categories of teen and young readers. Subsequent awards include both categories.
Recipients +Award winners and finalists Year Category Recipient Title Result 2016N/A and All American BoysWinner and (illus.)Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A MemoirHonor and X2017N/A, , and March: Book ThreeWinnerWatchedHonorIf I Was Your GirlThe Sun Is Also a Star2018TeenLong Way DownWinnerYou Bring the Distant NearHonorDisappearedYounger Reader and (illus.)Schomburg: The Man Who Built a LibraryWinnerForest WorldHonor2019TeenThe Poet XWinnerMonday's Not ComingHonorThe Astonishing Color of AfterYounger ReaderGhosts BoysWinnerThey Call Me GüeroHonorThe Night Diary2020Teen and (illus.)Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With MeWinnerPetHonorWith the Fire on HighYounger ReaderThe Bridge HomeWinnerA Good Kind of TroubleHonorOther Words for Home2021Teen and Yusef Salaam and Omar T. Pasha (illus.)Punching the AirWinnerWe Are Not FreeHonorAlmost American GirlYounger Reader, Omar Mohamed, and Iman GeddyWhen Stars Are ScatteredWinnerKing and the DragonfliesHonorEverything Sad Is Untrue2022TeenAngeline BoulleyFirekeeper's DaughterWinnerLast Night at the Telegraph ClubHonorRevolution in Our TimeYounger ReaderRed, White, and WholeWinner and Natasha Donovan (illus.)BordersHonorRoot Magic2023Teen and Jeff EdwardsMan Made MonstersWinnerHonorAll My RageYoung Reader and Janelle WashingtonChoosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights MovementWinnerHonorStar Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler 2024TeenSaints of the HouseholdWinnerAll the Fighting PartsHonorYoung ReaderRemember UsWinner, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and S. K. AliGroundedHonor2025Teen, Black Girl You Are AtlasWinnerA Crane Among WolvesHonorYoung ReaderShark TeethWinnerThe Creepening of DogwoodHonor2025Teen, Raymond Obstfeld and Ed LarocheChampionWinnerAll the Blues in the SkyHonorYoung ReaderThe Incredibly Human Henson BlayzeWinnerKing of the Neuro VerseHonor
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