About this event

We Need Diverse Books is proud to continue the legacy of Walter Dean Myers with the annual Walter Awards. The Walter Awards recognizes diverse authors whose works feature diverse main characters and address diversity in a meaningful way. The awards' namesake, Walter Dean Myers, served as the third National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, authored over a hundred titles, and won countless awards, including two Newbery Honors, five Coretta Scott King Awards, the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, and was a three-time National Book Award finalist. Throughout his prolific, lauded career, Myers was a life-long champion of diversity in children's and young adult books.

2024 Walter Award winners and honorees are:

2024​ ​WALTER​ ​AWARD,​ ​YOUNGER​ ​READERS​ ​CATEGORY

Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House)

2024​ ​WALTER​ ​HONORS,​ ​YOUNGER​ ​READERS​ ​CATEGORY

Grounded by Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and S.K. Ali (Amulet/Abrams)

2024​ ​WALTER​ ​AWARD,​ ​TEEN​ ​CATEGORY

Saints of the Household by Ari Tison (Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan)

2024​ ​WALTER​ ​HONORS,​ ​TEEN​ ​CATEGORY

All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr (Amulet/Abrams)