Awards
Myers won the annual Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association (ALA) in 1994, recognizing his "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". Four books were specifically cited: Hoops (1983), Motown and Didi (1985), Fallen Angels (1988), and Scorpions (1988). He was a two-time runner-up for the annual Newbery Medal, recognizing the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children", in 1989 for The Scorpion and in 1993 for Somewhere in the Darkness. The ALA split the Newbery several years later, establishing the Michael L. Printz Award for young-adult literature. Myers was the inaugural winner for Monster (HarperCollins, 1999), thus designated the year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit".
Myers first published book was a contest winner: Where Does the Day Go?, written by Myers and illustrated by Leo Carty (Parents Magazine Press, 1969). It won a Council on Interracial Books for Children Award, 1968.
Myers is a three-time finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature: in 1999 for Monster, in 2005 for Autobiography of My Dead Brother, and in 2010 for Lockdown.
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