- Richland Library
- Friday, August 14, 2020
iRead features the best ebooks, eaudiobooks and print books for children and teens curated by the Children's Room and Teen Center staff.
Children & Teen Author | Lamar Giles
Lamar Giles | photo by Adrienne Giles
Lamar Giles is an author, speaker, founding member of We Need Diverse Books and serves as a faculty member for Spalding University's MFA program. Giles grew up in Hopewell, Virginia and currently resides in Chesapeake, Virginia with his wife.
His passion for storytelling began at a young age with a love of superhero comics (Spiderman in particular) and the query: “Could I make up a character? Could I put him in danger and pull him out again?” His first shot at answering these questions was his elementary school's Young Author's Contest. Lamar Giles placed first. From ages 14 to 17, he worked on and finished his first novel (which he swears will never see the light of day) which allowed him to experiment with long form prose and incorporated his developing interest in science-fiction, horror, and dark fantasy.
During his time at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, Giles decided to pursue writing as a career after reading Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. He sold his first short story at age 21. He independently published his novels and short stories under the pen name L.R. Giles before his debut young adult novel, Fake ID, was published by Harper Collins in 2014. Giles has gone on to publish two middle grade and five young adult novels while simultaneously editing and contributing to multiple young adult and middle grade anthologies.
Awards
2015 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Mystery | Fake ID
2016 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Mystery | Endangered
One of the Best Books of 2019 selected by Time Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, NPR & Booklist | The Last Last-Day-of-Summer
Contributed by Kenyanah Bryant | Teen Center Associate