Lamar Giles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lamar Giles
Born	(1979-11-14) November 14, 1979 (age 45) Hopewell, Virginia, U.S.
Education	B.S. in Communications, minor in English; M.F.A in English, Creative Writing
Alma mater	Old Dominion University
Genre	Young Adult Fiction
Years active	2004–present
Notable works	Fake ID, Spin, The Last Last-Day-of-Summer, Not So Pure and Simple

Lamar Giles (born November 14, 1979) is an American writer. He writes exciting novels and short stories for young adults. He is famous for his award-winning books. Some of his most popular books include Fake ID, SPIN, and Not So Pure and Simple. He also writes the Legendary Alston Boys fantasy series for middle schoolers. Lamar Giles helped start a group called We Need Diverse Books. This group works to make sure books show many different kinds of people.

About Lamar Giles

Lamar Giles grew up in Hopewell, Virginia. His home was right next to an army base. He wrote his very first novel when he was only 14 years old. After high school, he went to Old Dominion University. There, he studied communications and English.

He decided he wanted to be a published writer after reading a book by Stephen King. Lamar Giles sold his first short story when he was 21. He also published some of his own novels and stories. He used the name L.R. Giles for these early works.

Lamar Giles is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books. This is a non-profit group that helps bring more diverse stories to young readers. He also served on their advisory board in 2017. In 2018, he was a judge for the National Book Awards. Today, he teaches writing at Spalding University. He lives with his wife in Chesapeake, Virginia.

His Exciting Books

Lamar Giles writes thrilling stories. Many of his books are mysteries or adventures. They often feature young characters solving big problems.

Fake ID

His first young adult novel was Fake ID. HarperCollins published it in 2014. This book is a fast-paced thriller. It follows an African-American teenager. He moves to a new town with a fake identity. This happens because of his father's crimes. But then, his best friend is mysteriously murdered. The teen gets caught up in trying to solve the crime. Lamar Giles says he was inspired by other mystery novels.

Endangered

His next novel, Endangered, came out in 2015. Harper Teen published this book. It is about a teen who acts as a vigilante. A vigilante is someone who takes justice into their own hands. This character's secret identity gets revealed to the whole world.

Fresh Ink

Lamar Giles also edited a book called Fresh Ink. This book is a collection of short stories. Many different authors wrote stories for it. These authors include Nicola Yoon and Jason Reynolds. The stories in Fresh Ink share experiences of people from different backgrounds. Crown published this collection in 2018.

Awards and Recognition

Lamar Giles's books have won several awards. They have also been nominated for many honors. This shows how much readers and critics enjoy his writing.