Lamar Giles is a successful author of young adult thriller and fantasy novels. He was born and raised in Hopewell, Virginia, where he developed a love for stories and storytelling at a young age. After graduating from high school, Giles attended Old Dominion University, where his interest in a career as an author began to take shape. He wrote and sold his first short story when he was twenty-one years old, and his fiction has since been featured in various anthologies such as "Dark Dreams" and "The First Line."
Giles's debut young adult novel, "Fake ID," was published in 2011 and received critical acclaim. He has since written several other novels, including "Endangered," "Overturned," "Spin," "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer," "Not So Pure and Simple," and "The Last Mirror on the Left." His work has been featured on numerous Best Of lists and has earned him several awards, including the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award in 2015 and a 2016 Readers Choice List from the Virginia State Reading Association.
In addition to his work as an author, Giles is also a passionate advocate for diversity in publishing. He is a founder of We Need Diverse Books, an organization dedicated to changing the face of publishing by promoting literature that reflects the diversity of the world we live in. Giles has spoken and taught at various prestigious conferences, high schools, middle schools, and organizations, including BookExpo America, Virginia Children's Book Festival, and Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. He currently resides in Chesapeake, Virginia, with his wife, where he spends his time writing, playing video games, and reading when he's not busy advocating for diversity in publishing.