Eric Robert Walters, CM (born March 3, 1957) is a Canadian author of young adult fiction and picture books.[1] As of 2020, Eric Walters has written over 100 books.[2]
Background
Walters was an elementary school teacher at Vista Heights Public School in Streetsville, Ontario. In 1993, he was teaching a grade 5 class in which many of the students were reluctant readers and writers. To encourage them, Walters wrote his first novel, Stand Your Ground. The novel was set in the school and included features from the community and the names of many of his students. He has since written more than 70 novels for young adults.
He is a three-time winner of both the Ontario Library Association Silver Birch and Red Maple Awards – voted on by over 100,000 students throughout the province of Ontario. His books have been translated and published in many countries.
Personal life
Eric Walters was born and raised in Toronto and resides in Guelph, Ontario, with his wife Anita. They have three adult children, Christina, Nick and Julia.[3]
Walters tries to experience the subjects he plans to write about. In April 2010 he walked across the Sahara before writing Just Deserts. With his son, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Between Heaven and Earth. He played with tigers before writing Tiger by the Tail.[4]
In addition, Walters founded the Creation of Hope,[5] an organization providing care for orphans in the Mbooni district of Kenya. Presently more than 400 orphans are being provided with services that include food, school fees, uniforms, tools, beds, livestock, and the construction of two children's residences in the town of Kikima.
Awards
Walters's works have won or been nominated for the following awards:[citation needed]
^"About: Eric Walters". Retrieved 10 May 2014. This has included playing with and walking tigers (Tiger by the Tail) ... hiking across the Sahara Desert (Just Deserts) ... climbing Mount Kilimanjaro (Between Heaven and Earth)
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