Eric Walters

Eric Robert Walters CM (born 1957) is a Canadian author of young adult fiction and picture books.^[1] As of 31 January 2014, Eric Walters has written 92 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, where many of the students were reluctant readers and writers. To encourage them to become more involved in literature, Walters began writing his first novel, Stand Your Ground, for his class. The novel was set in the school and included features from the community and the names of many of his students. He continued writing and has since written more than seventy novels for young adults.

His novels have earned more than 100 awards, including being the only three time winner of both the Ontario Library Association Silver Birch and Red Maple Awards – voted by over 100,000 students throughout the province of Ontario. His books have been translated in various languages and published in many countries.

In addition to writing, Walters makes presentations across Canada and around the world, speaking to over 125,000 students each year. He encourages them to become more enthusiastic readers and writers.^[3]

Personal life

Eric Walters was born and raised in Toronto and resides in Mississauga, Ontario, with his wife Anita and his dogs Lola and Winnie the Poodle, while his three grown children, Christina, Nick, and Julia, reside there.^[4]

Walters often experiences the subjects he plans to write about. In April 2010 he walked across the Sahara Desert before writing Just Deserts and in the summer, along with his son, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for Between Heaven and Earth. He had also played with tigers and walked them before writing Tiger by the Tail.^[5]

In addition, Walters founded and now runs the Creation of Hope,^[6] an organization providing care for orphans in the Mbooni district of Kenya. Presently over 400 orphans are being provided with a services which 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:^[7]

Published works

Fiction

• Walking Home (Doubleday, 2014)
• The Rule of Three (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January 2014) RED MAPLE WINNER
• Power Play (Spring 2013)
• My Name is Blessing (Fall 2013)
• Tagged (Fall 2013)
• Just Deserts (Penguin, September 2011)
• Catboy (Orca, September 2011)
• The Matato Ride (Spring 2012)
• Between Heaven and Earth (2012)
• The Taming (Spring 2012) with Teresa Toten
• End of Days (Doubleday, September 2012)
• Shaken (Doubleday, January 2011)
• Flyboy (Penguin, 2010)
• Home Team (Orca, 2010)
• Trouble in Paradise (Penguin, 2010)
• Branded (Orca, 2010)
• Beverly Hills Maasai (Doubleday, 2010)
• Wave (Doubleday, 2009)
• Shell Shocked (Penguin, 2009)
• United We Stand (Doubleday, 2009)
• Wounded (Penguin, 2009)
• Tell Me Why (Doubleday, 2009)
• Black & White (Penguin, 2009)
• Special Edward (Orca, 2009)
• Rule of Three
• The Will to Survive
• The Power of Three
• Alexandria of Africa (Doubleday 2008)
• Splat! (Orca 2008)
• The Pole (Penguin 2008)
• Voyageur (Penguin, 2008)
• When Elephants Fight (Orca, 2008)
• In A Flash (Orca 2008)
• The Falls (Penguin 2008)
• Boot Camp (Orca 2007)
• Sketches (Penguin 2007)
• Tiger Trap (Dundurn 2007)
• Safe as Houses (Doubleday 2007) RED MAPLE WINNER
• Bifocal (Fitzhenry & Whiteside 2007)
• House Party (Orca 2007)
• Shattered (Penguin 2006) WHITE PINE WINNER
• We All Fall Down (Doubleday 2006) RED MAPLE WINNER
• Camp X – Fool's Gold (Penguin 2006)
• Laggan Lard Butts (Orca 2006)
• Stuffed (Orca 2006)
• Triple Threat (Orca 2005)
• Elixir (Penguin 2005)
• The True Story of Santa Claus (2005)
• Overdrive (Orca 2004)
• Ricky (Harper collins)
• Underdog (Orca)
• Juice (Orca)
• Run (Penguin)
• Death by Exposure (Dundurn)
• I've Got An Idea (Harpercollins)
• Tiger Town (Dundurn)
• Northern Exposures (Canada)
• Stand Your Ground (Canada)
• Grind (orca)

Non-fiction

• Improve Your Child's Spelling 1 (1991) (with Norm Rippon)
• Improve Your Child's Spelling 2 (1993) (with Norm Rippon)
• When Elephants Fight (2008) (with Adrian Bradbury)
• Tell Me Why (2009)

Coming Soon

• Hope Springs (2014) – Picture book with Tundra
• Saving Sammy (2014) – First chapter book with Orca
• The Rule of Three: Fight For Power (Fall 2014) 2nd book in the trilogy from Penguin and FSG
• Sleeper (2014) – Sequel to Between Heaven and Earth (the 7 series) with Orca
• Sky Above (2014) – First chapter book with Orca.
• Regenesis (2015) - Sequel to "End of Days (2012)"

References

External links

• Official website
• Eric Walters at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• CM profile of Walters – incorporating material from a 1998 interview
• Creation of Hope project in Kikima, Kenya
• Eric Walters at Library of Congress Authorities, with 47 catalogue records