Lamar Giles

Lamar Giles (born 1979) is an American author of young adult mystery and thriller fiction, born in Hopewell, Virginia. His debut, Fake ID (2014), about a teen in witness protection who investigates a murder, earned an Edgar Award nomination, and he has since built a body of work blending puzzle-box plotting with contemporary and speculative settings, including the middle-grade Last Last-Day-of-Summer series beginning in 2019, the Legendary Alston Boys mysteries, and Bad Batch novels set in the Star Wars universe. He also edited the anthology Fresh Ink (2018), gathering diverse YA voices. A founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books, Giles has served as its VP of Communications, judged the National Book Awards, and taught in Spalding University's MFA program; in 2025 he became inaugural writer-in-residence at William & Mary Libraries.