Robert Paul Weston (born 21 October 1975) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-born Canadian children's writer. His debut was the award-winning novel-in-verse, '' Zorgamazoo''. His short fiction has appeared in literary journals in Canada, the UK and the United States. His second novel, a dark fantasy for young adults entitled ''Dust City'', was published in October 2010. The story is narrated by the son of the wolf who killed

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brother ...

Personal life

Robert Paul Weston was born in 1975 in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to a British-Turkish father and an Indian-Grenadian mother. He graduated from Queen's University in 1998 with a BA in Film and Sociology. From 2002 to 2004, he worked in Japan as a high school teacher. In 2006, he completed a masters of arts degree in creative writing from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. Weston currently lives in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

Prizes and honours

*2011 California Young Reader Medal (for ''Zorgamazoo'') *2010 Silver Birch Fiction award (for ''Zorgamazoo'') *2009 Shortlisted, E.B. White Read Aloud Award (for ''Zorgamazoo'') *2009 Children's Literature Association Notable Books for 2009 (''Zorgamazoo'')

Works

Novels

*'' Zorgamazoo'' (2008)

Razorbill The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis im ...

*'' Dust City'' (2010)

*''The Creature Department'' (2013)

*''Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff'' (2013) Puffin *''Gobbled by Ghorks (A Creature Department Novel)'' (2014)

*''Blues for Zoey'' (2016) Flux Books

Picture Books

*''Sakura's Cherry Blossoms'' (2018)

Tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

*''Natsumi's Song of Summer'' (2020)

Short stories

*"Mourning Sickness", ''On Spec'', No. 62, Winter 2005 *"The Light Switch Method", ''Kiss Machine'', No. 10, June 2005 *"Thinking of Alice", ''Crimewave Magazine'', Vol. 9, Fall 2006 *"Stop Plate Tectonics", ''On Spec'', No. 68, Spring 2007 *"Paris, France (Somnumbulitis)", ''The New Orleans Review'', Vol. 33, No. 1, Fall 2007 *"Hummingbirds and Pie", ''Postscripts'', Vol. 12, Autumn 2007 *"Salve", ''Postscripts'', Vol. 14, Spring 2008