© Machiko Weston

Robert Paul Weston [UK]

Robert Paul Weston was born in 1975 in Dover, England. He studied sociology and film at Queen’s University in Kingston and creative writing at the University of British Columbia. Weston has had a number of unusual careers, including professional trampoline jumper, lifeguard, editor of a literary magazine, and dialogue author for cartoons.

Weston made his début as an author with the verse novel »Zorgamazoo« (2008), in which Katrina Katrell, a young girl overflowing with imagination and a love for great adventures, goes with the zorgle, Mortimer, on a search for the city of Zorgamazoo’s missing zorgles. »Zorgamazoo« is a totally unique and outrageous story with a fantasy-rich setting. Treading a careful line between critical social study, exciting horror fairytale and pure nonsense, Weston tells the story of the importance of friendship and finding out who you are. He impresses with his inventive and playful use of rhyme. Stylistically, »Zorgamazoo« can best be described by comparing it to the wickedness of Roald Dahl and the bizarreness of Dr. Seuss. In his second book, »Dust City« (2010), Weston tells the story of Henry Whelp, who has lived in an educational institution called »Home for Wayward Wolves« since his father was imprisoned for the murder of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother. Again, he succeeds in creating an unusual story in which, like in »Zorgamazoo«, friendship and the search for one’s own path are the central themes. Weston skillfully interweaves this content with motifs that remind us of the Grimm collections through their fairytale style and their darkness.

In 2013, he published »The Creature Department«, a fantastic story about Uncle Archie who works in a mysterious company: DENKi-3000. When Uncle Archie’s department is to be taken over by the company Quasicom due to a lack of research results, his niece and nephew rush to his aid, only to discover that Uncle Archie’s employees are all monsters. Together, they find missing Uncle Archie and save DENKi-3000. This story is continued in »Gobbled by Ghorks« (2014): The Ghorks don’t give up and hold the monsters of the company DENKi-3000 hostage.

Among other prizes, Weston has been awarded the California Young Reader Medal for his literary work, which also includes short stories.

He has previously lived in Canada and Japan and now lives with his wife in London.

Bibliography

Dust City
Penguin/Razorbill
New York, 2008

Zorgamazoo
[Ill: Victor Rivas]
Jacoby & Stuart
[Ü: Uwe-Michael Gutzschhahn]
Berlin, 2012

Die Monsterabteilung
[Ill: Zack Lydon/Framestore]
Jacoby & Stuart
[Ü: Nicola Stuart]
Berlin, 2014

Die Ghorks
[Ill: Zack Lydon/Framestore]
Jacoby & Stuart
[Ü: Nicola Stuart]
Berlin, 2015