Duncan Weller (born 1965) a writer and illustrator of children’s picture books, winning two of Canada’s top awards for his third and latest picture book, The Boy from the Sun. He is also a visual artist and writer of poetry and short stories for adults. He has written a young adult novel, Undercats, and continues to paint in various mediums with themes for adults and children, which he exhibits regularly.
Weller was born in Lennoxville, Quebec in 1975 to young British immigrants. His father, Geoffrey Weller, became a professor of political studies at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Geoffrey’s work in administration and comparative studies of the political, economic, and health care systems of the Northern hemisphere helped in securing Geoffrey’s position as the founding president of the University of Northern British Columbia in 1991, which at the time, was the first university to be built in Canada in twenty-five years. Geoffrey Weller served two terms as president before succumbing to lung cancer in 2000. Duncan’s mother, Jean Weller is an award winning quilter who shows her work regularly, and has exhibited in the United States, Norway, and across Canada. Duncan has two brothers: Eric, who teaches and makes films, and Alexander, who operates a retail outlet for martial/fantasy themed arts equipment.
After graduating from Lakehead University having studied English Literature and Fine Art, Duncan moved from Thunder Bay to Toronto, then to Victoria, North Vancouver, Montreal and back to Thunder Bay where he held various jobs before winning the Governor General’s Award and securing several grants to continue work on his paintings, animation, and picture books for children.
Duncan’s first book, Spacesnake was written and illustrated when he was nineteen years of age. Shortly thereafter he conceived of several other picture books including The Boy from the Sun which he began illustrating at the age of twenty-two, but did not complete until thirteen years later, explaining that he was waiting to be inspired with an appropriate ending. Many of the individual illustrations for Duncan’s books require two months of full time work.