Robert Westall

Robert Atkinson Westall Previously he had lived at 20 Winnington Lane, Northwich and run Magpie Antiques, Church Street, Davenham.

As a journalist, Westall wrote for Cheshire Life, the Northwich Chronicle and the Warrington Guardian. A memorial service was held on 29 September 1993, at nearby All Saints' Church, Thelwall, Warrington. Tributes were paid by former teaching colleagues and Miriam Hodgson, editorial director (fiction) of Reed Children's Books. A blue plaque was placed on Westall's birthplace, 7 Vicarage Street, North Shields, the following year. There is also a Westall Walk across locations used by Westall in his stories.

In October 2006, A Trip to Tynemouth by the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki was published in Japan. It is based on "Blackham's Wimpy", a story first published in Westall's Break of Dark collection. The rival RAF crews in the story fly Vickers Wellington bombers. The nickname "Wimpy" comes from Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons.

Selected bibliography According to WorldCat, participating libraries hold editions of Westall's books in 17 foreign languages.

Novels

The Machine Gunners (1975) The Wind Eye (1976) The Watch House (1977) The Devil on the Road (1978) Fathom Five (1979) The Scarecrows (1981) Break of Dark (1982) Futuretrack Five (1983) The Haunting of Chas McGill (1983) The Cats of Seroster (1984) Rachel and the Angel (1986) Urn Burial (1987) The Creature in the Dark (1988) Ghost Abbey (1988) Ghosts and Journeys (1988) Blitzcat (1989) The Call and Other Stories (1989) Old Man on a Horse (1989) A Walk on the Wild Side (1989) Echoes of War (1989) If Cats Could Fly (1990) The Kingdom by the Sea (1990) The Promise (1990) Stormsearch (1990) The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral (1991) Yaxley's Cat (1991) Fearful Lovers (1992) Gulf (1992) Falling into Glory (1993) A Place For Me (1993) Size Twelve (1993) The Wheatstone Pond (1993) A Place to Hide (1994) A Time of Fire (1994) The Witness (1994) Blitz (1995) Christmas Spirit (1995) The Night Mare (1995) Blizzard (1996) Harvest (1996) Love Match (1997) Voices in the Wind (1997) David and the Kittens (2003)

Short fiction collections Break of Dark (1982) The Haunting of Chas McGill and Other Stories (1983) Rachel and the Angel and Other Stories (1986) Ghosts and Journeys (1988) Antique Dust (1989) The Call and Other Stories (1989) (a.k.a. The Call and Other Strange Stories, 2003) The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral (1991) (a.k.a. In Camera and Other Stories, 1992) Fearful Lovers and Other Stories (1992, a.k.a. Fearful Lovers 1993) Demons and Shadows: The Ghostly Best of Robert Westall (1993) (a.k.a. The Best of Robert Westall: Volume One: Demons and Shadows, 1999) Shades of Darkness: More of the Ghostly Best Stories of Robert Westall (1994) (a.k.a. The Best of Robert Westall: Volume Two: Shades of Darkness, 1999) Christmas Spirit: Two Stories (1994) Shadows of War (2019)

Nonfiction Children of the Blitz (1985) The Making of Me (2006) (autobiographical)

Adaptations Radio Hitch-Hiker (first story in Break of Dark), BBC Radio 5 (1990) The Machine Gunners, BBC Radio 4 (2002) The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral, BBC Radio 4 (1996) The Wheatstone Pond, BBC Radio 4 (2002) Yaxley's Cat, BBC Radio 4

Television The Machine Gunners, BBC (1983) The Watch House, BBC (1988)

Awards and honours American Library Association 100 Best Books for Young Adults of the Last 25 years 1994: Blitzcat American Library Association Best Fiction for Young Adults 1997: Gulf

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award runners-up 1977 Honor Book: The Machine Gunners 1982 Honor Book: The Scarecrows Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 1991: The Kingdom by the Sea Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, age category 9–11 years 1989: Blitzcat Sheffield Children's Book Award 1991: The Promise

Papers Robert Westall's papers, deposited between 2003 and 2010, are at Seven Stories, National Centre for Children's Books.

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