By Tess Goldwasser
Recently off a two-year term on the Stonewall Book Awards, Rob is in the process of creating a timeline for volunteering during the next year. “Sometimes it gets tricky being up in Canada and only being able to do virtual work for the majority of the year,†he wrote. Rob is a huge fan of working with people on book award committees and hopes to serve on a few others in the future. He promises he’s not in it just for the free books!
Rob is currently working on a dissertation that explores the role of YA lit with transgender protagonists in the larger body of queer YA and in the reading habits of teens. His doctorate should be finished In only two more years. “So I can work at Starbucks again!†he joked. In addition, Rob teaches children’s literature at Simon Fraser University; he likes to diversify the course readings with queer children’s and YA books. “[It’s] always fun to see how people react when they’re not used to reading LGBT books,†he said. Eventually, he would like to be a professor of children’s and young adult literature in the post-secondary system, a library school, an education faculty, an English department, or anything else.
Rob and his husband just celebrated their five-year anniversary (YAY CANADA!) and are the proud owners of a “delightfully energetic†turtle named Fluffy. He is passionate about education and youth cultures, advocating for the use of literature in education in both formal and informal settings. “Just ask my husband,†he said. “I really never shut up about books!†He is most proud of his work as an advocate for youth literature, whether in secondary school classrooms or increasing diverse collections in local libraries. His offers to give lectures at various schools and conferences across North America gives him hope that his work is reaching people.
What animals would he like to be? A Loris or one of those adorably fuzzy pygmy owls.
