Robert Weaver is one of the most prominent figures on the contemporary Canadian literary scene. Through his work compiling a series of standard short-fiction anthologies, founding and editing a literary periodical of consequence, and producing some ground-breaking literary programs on radio, Weaver has taught readers, writers, and critics alike how to refine their fictional sensibilities and evaluative criteria. As an editor he has introduced two generations of Canadians to their own literature and encouraged them to acclaim such established writers as Margaret Atwood and Mavis Gallant, to proclaim such emerging writers as Katherine Govier and Neil Bissoondath, and to reclaim such standard writers as Stephen Leacock and Charles G. D. Roberts. His efforts as an editor and anthologist have helped make the name Weaver synonymous with the Canadian short story.
Over the past two decades in particular, Weaver has provided Canadian writers with a forum for their short fiction and encouraged other editors to do the same.
