Born in Bath, James moved to Oxfordshire when he was 5 where he grew up in a small village. He did an Art Foundation degree at Oxford Brookes University and then moved to Bristol to study Illustration at the University of the West of England, where he specialised in Print.
Weston-Lewis has a background in woodcut and linocut printmaking. This has heavily influenced his illustration, which combines simple block colours with intricate detail.
James now lives in Lewisham in South London. His first book, The Great Fire of London, was longlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal