Robert Timothy Dowling (/ˈdaʊlɪŋ/; born June 1963) is an American journalist and author who writes a weekly column in The Guardian about his life with his family in London.

[3] He is a columnist for The Guardian and has a weekly column in the paper's Saturday magazine, Weekend.

[6] Dowling's books include a 2001 book about the inventor of the disposable razor, King Camp Gillette,[7] Suspicious Packages and Extendable Arms, a collection of his writing from The Guardian, and The Giles Wareing Haters' Club, his 2007 debut novel concerning a journalist Googling himself (narcissurfing[8]) who finds an online club of people who hate him, inspired by Dowling searching for his name online.

[3] He moved to the UK from New York at the age of 27 and currently lives in London with his wife Sophie de Brandt[15][16] and their three sons.

[17] Dowling has played banjo (which his wife bought for his birthday) in the band Police Dog Hogan[18][19] since 2009, and he writes about their festival gigs, including Glastonbury, in his column.