Hugh Roger McDonald (born 23 June 1941 in

Young, New South Wales Young is a town in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, and the largest town in the Hilltops Region. The "Lambing Flat" Post Office opened on 1 March 1861 and was renamed "Young" in 1863. Young is marketed as the Che ...

) is an Australian author of several novels and a number of non-fiction works. He is also an accomplished poet and TV scriptwriter.

Life and career

The middle son of a Presbyterian minister, Hugh Fraser McDonald (1909–81), and Central Queensland historian Lorna McDonald (1916–2017), his childhood was spent in the NSW country towns of Bribbaree, Temora, and Bourke, before the family moved to Sydney. He attended Scots College and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. He was briefly a teacher, ABC producer, and publisher's editor in NSW, Tasmania, and Queensland, before moving to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and taking up writing full-time in 1976, in order to complete his first novel, ''

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

''. McDonald has since 1980 lived near Braidwood, NSW, apart from periods in Sydney and New Zealand. ''1915'' won ''The Age'' Book of the Year Award in 1979 and the South Australian Biennial Literature Prize in 1980. In 1982 it was made into a seven-part ABC-TV television series. (Scripting: Peter Yeldham) ''Shearers' Motel'' won the 1993 Banjo National Book Council Banjo Award for non-fiction. It was filmed as ''Cross Turning Over'' for ABC-TV in 1996 (Director: Robert Klenner) McDonald was nominated for the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

in 1994 for ''Water Man'', and in 1999 for '' Mr. Darwin's Shooter'', which in that year won the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the South Australian Premier's Awards, and the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

Book of the Year. ''The Ballad of Desmond Kale'' won the

in 2006 and the Adelaide Festival Prize for Fiction in 2008. McDonald won the O. Henry Award in 2008 for "The Bullock Run" (USA). This story forms the basis of chapters 15 and 16 of ''When Colts Ran''. McDonald's eighth novel, ''When Colts Ran'', 2010, was shortlisted for the 2011

, the 2011 Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, and the 2011 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction. His ninth novel, ''The Following'', was published in 2013. A fictionalised reimagining of the life of Australian Prime Minister

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

, the story centres on the rise to prominence and legacy of Marcus Friendly. Of the book, ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' reviewer Daniel Herborn wrote: The Following'' is just as interested in the sweep of history as in those who are caught up in, and occasionally influence, the great social changes it surveys. Its themes of destiny, sectarianism and political patronage echo across generations as the influence of Friendly rises and wanes.' His tenth novel, ''A Sea-Chase'' was published in October 2017. The book follows the fortunes of young teacher Judy Compton. After fleeing a rioting classroom one dismal Friday, she gets drunk and wakes up on a boat. Overnight her life changes; she is in love with being on the water and in love with Wes Bannister. But then events at sea challenge everything she holds dearest.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''

'' (1979) * ''Slipstream'' (1982) * ''Melba'' (1988) (film novelisation) * ''Rough Wallaby'' (1988) * ''Flynn'' (1992) (film novelisation) * '' Water Man'' (1993) * ''The Slap'' (1996) * '' Mr. Darwin's Shooter'' (1998) * '' The Ballad of Desmond Kale'' (2006) * '' When Colts Ran'' (2010) * ''The Following'' (2013) * ''A Sea-Chase'' (2017)

Non-fiction

* ''Michael Willesee's Australians'' (1988) * ''Shearers' Motel'' (1992) * ''Australia's Flying Doctors'' (1994) (text for Richard Woldendorp photographs) * ''Barry Humphries' Flashbacks'' (1999) * ''The Tree in Changing Light'' (2001) * ''Wool: The Australian Story'' (2003) (text for Richard Woldendorp photographs) * ''Australia's Wild Places'' (2009)

Poetry

* ''Citizens of Mist'' (1969) * ''Airship'' (1975)

Edited

* ''The First Paperback Poets Anthology'' (1974) * ''Gone Bush'' (1990)

Television scripts

* ''Private John Simpson'' (1987) * ''Melba'' (1988) * ''Cross Turning Over'' (1995), part of the anthology series '' Naked: Stories of Men''

References

External links

Profile
on Penguin Random House Australia
Roger McDonald blog "The Following" 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Roger 1941 births Living people Australian non-fiction writers Australian poets Australian screenwriters Miles Franklin Award winners People from Young, New South Wales People educated at Scots College (Sydney) University of Sydney alumni Writers from New South Wales 20th-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian male writers Australian male novelists Australian male non-fiction writers