R. W. R. McDonald

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Portrait of New Zealand-born author R.W.R. McDonald RWR McDonald author portrait 2018.jpg
Portrait of New Zealand-born author R.W.R. McDonald

R. W. R. McDonald is a New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based author of adult and children's fiction. He is best known for his crime novels The Nancys.(2019), Nancy Business(2021) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace (2025), as well as the audio-first murder mystery An Ambush of Widows (2024). [6] [7] [8] McDonald is also the author of children's picture books Happy Millionth Birthday (2023) and Rainbow Street (2025) [9] [10] [11] [12] His work has been internationally published in the United Kingdom and North America.

Contents

Early life and education

McDonald was born in Balclutha, New Zealand and grew up on a sheep and venison farm in South Otago. [13] [14] The fictional town of Riverstone, which appears in The Nancys and Nancy Business, was named as an homage to River Heights, Nancy Drew's hometown, and is based on Balclutha in terms of its geography. [15]

He lives in Melbourne, Australia. He is an openly queer father of two daughters, [16] [17] [18] and has spoken publicly about LGBTQ+ representation in fiction. [18] [19] [20]

Career

McDonald's debut novel, The Nancys, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2019. [21] [22] [23] [24] The novel follows 11-year-old Tippy Chan as she forms a secret amateur detective club with her visiting uncle and his boyfriend. [1] [22] [3] [21] [25] The book received critical acclaim and was awarded the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. [26]

In June 2021, the screen options for The Nancys were bought by Hoodlum Entertainment, via Grace Heifetz of Left Bank Literacy Agency. [27]

The sequel, Nancy Business, was released in 2021, continuing the adventures of the same characters. [28] [29] [30] It was shortlisted for the Best Novel category of the Ngaio Marsh Awards in 2022. [31]

In 2023, McDonald published his first children's picture book, Happy Millionth Birthday, illustrated by Alexandra Columbo, by Larrikin House. [9] [10] A second picture book, Rainbow Street. illustrated by Kelly Canby, was published by Larrikin House in 2025. [11] He has also written an audio-first murder mystery novel, An Ambush of Widows, published by Ulverscroft in 2024. [6] [7] [8]

In 2025, McDonald signed with Orenda Books with The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace, his first Nancys story, published in the UK 2025, with the North America release in 2026. [32] [33]

McDonald hosts the QWS Podcast, a spin-off series of the Words & Nerds podcast, featuring interviews with queer writers. [34] [35]

Bibliography

Adult fiction

Children's books

Awards and recognition

References

  1. 1 2 "R. W. R. McDonald". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "Sense of Place: RWR McDonald, South Otago". ABC. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 McDonald, R. W. R. (2019). The Nancys. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   978-1-76052-733-4.
  4. ↑ ""Books That Changed Me: RWR McDonald"". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Fricot, Olivia. "R. W. R. McDonald answers our Ten Terrifying Questions!". Booktopia. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 McDonald, R. W. R. (2024). An Ambush of Widows. Leicester: Ulverscroft. ISBN   9781399183703.
  7. 1 2 "An ambush of widows". WorldCat. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  8. 1 2 "An Ambush of Widows". Audible. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  9. 1 2 McDonald, R. W. R. (2023). Happy Millionth Birthday. Larrikin House. ISBN   9781922804631.
  10. 1 2 3 "Happy Millionth Birthday (Hardcover)". Larrikin House. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 "Rainbow Street". Larrikin House. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  12. ↑ "Larrikin acquires McDonald picture books". Books and Publishing. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  13. ↑ "Sense of Place: RWR McDonald, South Otago". ABC Radio National. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "R. W. R. McDonald answers our Ten Terrifying Questions!". The Booktopian. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  15. ↑ Elliott, Samuel. "R. W. R. McDonald Interview". Other Terrain Journal. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  16. ↑ "R. W. R. McDonald". Orenda Books. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "Rob McDonald". Joy Media. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  18. 1 2 "Bibliophile | Queer author R. W. R. McDonald brings high camp mystery 'Nancy Business". Out in Perth. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  19. ↑ "Sense of Place: RWR McDonald, South Otago". ABC. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  20. ↑ "R. W. R. McDonald answers our Ten Terrifying Questions". Booktopia. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  21. 1 2 "Unlikely heroes: R W R McDonald on 'The Nancys'". Books and Publishing. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  22. 1 2 "The Nancys". Allen & Unwin. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  23. ↑ "The Nancys (R W R McDonals, A&U)". Books and Publishing. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  24. ↑ "Books That Changed Me: R. W. R. McDonald". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  25. ↑ "Debut writers series: The Nancys by R. W. R. McDonald". ABC. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  26. 1 2 "Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  27. ↑ "'The Nancys' optioned for screen". Books and Publishing. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  28. ↑ "The Nancys (R W R McDonald, A&U)". Books and Publishing. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  29. ↑ McDonald, R. W. R. (2021). Nancy Business. Allen & Unwin. ISBN   9781760878870.
  30. ↑ "Rob McDonald's second novel, The Nancy Business". Radio NZ. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  31. 1 2 "Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  32. ↑ Sullivan, Cole. "Orenda Books signs RWR McDonald's gripping, glorious debut mystery, The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace". Orenda Books. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  33. ↑ Fraser, Katie. "Orenda Books lands 'gripping' debut novel from RWR McDonald". The Bookseller. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  34. ↑ "RWR McDonald chats to Craig Sisterson". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  35. ↑ "Words and Nerds: Authors, books and literature". Spotify. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  36. ↑ McDonald, R. W. R. (2019). The Nancys. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   978-1-76052-733-4. OCLC   1089415674.
  37. ↑ "The Nancys - R.W.R. McDonald - 9781760527334 - Allen & Unwin - Australia". www.allenandunwin.com. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  38. ↑ Fiona, Hardy (June 2019). "The Nancys (R W R McDonald, A&U)". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  39. ↑ Nancy business. Allen & Unwin. 2021. ISBN   9781760878870. OCLC   1240210429.
  40. ↑ "Dark Deeds Down Under".
  41. ↑ McDonald, R. W. R. (2023). Happy Millionth Birthday. Larrikin House. ISBN   9781922804631.
  42. ↑ "Larrikin acquires McDonald picture book". Books and Publishing. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  43. ↑ "Rainbow Street". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  44. ↑ "The Award for an Unpublished Manuscript". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  45. ↑ Mem: 9024872. "Shortlist announced for 2017 Vic Prem's Unpublished Manuscript award | Books+Publishing" . Retrieved 11 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  46. ↑ "2020 Shortlists". Australian Crime Writers Association. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  47. ↑ "Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel".
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