R. W. R. McDonald

R.W.R McDonald is a New Zealand author, living in Melbourne, Australia best known for his 2019 debut novel The Nancys.[1][2][3][4]

Personal life

McDonald was born in Balclutha, New Zealand and grew up on a sheep and venison farm in South Otago.[2][5]

Although he now lives in Melbourne, he maintains strong ties to the region, and set his first novel in Otago.

The fictional town of Riverstone in The Nancys was modelled "somewhat on Balclutha", he said.

McDonald identifies as queer and co-parents two daughters.[2][5]

Writing career

His debut novel, The Nancys, was published in Australia and New Zealand by Allen and Unwin.[6][7][8][4]

R.W.R McDonald wrote the first draft of The Nancys while at Faber Academy, Melbourne under the tutelage of award winning authors Toni Jordan and Paddy O'Reilly.[5][9][10]

Mcdonald credits his tutors and mentors for "talking him off the ledge" halfway through writing The Nancys and "sticking with it" when he was going to pull out of the course and writing due to outside pressures.[9][10]

In 2017, The Nancys was highly commended in Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award, this lead him to signing with his literary agent, Grace Heifetz.[11][12][13]

The novel centres around an eleven year old school girl, Tippy Chan and her babysitting Uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon, who together form a secret amateur detective club "The Nancys" to try and solve Tippy's teacher's murder in her small town over one summer.[3][14][7][1][6]

Craig Sisterson, reviewer and founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards said of the book "First-time novelist McDonald has opened his account with a real belter, a unique and enthralling tale."[15]

Vanda Symon review of The Nancys in Landfill Review stated "It is a bold author who writes a crime fiction novel from the perspective of an eleven-year-old girl, but Rob McDonald has captured the essence and heart of his young narrator, and with it brought a view of her world that is illuminating, funny, bewildering, heart-breaking and determined."[16]

Auckland Libraries listed McDonald and The Nancys in their Top 10 New Voices as part of their 2019 Top 100 list.[17]

Ngaio Marsh Award judging panel described The Nancys as an "exuberant small-town murder mystery", and "Hilarious and inventive; the dynamic between the young protagonist and the adult characters is unusual and special."

McDonald is currently working on his second novel in The Nancys series.

Awards and nominations

• Ngaio Marsh Award, 2020, Best First Novel, Winner for The Nancys

• Victorian Premier's Unpublished Manuscript Award, 2017 Highly commended for The Nancys[11][12]

• Ngaio Marsh Award, 2020, Best Crime Novel, Finalist for The Nancys

• Ned Kelly Awards, 2020, Best First Novel, Shortlisted for The Nancys

Bibliography

• The Nancys (2019) ISBN 9781760527334[3][7]

References
  1. "R.W.R. McDonald". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  2. "Sense of Place: RWR McDonald, South Otago". ABC Radio National. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  3. McDonald, R. W. R. (2019). The Nancys. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-76052-733-4. OCLC 1089415674.
  4. "Books That Changed Me: RWR McDonald". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  5. "R.W.R. McDonald answers our Ten Terrifying Questions!". The Booktopian. 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  6. Mem: 9254632. "Unlikely heroes: R W R McDonald on 'The Nancys' | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  7. "The Nancys - R.W.R. McDonald - 9781760527334 - Allen & Unwin - Australia". www.allenandunwin.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  8. Mem: 9148128. "The Nancys (R W R McDonald, A&U) | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  9. "Melbourne Writers Festival - Rob McDonald and Toni Jordan: Writing Your Way Up". Melbourne Writers Festival. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  10. Onions, The (2019-01-23). "How Faber Writing Academy helped Rob McDonald write The Nancys". Things Made From Letters: the Allen & Unwin blog. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  11. "The Award for an Unpublished Manuscript". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  12. Mem: 9024872. "Shortlist announced for 2017 Vic Prem's Unpublished Manuscript award | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  13. Byron, Jacquie (2019-10-18). "Antipodean noir: Is crime Melbourne's biggest export?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  14. Allen, Supplied; Unwin (2019-07-05). "Debut writers series: The Nancys by R. W. R. McDonald". ABC Radio National. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  15. "Crime Watch: Review: THE NANCYS". Crime Watch. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  16. "Parody and Poignancy". Landfall Review Online. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
  17. "Auckland Libraries: Top 10 new voices". Auckland Libraries. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
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