Hugh Roger McDonald (born 23 June 1941 in Young, New South Wales) is an Australian author of several novels and a number of non-fiction works.
He was briefly a teacher, ABC producer, and publisher's editor in NSW, Tasmania, and Queensland, before moving to Canberra and taking up writing full-time in 1976, in order to complete his first novel, 1915.
His novels are 1915, Slipstream, Rough Wallaby, Water Man, The Slap, Mr. Darwin's Shooter, The Ballad of Desmond Kale, When Colts Ran, The Following and A Sea-Chase.
A fictionalised reimagining of the life of Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley, the story centres on the rise to prominence and legacy of Marcus Friendly.
Of the book, Sydney Morning Herald 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.