Roy Bridges

Royal Tasman Bridges (23 March 1885 – 14 March 1952), usually known as Roy Bridges, was an Australian journalist and novelist born in Hobart, Tasmania. He studied at the University of Tasmania, then worked in journalism in Hobart, Sydney, and Melbourne, including years with The Age. He was also a founding member of the Australian Journalists' Association.

Bridges published his first novel, The Barb of an Arrow, in 1909 and went on to write steadily for more than four decades. Libraries Tasmania describes him as one of Tasmania’s most prolific novelists, and contemporary newspaper reports after his death said he had published dozens of books. His fiction ranged widely, but he became especially associated with stories rooted in Tasmanian life and history.

He has been remembered not only for the sheer volume of his work, but also for helping turn Tasmania’s landscape and past into popular fiction. His sister, the writer Hilda Bridges, was closely involved in his literary life and worked as his secretary and companion for many years.