James Roy was born in Trundle, western NSW. When he was ten months old his parents accepted a missionary appointment to the highlands of Papua New Guinea. A placement in Fiji followed some years later and, by the age of sixteen, James had spent more than half of his life living in the islands of the South Pacific. He attributes much of his early interest in books to the absence of TV, a wonderful library full of adventure books, and the opportunity to play as those characters in wild, adventuresome places.

James lives in the Blue Mountains with his family and writes both fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. His books have won many awards and he travels throughout Australia talking about books and writing. He is an advocate for boys' literacy.