Lee Smith

Lee Smith is a celebrated American author, well-known for her contributions to Southern Gothic fiction. Born on November 1, 1944, in Grundy, Virginia, Smith grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. This region would later become a frequent setting in many of her novels, featuring characters who live in the southern states or parts of the Appalachian mountains.

Smith's passion for storytelling began at a young age. At nine years old, she was already writing and selling stories about her neighbors in Grundy and the nearby isolated "hollers" for a nickel apiece. Her love for writing was greatly influenced by her upbringing in a community where people would talk, dress, and act in unique ways that captured her attention. Her mother, Virginia, a college graduate who taught school, and her father, Ernest, a native of the area who operated a dime store, provided Smith with a rich tapestry of local culture and characters that would later inspire her work.

Smith's training as a writer began in her father's dime store, where she would watch and listen to shoppers through a peephole in the ceiling, paying close attention to the details of how they talked and dressed and what they said. She grew up surrounded by storytellers, including her Uncle Vern, who was in the legislature, and her father, who were both famous for their storytelling abilities. Smith's mother, too, was a skilled storyteller who could make a story out of anything. Smith describes herself as a "deeply weird" child who was an insatiable reader and writer. Her first story, written when she was 9 or 10, embodied themes that still concern her today, such as religion, flight, staying in one place, and containment.

Smith has published eleven novels and three collections of short stories since 1968, receiving numerous writing awards along the way. Her writing is deeply rooted in the sense of place, revealing her insight and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Some of her most notable works include Fair and Tender Ladies and The Last Girls, the latter of which was a New York Times bestseller and a co-winner of the Southern Book Critics Circle Award. Smith is also a retired professor of English at North Carolina State University. She and her husband, journalist Hal Crowther, enjoy spending time in North Carolina and Maine.