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Katy Simpson Smith
BornJackson, Mississippi, U.S.
OccupationNovelist, professor
EducationMount Holyoke College (BA)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (PhD)
Bennington College (MFA)
Notable awardsRichard Wright Award for Literary Excellence
Website
katysimpsonsmith.com

Katy Simpson Smith is an American novelist based in New Orleans. As of 2023 is a member of the core faculty at the Bennington College Writing Seminars.

Early life and education

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Katy Simpson Smith was born and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.[1]

She attended public schools in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, before earning a B.A. in History and Film Studies from Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts. After receiving a Ph.D. in History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, she went to Bennington College Writing Seminars for her M.F.A. in Creative Writing.[citation needed]

Literary career

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Her first book, We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1835, a cross-cultural study of motherhood among Southern whites, Indians, and African-Americans in Virginia and the Carolinas, was published in 2013 by Louisiana State University Press. According to the Journal of American History, "Smith has made a valuable contribution to gender and southern studies by effectively complicating and humanizing the concept of motherhood. ... Her text will join the ranks of the few others that tackle this universal and timeless subject."[2][3]

Smith's first novel, The Story of Land and Sea (HarperCollins, 2014) is set in Beaufort, North Carolina, at the end of the American Revolution. The New York Times wrote that "Smith's spare, rhythmic prose captivates,"[4] and according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Smith has written something wondrous and rare in her coruscating debut novel…In quiet, powerful language, The Story of Land and Sea takes us to a South that has been forgotten, blotted out by the stain of war, and breathes life into early history."[5][6] BBC listed it among the "10 Best New Books to Read," and Huffington Post and Vogue Magazine included it as one of their "Best Books of the Year."[7][8][9][10][11]

The Library Journal wrote about her second novel, Free Men (HarperCollins, 2016), "If [The Story of Land and Sea] could be described as a beautiful murmur, this book is a shout, sharply written and more urgent."[12] In his review in The Washington Post, Ron Charles observed, "With this collage of experiences twisted together and soaked in blood, Smith cuts to the bone of our national character."[13][14][15]

Her third novel, The Everlasting, is set in Rome across several time periods. It switches between the perspectives of several characters, including the Medici princess Giulia and the early christian martyr Saint Prisca. The Everlasting was included by The New York Times in its list of the ten best historical fiction of 2020.[16]

The Weeds, appearing April 18, 2023, was published by FSG. The starred review in Kirkus calls it "Luminous . . . A lyrical meditation on power, need, and love."[17]

Smith's writing has also appeared in The Paris Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Oxford American, Granta, Literary Hub, Garden & Gun, and Lenny.[18][19][20][21][22][23]

Recognition and awards

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She has received fellowships and residencies at the MacDowell Colony (2019), the Dora Maar House in Ménerbes (2021), the Santa Maddalena Foundation in Tuscany, Italy (2022), and the Monastery of St. Gertrude in Idaho (2022). She received the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence (2023).[24][25][26][27]

Academia

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Smith is a member of the core faculty at the Bennington Writing Seminars.[28]

Bibliography

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Novels

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  • The Story of Land and Sea, Harper Collins, 2014
  • Free Men, Harper Collins, 2016
  • The Everlasting, Harper Collins, 2020
  • The Weeds, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023

Non-fiction

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  • We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1835, LSU Press, 2013

References

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  1. ^ "About". Katy Simpson Smith. May 26, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  2. ^ "LSU Press :: Books - We Have Raised All of You". lsupress.org. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  3. ^ "Books". Katy Simpson Smith. January 21, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  4. ^ Ciuraru, Carmela (August 27, 2014). "Katy Simpson Smith's 'The Story of Land and Sea,' and More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  5. ^ "A Harshly Beautiful Tale of Antebellum South". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 28, 2014.
  6. ^ Scutts, Joanna; Scutts, Joanna (September 9, 2014). "Review: 'The Story of Land and Sea,' by Katy Simpson Smith". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  7. ^ Ciabattari, Jane. "The 10 best new books to read". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  8. ^ Fallon, Claire (March 7, 2016). "Historical Fiction Gets No Respect -- Here's Why It Should". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  9. ^ Crum, Maddie; Fallon, Claire (December 2, 2014). "The Best Books Of 2014". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  10. ^ O'Grady, Megan (August 18, 2014). "Katy Simpson Smith's Luminous Novel Is Set to Be the Debut of the Year". Vogue Magazine.
  11. ^ "The 10 Best Books of 2014". Vogue. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  12. ^ "Jo Nesbø Above the Arctic Circle, Irvine Welsh in Edinburgh, & More | Barbara's Fiction Picks, Feb. 2016, Pt. 3". Library Journal Reviews. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  13. ^ Charles, Ron; Charles, Ron (February 16, 2016). "'Free Men' review: A dark mystery, a gruesome crime, a relentless chase". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "Press". Katy Simpson Smith. May 26, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Free Men by Katy Simpson Smith". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  16. ^ Becker, Alida (December 8, 2020). "The Best Historical Fiction of 2020". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  17. ^ "The Weeds". Macmillan. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Katy Simpson Smith". The Paris Review. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  19. ^ Smith, Katy Simpson. "Place: Putridarium". BLARB. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  20. ^ "On Being A Writer From Jackson". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  21. ^ "Who Can Fictionalize Slavery? | Literary Hub". lithub.com. March 30, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  22. ^ "Motherhood, Writerhood, and Calling a Job a Job | Literary Hub". lithub.com. November 19, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  23. ^ "The Occasional Ardent Hug". Lenny Letter. May 25, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  24. ^ Selvin, Claire (January 22, 2019). "MacDowell Colony Awards Fellowships to 86 Artists". ARTnews. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  25. ^ "Our fellows". La Maison Dora Maar et L'Hôtel Tingry. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  26. ^ "Santa Maddalena Foundation | The Fellows". Santa Maddalena Foundation. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  27. ^ Griffey, Jan (February 26, 2023). "Mimi Miller receives Thad Cochran Humanities Achievement Award". Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  28. ^ "Katy Simpson Smith". Bennington College. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
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