Ali Smith

Ali Smith is a Scottish author whose formally adventurous, politically engaged, and deeply humane novels have made her one of the most important and acclaimed writers in contemporary British literature. Born in Inverness in 1962, Smith studied English at the University of Aberdeen and began a PhD at Newnham College, Cambridge, which she did not complete due to illness. She has lived in Cambridge for much of her adult life. Her novels include Hotel World, The Accidental, There but for the, and How to be both — each formally inventive, playful, and emotionally resonant. The Accidental tells the story of a stranger who arrives at a family's holiday home and transforms each member of the family. How to be both, which won the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and the Goldsmiths Prize, consists of two halves that can be read in either order. The Seasonal Quartet — Autumn (2016), Winter (2017), Spring (2019), and Summer (2020) — is her most ambitious achievement: four novels responding in near-real-time to contemporary British politics and culture, from Brexit to COVID, while weaving in art, history, and deeply personal stories. Autumn was the first post-Brexit novel, published barely months after the referendum. Smith writes with extraordinary verbal dexterity, genuine warmth, and a refusal to separate the political from the personal. Her work is formally daring but never cold — her characters are vivid, her humour is real, and her compassion is evident on every page. The audiobook editions of Smith's novels are beautifully performed. Her books and audiobooks are essential for readers who love innovative literary fiction that engages with the world.