Dominic Smith (author)

Smith at the 2023 Texas Book Festival

Dominic Smith is an Australian-American novelist.

Early life and education

Smith was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1971. He grew up in the Blue Mountains and in Sydney. His father was an American corporate manager, his Australian mother worked as a secretary. Smith, one of four children, was eight years old when his parents separated. The following year, the family home burned down and Smith's mother suffered a stroke and became disabled; the family struggled to make ends meet.[1] Australian politician Tamara Smith is his sister.[1]

Smith graduated from college in 1994 at age 23 with a B.A. in anthropology.[1] He completed an MFA in creative writing on a Michener Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin in 2003.[2]

He lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife, an instructional coach and early-childhood specialist. He has two daughters.[1] Smith has taught in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers.[3]

Publications

Smith's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Texas Monthly and The Australian.[4][5][6][7] His novel The Last Painting of Sara de Vos was a New York Times bestseller.[8]

Novels

  • Return to Valetto: A Novel (2023 Farrar, Straus, Giroux in USA; Allen & Unwin in Australia)
  • The Electric Hotel: A Novel (Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Sarah Crichton Books, June 2019)
  • The Last Painting of Sara de Vos (2016, Farrar, Straus, Giroux/Sarah Crichton Books in USA; Allen & Unwin in Australia)[1][9][10][11]
  • Bright and Distant Shores (Atria, 2011)[12]
  • The Beautiful Miscellaneous (Atria, 2007)
  • The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre (Atria, 2006)

Awards and Fellowships

  • National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship 2018[13]
  • Australia Council for the Arts New Works Grant[14]
  • Dobie Paisano Fellowship[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Baum, Caroline (21 May 2016). "Dominic Smith (book review)". The Age.
  2. ^ Record of degree on UT Austin website
  3. ^ Warren Wilson faculty
  4. ^ "Stewart O'Nan Returns to the Fictional Maxwell Family (Published 2019)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05.
  5. ^ "Dominic Smith". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2023-06-05.
  6. ^ Fiction by Smith in Texas Monthly
  7. ^ Book Review by Smith in The Australian
  8. ^ Bio on Macmillan website
  9. ^ Harrison, Kathryn (8 April 2016). "The Last Painting of Sara de Vos (book review)". New York Times. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  10. ^ Swinn, Louise (4 June 2016). "A picture of art and its sense of mystery (book review)". Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. ^ Shapira, Ian (5 April 2016). "'The Last Painting of Sara de Vos,' a riveting tale of art theft (book review)". Washington Post.
  12. ^ Bradley, James (26 February 2011). "The new Pacific solution (book review)". Weekend Australian.
  13. ^ NEA Fellowship Listing
  14. ^ Allen & Unwin website
  15. ^ Paisano Fellowship Listing