Neil Smith (writer)

Neil Smith
Born	1964 Montreal, Quebec
Occupation	writer
Nationality	Canadian
Period	2000s-present
Notable works	Bang Crunch, Boo, Jones
Notable awards	Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction

Neil Smith (born 1964) is a Canadian writer and translator from Montreal, Quebec.[1] His novel Boo, published in 2015,[2] won the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction.[3] Boo was also nominated for a Sunburst Award[4] and the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award,[5] and was longlisted for the Prix des libraires du Québec.

Smith published his debut book, the short story collection Bang Crunch, in 2007.[6] It was chosen as a best book of the year by the Washington Post and The Globe and Mail, won the McAuslan First Book Prize from the Quebec Writers' Federation,[7] and was a finalist for the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. Three stories in the book were also nominated for the Journey Prize.[8]

Smith also has a degree in translation and translates from French to English.[9] The Goddess of Fireflies, his translation of Geneviève Pettersen's novel La déesse des mouches à feu, was nominated for the Governor General's Award for French to English translation at the 2016 Governor General's Awards.[10]

His newest book of fiction, the novel Jones, was released in August 2022. It is the harrowing story of a pair of siblings attempting to survive the horror show of their family.[11] It, too, was nominated for the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction.[12]

Literary translations

• Geneviève Pettersen, The Goddess of Fireflies, Véhicule Press, 2016.[13]
• Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, You Crushed It, Book*hug, 2025.[14]
• Jean-Christophe Réhel, All Kidding Aside, QC Fiction, 2025.

References

1. "Nice and easy does it". Quill & Quire, Winter 2007.
2. Nicholas Cameron, "Review: Neil Smith's Boo is a novel of tremendous imagination". The Globe and Mail, May 22, 2015.
3. Ian McGillis, "Neil Smith, Anita Anand, David McGimpsey honoured at QWF Awards". Montreal Gazette, November 19, 2015.
4. Erin Balser, "Gemma Files wins 2016 Sunburst Award for "uniquely Canadian" novel". CBC Books, July 13, 2017.
5. Becky Robertson, "Awards: Canadian Library Association names 2016 YA Book Award finalists". Quill & Quire, March 2, 2016.
6. John Burns, "Bang Crunch: First fiction by Neil Smith". The Georgia Straight, January 24, 2007.
7. "Montreal's Heather O'Neill wins Quebec book prize". CBC Arts, November 22, 2007.
8. Gordon Bowness, "In print: Neil Smith's Bang Crunch". Daily Xtra, January 31, 2007.
9. Michael Posner, "Getting bang for his pluck". The Globe and Mail, March 5, 2007.
10. Mark Medley, "Governor-General's Literary Award short list a serious case of déjà vu". The Globe and Mail, October 4, 2016.
11. Robert J. Wiersema (August 19, 2022). "'Jones' may be a common name, but Neil Smith's new novel is uncommonly powerful". Toronto Star.
12. "Quebec Writers' Federation Literary Awards return with a plot twist".
13. "The Goddess of Fireflies by Geneviève Pettersen". www.vehiculepress.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
14. Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, You Crushed It, Book*hug, 2025.

External links

• Neil Smith profile at Penguin Random House Canada