Lee Smith

Author

Lee Smith is an American author, born in 1944 and raised in Grundy, Virginia, a rural town near the Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains. She attended The College of William & Mary and after graduating, she became a writer, primarily documenting the rural, small-town life of the southern United States. Smith is considered an iconography of the Appalachian life, regularly exploring the region's history, folklore, family dynamics, and rural life. Smith writes in a style that is often humorous and speaks to the virtues, follies and other distinct characteristics of her Appalachian family, friends and neighbors. Her books often explore the power of family and personal relationships, as well as themes of gender roles, class, and economic change. Smith often uses carefully crafted imagery, complex narrative voices, and vivid natural settings to depict rural Virginia life and its inhabitants. Smith has written nineteen books, including novels, memoirs, and short stories. She is best known for her novels The Devil’s Dream, Fair & Tender Ladies, Oral History and James City. In total, Smith's books have sold over two million copies. She also won the Southern Book Critics Circle Award, two O. Henry Awards, two American Academy of Arts & Letters Awards, and the North Carolina Award for Literature. Smith has also been awarded honorary doctorates from the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and Wake Forest University.