Photo: TimDuncan / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ali Smith is, to my mind, one of the most exciting writers working in English. The Inverness-born Scot has gathered the Costa, the Hawthornden, a CBE and far more, yet her prose never struts. What thrills me is her speed: she folds the present moment, the very headlines, into fiction without losing literary depth. Her playful homophone titles sit beside a serious engagement with politics, and the combination feels electric. Calling her a Nobel laureate-in-waiting hardly seems excessive. I admire deeply how she uses language to catch time itself as it passes.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ali Smith
- Name (Japanese)
- アリ・スミス
- Reading
- あり・すみす
- Born
- January 1, 1962 (age 64)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Tiger
- Origin
- Inverness, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / playwright / journalist / short story writer / university teacher
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Inverness High School
- University
- University of Aberdeen
Awards & achievements
- 2005 Costa Book Awards
- Goldsmiths Prize
- 2015 Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- 2012 Hawthornden Prize
- 2022 Austrian State Prize for European Literature
- 2021 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction
- 1995 Saltire Awards
- Encore Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Lente | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Ali Smith born?
Born January 1, 1962 (age 64).
Where is Ali Smith from?
Ali Smith is from Inverness, United Kingdom.
What does Ali Smith do?
Ali Smith works as writer, playwright, journalist, short story writer, university teacher.
What is Ali Smith known for?
Notable works include Lente.
Writer — see all → · Playwright — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.