Anna Smaill (born April 1979) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

poet and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, and a former

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

Early life and education

Smaill was born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 1979. She started playing the violin aged seven. She studied musical performance at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

in the late 1990s and during her time at Canterbury, she decided to not become a professional violinist, but pursue a career in writing instead. She began studying English and music theory, before changing to the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, from where she graduated with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in English. She spent the following year in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, graduating with a masters in creative writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters. She lived in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, from 2004 to 2006. Smaill started a PhD in contemporary American poetry at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in the United Kingdom, and finished it after returning to live in Wellington in 2013. She was a lecturer in creative writing at the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a Universities in the United Kingdom, university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield ...

from 2009 to 2012.

Writing

Smaill was included in the

Best New Zealand Poems series ''Ōrongohau , Best New Zealand Poems'' is an annual online anthology of poems chosen by guest editors. The anthology began in 2001 and is published by the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington in New ...

in 2002 and 2005. Her first collection of poetry, ''The Violinist in Spring'', was published in 2006. Her first novel, ''The Chimes'', was published in 2015 and was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize, but did not make the shortlist. She had been unaware that her publisher had submitted ''The Chimes'' for the award. ''The Chimes'' was awarded the

World Fantasy Award for Best Novel The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

in October 2016. Smaill writes her work in longhand before typing it up. The collection of poems and her debut novel are the only two books published by Smaill so far; as of 2015, she had started writing a second novel.

Family

Smaill met the novelist Carl Shuker while studying at Victoria University. They married in 2010 and have one daughter.

References

External links

Official website

New Zealand Book Council website: author profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smaill, Anna Living people 1979 births Writers from Auckland New Zealand poets New Zealand women novelists World Fantasy Award–winning writers University of Auckland alumni International Institute of Modern Letters alumni Alumni of University College London Academics of the University of Hertfordshire