Joan Smith (novelist and journalist)

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Joan Alison Smith (born August 27, 1953 in London) is an English novelist, journalist and human rights activist, who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English section of International PEN.

Smith read Latin at the University of Reading in the early 1970s. After a spell as a journalist in local radio in Manchester, she joined the staff of the Sunday Times in 1979 and stayed at the newspaper until 1984, although Smith still contributes book reviews to the publication. She has had a regular column in the Guardian Weekend supplement, also freelancing for the newspaper and in recent years has contributed to The Independent, the Independent on Sunday, and the New Statesman.

In her non-fiction Smith displays a commitment to atheism, feminism and republicanism; she has traveled extensively and this is reflected in her articles. Smith has taken a strong anti-Iraq war stance. Unlike many on the left, she is scornful of popular culture and once gave away her television set to a close friend, although she acquired a new set a decade later. Also a critic of conventional morality, she uses the term 'child free' to avoid the pejorative connotations of the word 'childless'.

Outside the UK, Smith is probably best known for the Loretta Lawson series of crime novels.

In 2003 she was offered the MBE for her services to PEN, but refused the award. Joan Smith is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.

1 Bibliography
- 1.1 Non-fiction
- 1.2 Loretta Lawson Novels
2 External Links

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Non-fiction

Joan Smith (1998). Different for Girls: How Culture Creates Women. Vintage. ISBN 0-09-959411-0.
Joan Smith (1989). Misogynies: Reflections on Myths and Malice. Faber. ISBN 0-571-15451-4.
Joan Smith (2001). Moralities: How to End the Abuse of Money and Power in the 21st Century. Allen Lane. ISBN 0-7139-9409-6.