Russell Smith

Russell Smith (born 1963) is a celebrated Canadian novelist, short-story writer, and cultural commentator known for his sharp satire and unflinching chronicles of urban life. Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he studied French literature at Queen's University and in Paris before settling in Toronto. He vaulted into the literary spotlight with his 1994 bestselling debut novel, How Insensitive, which captured nominations for the Governor General's Award and the Trillium Book Award. Smith achieved widespread critical acclaim for his 1999 breakthrough short-fiction collection, Young Men, an astutely observed, eleven-story cycle that masterfully explores the jaded psyches, relationship struggles, and hollow ambitions of thirty-something urban men bridging the gap between who they hoped to be and who they became. A multi-talented voice, he has published several other acclaimed books—including Noise, Muriella Pent, and the Giller Prize-shortlisted Confidence—while spending decades as a provocative national arts and culture columnist for The Globe and Mail.