The Fourth Courier

Timothy Jay Smith was raised traveling across America in a small trailer, sparking a lifelong wanderlust that has taken him around the world and inspired the vivid, international characters in his work. His extraordinary career includes smuggling banned plays from behind the Iron Curtain, navigating occupied territories, representing the United States at high diplomatic levels, and even stowing away on a “devil’s barge” to Africa – experiences that inform his award-winning writing. Smith has earned top honors across novels, screenplays, and stage plays, including the Gold Medal in the 2017 Faulkner-Wisdom Competition for Fire on the Island, the 2023 Leapfrog Global Fiction Prize for Istanbul Crossing, and the Paris Prize for Fiction for A Vision of Angels. His novel Cooper’s Promise was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2012, and he was nominated for the 2018 Pushcart Prize. A dedicated playwright and theater enthusiast, his play How High the Moon won the Stanley Drama Award, and he founded the Smith Prize for Political Theater. Timothy lives in Nice, France.