Michael Marshall Smith was born on
May 3, 1965, in
Knutsford, a small town in
Cheshire,
England. At the age of one his family moved to
the States, first to
Illinois, then
Florida. He spent the first 8 years of his life relocating, having later spent a year in both
South Africa and
Australia before returning to England in 1973. He studied
Philosophy and Social & Political Science at
King's College in
Cambridge.
He worked as a
graphic designer and wrote corporate videos, although to this day simply likes to say he knew how to use a
Mac when nobody else did, then later worked as a comedy writer for
BBC.
At the recommendation of a friend he read
The Talisman by
Stephen King and
Peter Straub and was hooked. He devoured King, reading all he could get his hands on, and decided he wanted to enter genre fiction
writing. Shortly after, his first story,
The Man Who Drew Cats, was written and published in 1991, receiving critial acclaim. In 1992,
The Dark Land won the best story award. He wrote many other short stories until his first novel,
Only Forward, was published in 1994. It never quite fit into any one genre, sifting from
science fiction, horror, and crime, then finally labeled as "
slipstream fiction." In 1995 it received the
August Darleth Award for Best Novel.
His second book,
Spares, was published in 1996 and also met with critical acclaim. It's said
Steven Spielberg's production,
DreamWorks, bought the movie rights to it and it's since been referred to as an upcoming animation. His third book,
One of Us, is also being made into a movie.
He now (as of July 2000) lives in
London with his wife, Paula, and his two
Burmilla cats.
Some of his books and short stories include:
Novels:
Short stories (partial listing):