Andrew Anselmo Smith (born July 16, 1959) is an American author and short story writer in the

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

genre. He has written ten novels including '' Winger'' and '' Grasshopper Jungle'', which is currently being adapted into a movie. Smith is known for his dark subject matter, and his randomized writing style.

Early life

Andrew Smith was born in California in 1959. He decided to pursue a career as a writer because he was the editor of his high school newspaper. He traveled around the world and worked in various jobs such as working in metal mills, as a longshoreman, in bars and liquor stores, in security, and as a musician. After graduating from college, he tried pursuing careers as a journalist, writing for newspapers, and writing radio stations, but he felt it wasn't the kind of writing that he wanted to do for the rest of his life. After much traveling around the world, Smith finally settled for a job as a high school teacher. He taught advanced placement classes and coached a rugby team. The writing that he was doing on the side was never for publication; he would write for fun until he was challenged by one of his lifelong friends to get one of his books published. In 2008 his first novel, ''Ghost Medicine'', was published, followed by several more novels including '' Grasshopper Jungle'' and ''The Alex Crow''.

Personal life

He is currently married, has two children, and teaches Government, US History, and Economics at Canyon High School in Santa Clarita, California. Smith's novel ''Grasshopper Jungle'' was never meant to be published, as he had decided to quit writing for others, but his son urged him to publish it.

Awards

Andrew Smith has received several awards for his many books. His novel ''Marbury Lens'' has received a

Young Adult Library Services Association The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

Best For Young Adults award, the

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

Editor's Choice 2010 award, and was named

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

Best Children's Book of the Year for 2010. His novel ''Winger'' was given an

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

Best of the Year award and received an

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

Top 10 for 2014. ''Winger'' was also rated as one of

Best Books of 2013 and

Top 10 Summer Reads of 2013, was given a Junior Library Guild Selection for 2013, and was a 2014

Rainbow List The Rainbow List (called the Pink List until 2014) is a list of the most influential openly LGBT individuals in the United Kingdom, published annually in the British national newspaper ''The Independent on Sunday''. The list was started in 2000 ...

Nominee. His novel ''In the Path of Falling Objects'' received the Best Book For Young Adults Award. His novel '' Grasshopper Jungle'' has been awarded the 2014

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

and was a 2015 Michael Printz Honor Book. *2014

California Book Awards The Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States. Membership is open to everyone. Act ...

Young Adult Finalist for ''100 Sideways Miles''

Works

Marbury Lens series

* ''The Marbury Lens'' (2010) According to

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

, the book is held in 1022 libraries. *''King of Marbury'' (2012, book 1.5) * ''Passenger'' (2012) According to

, the book is held in 666 libraries.

Winger

*'' Winger'' (2013) According to

, the book is held in 1268 libraries WorldCat author listing
/ref> *''Stand-Off'' (2015)

Sam Abernathy

*''The Size of the Truth'' (2019) *''Bye-Bye, Blue Creek'' (2020)

Grasshopper Jungle

*'' Grasshopper Jungle'' (2014) According to

, the book is held in 1110 libraries. A Printz Award Honor Book, 2015 *''Exile from Eden'' (2019)

Other works

*''Ghost Medicine'' (2008) According to

, the book is held in 874 libraries. *''In the Path of Falling Objects'' (2009) According to

, the book is held in 653 libraries. *''Stick'' (2011) According to

, the book is held in 688 libraries. *''100 Sideways Miles'' (2014) *''The Alex Crow'' (2015) Reviewed in the New York Times *"Julian Breaks Every Rule" in ''Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy'' (2017) *''Rabbit & Robot'' (2018) Starred review from Publishers Weekly

References

External links

* *
Andrew Smith
at ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Andrew A. 1959 births American young adult novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American people of Italian descent Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American male writers