Michael Smith (born 1976, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) is an English writer, broadcaster and film-maker. He was brought up in

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

and graduated from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. His best-known work is ''The Giro Playboy''.

Writing

He began writing by producing a series of pamphlets which became collectors' items and which he worked up into ''The Giro Playboy'' (

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

, 2006). ''Shorty Loves Wing Wong'' (

, 2007), a prequel to ''The Giro Playboy'', incorporating art by Jim Medway, was the follow-up. Both Faber books were preceded by collectable limited editions, published by Simon Finch and To Hell, respectively. The Simon Finch edition collected together the early ''The Giro Playboy'' pamphlets and a compact disk of readings, set to music by collaborator Flora, packaged in a hand-stencilled pizza box. ''Shorty Loves Wing Wong'' was accompanied by an exhibition of Jim Medway's artwork at London's

Paul Stolper Gallery Paul Stolper Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Museum Street, Bloomsbury, London. It was established in 1998. References External links * Contemporary art galleries in London Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Camde ...

. ''Unreal City'', Smith's third Faber book (September 2013), is a limited edition, with an accompanying CD of readings, combining music by Andrew Weatherall. Paperback and iBook versions will follow. His writing has been anthologised in collections, including Oysteropolis, in ''On Nature'' (Harper, 2011), and extracts from ''The Giro Playboy'' in ''Reactions 5: New Poetry'' (Pen & Inc Press, University of East Anglia, 2005). Smith has also written features for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' newspapers, '' The Idler'', ''Zembla'' and ''Fire & Knives'', as well as regular columns for magazines '' Dazed & Confused'', ''Good For Nothing'' and ''Bare Bones/Le Gun''.

Broadcasting: BBC

Smith has written and presented two six-part TV series on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, ''Citizen Smith'', examining what it means to be English (2008) and ''Michael Smith's Drivetime'', a road movie exploring the cultural impact of the car (2009). As well as featuring Smith's mediations on the landscapes he encountered, the film also saw him meeting local people who offered a personal insight into their neighbourhoods, such as writer and comedian Lee Kern who was Michael's "spirit guide" into

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

and the A41. They were followed by a one-hour televisual love-letter, ''A Journey Back to Newcastle: Michael Smith's Deep North'' (2010). Both series were produced and directed by Simon Egan of

Bedlam Productions Bedlam Productions is an independent film and television production company based in Soho, London and has been in operation since 2009. Bedlam was founded by Simon Egan and Gareth Unwin; the two met while studying film at Ravensbourne College. C ...

, who went on to co-produce the multi-

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

- and BAFTA-winning feature film,

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...

. Smith frequently makes films for

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's ''

The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, th ...

'' - including a flâneur's hymn to shopping malls; the regenerating East End of London; and Dr Dee, the opera by

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

. He has been heard on numerous radio stations, notably

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London News'' and weekly ''Sunday Politics'' on television, ...

, and various regional stations.

Films

''Paris Postcards'', a series of six short films for

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

in 2009, was followed by similar series exploring Amsterdam, Lyon and Avignon. The Amsterdam films were photographed by

Danfung Dennis Danfung Dennis is a still photographer and documentary film maker. He graduated from the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. His images have been published in ''Newsweek'', ''Time'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Washing ...

, whose documentary

Hell and Back Again ''Hell and Back Again'' is a 2011 American-British-Afghan documentary film produced, shot, and directed by Danfung Dennis, about a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps who returns from the Afghanistan conflict with a badly broken leg and pos ...

was a Sundance award winner. ''Drift Street: Michael Smith's Guide to the Olympic Park, London 2012 ''was premiered on a narrowboat housing London's Floating Cinema. ''Lost in London'', his second short film as director, commissioned by CREATE, was premiered at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, London. His East London trilogy was completed in 2013 by ''Mystery River: a wander along the Lea'', co-commissioned by The Floating Cinema and Luton's Departure Lounge Gallery.

Live performance

Michael Smith regularly performs readings. He held residencies at London's

Whitechapel Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the fir ...

and Shakespeare & Co in Paris. Festival gigs include the Edinburgh Festival, Glastonbury, Durham Book Festival, Festival Number 6 (Portmeirion), Nova, Caught By The River Variety Show, Richmond-upon-Thames, Port Eliot,

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

, Clerkenwell, Hackney and the Crossing The Border Festival in The Hague. London performances include The Colony Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Filthy Macnasty's, Boogaloo, Great Eastern Hotel and The Social. And he has read at small venues in Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

References

External links

Michael Smith's official website

Faber And Faber, Smith's publisher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Michael People from Hartlepool Alumni of University College London English television personalities English columnists 21st-century English novelists Living people 1976 births English male novelists 21st-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers