Susan Arnout Smith (born October 31, 1948 in Anchorage, Alaska), is a novelist, television scriptwriter, playwright, and essayist.

Writing career

Smith’s writing deals primarily with the theme of redemption: coming back from a dark place into light and trying to find a way home. Her first novel, '' The Frozen Lady'', is a historical novel dealing with the birth of Alaska, tracing the intertwining lives of an Eskimo man and a white woman. Her magazine work includes a 1987 interview with

James Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...

and his family, and a 1987 interview with

Susan Butcher Susan Howlet Butcher (December 26, 1954 – August 5, 2006) was an American dog musher, noteworthy as the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1986, the second four-time winner in 1990, and the first to win four out of five ...

, famed champion of the Alaskan Iditarod dog sled race. Her first play, ''BEAST'', won the 1990 Stanley Drama Award and the 1991 Albert and Mildred Panowski/Shiras Institute playwriting award, where Dr. James Panowski called it “easily the best play writing award winner we’ve selected since the contest began back in 1974.” ''BEAST''’s first professional production was Tampa Players, in 1993. A second play, '' Killing Mother'', was produced in 1992. Smith's first essay, “From the Heart,” done as a surprise anniversary present for her husband, Fred, aired on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, which was the start of a 10-year career at NPR writing essays for "

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program '' Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday ...

-Sunday." Her 1992 teleplay, ''Different'', was accepted at the National Playwrights Conference, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CN. ''Different'' was later a finalist for a Pen Center USA West award, a nominee for a Hollywood Media Access Award, and was broadcast in 1999 in a Lifetime Television production starring

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. B ...

and

Annabeth Gish Anne Elizabeth "Annabeth" Gish (born March 13, 1971) is an American actress. She has played roles in films ''Shag'', ''Hiding Out'', '' Mystic Pizza'', ''SLC Punk!'', ''The Last Supper'' and ''Double Jeopardy''. On television, she played Special ...

. Smith has written three other teleplays, all of which have been produced and have aired: ''Dying to be Perfect: the Ellen Hart Pena Story'', on ABC, starring

Crystal Bernard Crystal Lynn Bernard (born September 30, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for her roles as Helen Chappel-Hackett on the sitcom ''Wings'' (1990-1997), Amy on ''It's a Living'' (1985–1989), and K.C. Cunningham on ' ...

and

Esai Morales Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films '' Bad Boys'' with Sean Penn and '' La Bamba'' with Lou Diamond Phillips (1987). His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series '' ...

); ''Another Woman’s Husband'', also by Lifetime Television, starring

Lisa Rinna Lisa D. Rinna (born Elizabeth Deann Rinna; July 11, 1963) is an American actress and television personality. As an actress, she is best known for her roles as Billie Reed on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' and Taylor McBride ...

and

Gail O'Grady Gail Ann O'Grady (born January 23, 1963), an American actress and producer, is best known for her roles on television. Her roles include Donna Abandando in the ABC police drama '' NYPD Blue'', and Helen Pryor in the NBC drama series ''American Dre ...

; and ''Love Lessons'', on CBS, starring

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awa ...

. Her first thriller, ''

The Timer Game ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', was published in 2008 and has been translated into several languages and is available in 12 countries. Along with co-creator and director

Kai Soremekun Kai Soremekun is a Canadian filmmaker and actor. She has dual Canadian/USA citizenship and lives in Los Angeles. She is best known for the 1991 film ''Regarding Henry'', which starred Harrison Ford and Annette Bening, the 1995 film ''Heat'', whi ...

, in 2007 she produced a series of twenty-two webisodes—dramas about a minute in length—that introduce ''The Timer Game'' five years before the book opens. The last webisode ends in a cliff-hanger that’s paid off in the novel. Her second thriller in the series, ''Out at Night'', dealing with the issue of terrorism and genetically modified crops, was published in the US in March, 2009 by St. Martin’s Minotaur and in the UK in May, 2009 by Harper Perennial. Out at Night is also available in other languages. Smith is at work on the next Grace Descanso thriller. Her play ''Separation Rapid'' will be produced in the summer of 2012 at the Chenango River Theatre in Greene, New York.

Personal life

Susan is married. She lives and works in Southern California.

Facebook incident

In February 2011, Smith published an article on

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

, detailing her distress over a fraudulent and libelous Facebook page created in her name as a prank, and Facebook's reported refusal to take steps to resolve the matter.Radio Netherlands Worldwide, "My Facebook nightmare," March 7, 2011
/ref>

Works

* ''The Frozen Lady'', 1982 * ''BEAST'', 1992 * ''Killing Mother'', 1993 * ''Dying to be Perfect'': the Ellen Hart Pena Story, 1996 * ''Different'', 1999 * ''Another Woman’s Husband'', 1999 * ''Love Lessons'', 2000 * Essays, National Public Radio, Weekend Edition-Sunday, 1991–2001 * ''The Timer Game'', 2008 * ''Out at Night'', 2009

References

External links

* Official web site for Susan Arnout Smith

* Official web site for ''The Timer Game''

* Works by Susan Arnout or/and Susan Arnout Smith in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
Articles by Susan Arnout Amith on the 5th Estate blogNew play explores story of newlyweds who vanished on Grand Canyon adventureChris Kocher Interviews Susan On WHRH'Separation Rapid' a harrowing journey

"Local Writer Victim Of Imposter Account On Facebook"
KPBS-FM, KPBS, June 23, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Susan Arnout 1948 births American women writers Living people NPR personalities Writers from Anchorage, Alaska 21st-century American women