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Zadie Smith

ゼイディ・スミス

Zadie Smith

Aliases: Sadie Smith

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1975-10-25 （Willesden, London, England）
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Religion
Unreligious / sentimental humanist
Residence History
Willesden (London) → Kilburn (London) → Rome, Italy → New York City, USA

Career

Occupations
novelist, essayist, short-story writer, professor
Active Years
2000-2025
Affiliations
New York University (Creative Writing faculty)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), American Academy of Arts & Sciences (elected)
Influenced By
Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Marcel Proust, Joni Mitchell (musical influence / essay subject)
Influenced
Contemporary younger novelists (cultural influence)

Education

King's College, Cambridge
English literature
Degree: BA (Upper second-class honours)
Period: 1993–1997
Year of Graduation: 1997
Country: United Kingdom
Published short stories while at university that attracted publisher interest. Graduated with upper second-class honours.

Awards

Whitbread (now Costa) First Novel Award (White Teeth)
2000
Work: White Teeth
Category: 小説（デビュー作）
Organization: Whitbread/Costa Prize organization
Result: 受賞
Guardian First Book Award (White Teeth)
2000
Work: White Teeth
Category: 小説（デビュー作）
Organization: The Guardian
Result: 受賞
James Tait Black Memorial Prize (White Teeth)
2000
Work: White Teeth
Organization: University of Edinburgh (James Tait Black)
Result: 受賞
Betty Trask Award (White Teeth)
2000
Work: White Teeth
Organization: The Betty Trask Trust
Result: 受賞
Orange Prize for Fiction (On Beauty)
2006
Work: On Beauty
Organization: Orange Prize / Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction
Result: 受賞
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (On Beauty)
2006
Work: On Beauty
Organization: Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Jewish Quarterly Wingate Literary Prize (The Autograph Man)
2003
Work: The Autograph Man
Organization: Jewish Quarterly / Wingate
Result: 受賞
Welt-Literaturpreis
2016
Organization: Die Welt (Welt-Literaturpreis)
Result: 受賞
Langston Hughes Medal
2017
Organization: City College of New York / Langston Hughes Festival
Result: 受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award (Criticism, Feel Free)
2018
Work: Feel Free
Category: 批評
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
Infinity Award (Critical Writing and Research)
2019
Organization: International Center of Photography
Result: 受賞
Grammy Award for Album of the Year (featured artist)
2022
Work: Featured on Jon Batiste's album 'We Are'
Organization: The Recording Academy
Result: 受賞
Bodley Medal
2022
Organization: Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford)
Result: 受賞
PEN/Audible Literary Service Award
2022
Organization: PEN America
Result: 受賞
Critics' Circle Theatre Award (Most Promising Playwright: The Wife of Willesden)
2022
Work: The Wife of Willesden
Organization: Critics' Circle Theatre
Result: 受賞
Westport Prize for Literature (The Fraud)
2023
Work: The Fraud
Organization: The Westport Library
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
2024
Work: Review of the film 'Tár'
Category: 批評
Organization: The Pulitzer Prizes
Result: ファイナリスト

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

White Teeth

2000 Novel (social fiction) 464 pages

A multi-generational, multicultural portrait of London following several families; addresses immigration, race and identity with humour and historical reach.

immigrationrace and identityfamily historyurban life
Adaptations
  • [television] White Teeth (TV adaptation) (2002)

The Autograph Man

2002 Novel 320 pages

A novel exploring fame and identity; met with mixed critical response but commercial success.

fameselfhood

On Beauty

2005 Novel (satire / family novel) 432 pages

Set around Boston, follows an academic family through interpersonal and political conflicts; engages questions of culture and aesthetics.

familycultural conflictaesthetics and politics

NW

2012 Novel (contemporary / experimental) 352 pages

Set in NW London (Kilburn), examines birthplace, class and life trajectories through varying styles and voices; notable for formal experimentation.

origin and classurban lifechoice and fate
Adaptations
  • [television] NW (BBC television film) / Saul Dibb (2016)

Swing Time

2016 Novel 400 pages

Inspired by childhood love of tap-dancing; follows two women's lives and friendship while addressing race, class and global responsibility.

friendshipracemusic/danceglobalization

The Fraud

2023 Historical novel 464 pages

A historical novel centered on the Tichborne case; explores identity, race and legal theatre within 19th-century Britain.

identityrace and colonial historylaw and society

Bibliography

  • White Teeth (2000)
  • The Autograph Man (2002)
  • On Beauty (2005)
  • Martha and Hanwell (short fiction, 2005)
  • NW (2012)
  • Swing Time (2016)
  • Grand Union (short stories, 2019)
  • Feel Free (essays, 2018)
  • The Fraud (2023)
  • Dead and Alive (essays, 2025)

Adaptations

  • NW (BBC television film, 2016)
  • White Teeth (TV adaptation, 2002)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
blend of realism and postmodern techniquespolyphonic narration (multiple perspectives and formal experimentation)humour combined with critical observation
Recurring Motifs
race and immigrant experiencefamily and generational dynamicsLondon / urban spacesearch for identity

Legacy

Zadie Smith has been a major influence in Anglophone literature since the 2000s; praised for her incisive treatment of immigration, race and urban life and for a polyphonic style. She is widely recognized both academically and in popular culture, with numerous international honours.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature
  • American Academy of Arts & Sciences (elected)

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in Bottega Veneta's 2025 advertising campaign; noted presence in fashion/media as well as literature.

Quotes

  • Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it.
    Source: The Guardian (2010; from her '10 rules for writing fiction') (2010)

Trivia

  • Born Sadie; changed her name to Zadie at age 14.
  • Earned money as a jazz singer while at university.
  • Loved tap-dancing as a child.
  • Married to poet/novelist Nick Laird in 2004.
  • One brother is rapper/comedian Doc Brown (Ben Bailey Smith).