- Joan Smith (novelist and journalist)
Joan Alison Smith (born
August 27 ,1953 inLondon ) is an Englishnovelist ,journalist andhuman rights activist , who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English section ofInternational PEN .Smith read
Latin at theUniversity of Reading in the early1970 s. After a spell as a journalist in local radio inManchester , she joined the staff of the "Sunday Times" in1979 and stayed at the newspaper until1984 , although Smith still contributes book reviews to the publication. She has had a regular column in the "Guardian" Weekend supplement, alsofreelancing for the newspaper and in recent years has contributed to "The Independent ", the "Independent on Sunday ", and the "New Statesman ".In her non-fiction Smith displays a commitment to
atheism ,feminism and republicanism; she has traveled extensively and this is reflected in her articles. Smith has taken a strong anti-Iraq war stance. Unlike many on the left, she is scornful ofpopular culture and once gave away hertelevision set to a close friend, although she acquired a new set a decade later. Also a critic of conventional morality, she uses the term 'child free' to avoid the pejorative connotations of the word 'childless'.Outside the UK, Smith is probably best known for the Loretta Lawson series of crime novels. "What Will Survive" (2007) is a novel set in Lebanon in 1997 concerning a journalist's investigation into the death of a model and anti-landmine campaigner.
In
2003 she was offered the MBE for her services to PEN, but refused the award. Joan Smith is a supporter of [http://www.republic.org.uk Republic] and an Honorary Associate of theNational Secular Society .Joan Smith was married to the journalist
Francis Wheen between 1985 and 1993. She is currently romantically involved withDenis MacShane , a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.Fact|date=June 2008Bibliography
Non-fiction
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Clouds of Deceit: Deadly Legacy of Britain's Bomb Tests | id = ISBN 0-571-13628-1 | year = 1985 | publisher = Faber
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Misogynies: Reflections on Myths and Malice | id = ISBN 0-571-15451-4 | year = 1989 | publisher = Faber
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Hungry for You: From Cannibalism to Seduction - A Book of Food | id = ISBN 0701162171 | year = 1996 | publisher = Chatto & Windus
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Different for Girls: How Culture Creates Women | id = ISBN 0-09-959411-0 | year = 1998 | publisher = Vintage
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Moralities: How to End the Abuse of Money and Power in the 21st Century | id = ISBN 0-7139-9409-6 | year = 2001 | publisher = Allen LaneLoretta Lawson Novels
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title =
A Masculine Ending | id = ISBN 0-571-14751-8 | year = 1987 | publisher = Faber
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Why Aren't They Screaming? | id = ISBN 0-571-15187-6 | year = 1988 | publisher = Faber
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Don't Leave ME This Way | id = ISBN 0-571-14102-1 | year = 1990 | publisher = Faber
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = What Men Say | id = ISBN 0-7011-5793-3 | year = 1993 | publisher = Chatto & Windus
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Full Stop | id = ISBN 0-7011-6000-4 | year = 1995 | publisher = Chatto and WindusNovel
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = What Will Survive | id = ISBN 10 1905147562 | year = 2007 | publisher = Arcadia Books
Editor
*cite book | author = Joan Smith | title = Femmes De Siècle | id = ISBN 0701139846 | year = 1992 | publisher = Chatto and Windus
External links
* [http://www.librarything.com/author/smithjoan LibraryThing author profile]
* [http://www.republic.org.uk Republic]
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