News
Return to Valetto chosen for BookPage’s Best Fiction of 2023
Reviews for Return to Valetto
Kirkus Reviews: “More fine work from a gifted storyteller: engrossing, well written, and affecting.” Read the full review.
Publishers Weekly: “This intelligent family drama will keep readers turning the pages.” Full review.
BookPage: “…a master of his trade who has executed a flawless novel that satisfies on all counts.” Full review.
Return to Valetto is a top pick from The New York Post and the Christian Science Monitor.
New Novel Coming in 2023
I’m thrilled to announce that my new novel, Return to Valetto, is forthcoming in the first half of 2023 with Farrar, Straus & Giroux (US: June 13) and Allen & Unwin (Australia: February 28).
The Electric Hotel gets an excellent review in The Washington Post, June 10, 2019
"Smith has the historical grounding of E.L. Doctorow, the character discernment of Alice McDermott and the bold whimsy of Mark Helprin. He is a writer of elegance, rich imagination and propulsive plotting." Read the full review.
Profile in the Sydney Morning Herald, June 2019
Interview and discussion of The Electric Hotel in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Electric Hotel gets a wonderful review in The New York Times! June 2019
"Radiant...a vital and highly entertaining work about the act of creation, and about what it means to pick up and move on after you’ve lost everything.” Full review here.
The Electric Hotel receives enthusiastic reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, March 2019
“Smith’s tale is as luminous as celluloid projected on a silver screen...Highly recommended for historical fiction fans and readers who love old Hollywood novels.” – Booklist, starred review
"Fascinating information about the making of silent films is balanced by poignant, emotional portrayals of individuals attempting to define their lives offscreen even as they made history on it. Smith winningly delves into Hollywood’s past." – Publishers Weekly (full review)
The Electric Hotel Receives a Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews, March 2019
I'm thrilled to share the very first review for The Electric Hotel, a starred review from Kirkus.
2018 Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, November 2017
I'm deeply honored to be among the recipients for a 2018 NEA Literature Fellowship!
FICTION INDIE BOOK OF THE YEAR - AUSTRALIA, March 2017
So grateful to the Australian Independent Booksellers Association for choosing The Last Painting of Sara de Vos as their Fiction Book of the Year.
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos Named a Best Book of 2016 by Amazon, Kirkus Reviews, Slate and the San Francisco ChronicleDecember 2016
Thrilled to see Sara de Vos on annual best book lists from Amazon, Kirkus Reviews, Slate (audio book), and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Longlist for the Carnegie Medal from the American Library AssociationNovember 2016
Thrilled to see Sara de Vos make the long list for the Carnegie Medal of Excellence for Fiction. Full list here.
The Guardian discusses The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, October 2016
An article in The Guardian discusses art forgery and recent art novels, including mine. Full article.
The Last Painting Chosen for Amazon's Best Books of 2016 So Far, June 2016
See the full list here.
The Last Painting featured in The Boston Globe Summer Reading List, June 2016
See the full list here.
The Last Painting Tops the Indie Bookstore List in Australia, June 6, 2016
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is No.1 on the indie bestseller list in Australia. See the list here.
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is on The New York Times Best Seller List! April 22, 2016
I'm thrilled to announce that The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is on the New York Times Best Seller List! Read the "Inside the List" column. Read the list.
New York Times Editors' Choice, April 17, 2016
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos has been chosen for The New York Times Editors' Choice. Full list.
Dominic included in the Weekend Australian's Hot 10 Artistic Talents, June 02, 2016
Read here.
A stellar review in The Sydney Morning Herald
"Dominic Smith's brilliant art novel...He is a great writer, particularly adept at the atmospheric details and the book is reminiscent of Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch in its familiarity with the art world." Read full review.
A very favorable review in The Australian, May 27, 2016
Read the full review.
Sydney Morning Herald Profile, May 20, 2016
A very nice profile in the SMH: "what may be the most exciting breakthrough of 2016." Read the full profile.
NPR's Fresh Air Reviews The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, April 21, 2016
A very favorable review of the novel by Maureen Corrigan on Fresh Air. Listen now.
My Playlist of Paintings that Inspired the Novel is Now Online, May 2016
My playlist of 16th and 17th century paintings that inspired my Sara de Vos novel. Read the list.
Sara de Vos Coverage in Australian Financial Review, May 2016
An early review in Australia for The Last Painting of Sara de Vos. Full review.
Very favorable review in the San Francisco Chronicle, April 17, 2016
"In this extraordinary narrative, lives, like paintings, can be great works of art, dependent on the minutest of decisions and happenstance. So, too, can novels, and in this sublime work about longing, creativity, love and loss, Smith explores what is authentic and what is hidden, on both the canvas and in the human heart." Full review.
A favorable review in The New York Times Book Review, April 10, 2016
"Smith can craft an elegant page-turner that carries its erudition effortlessly on an energetic plot. His narratives may be complex, but that quality only enhances their suspense...Apart from the story’s firm historical grounding, the narrative has a supple omniscience that glides, Möbius-like, among the centuries without a snag. Smith’s 1637 is as convincing a realization as his 1957 or 2000, Amsterdam in its Golden Age no less vivid than millennial Manhattan....'The Last Painting of Sara de Vos' may begin as a mystery about a crime, but by the end the reader sees far beneath that surface: All along it was a mystery of the heart." Full review.
A very enthusiastic review in The Boston Globe, April 08, 2016
"Written in prose so clear that we absorb its images as if by mind meld, 'The Last Painting' is gorgeous storytelling: wry, playful, and utterly alive, with an almost tactile awareness of the emotional contours of the human heart. Vividly detailed, acutely sensitive to stratifications of gender and class, it’s fiction that keeps you up at night — first because you’re barreling through the book, then because you’ve slowed your pace to a crawl, savoring the suspense." Full review.
Strong Review in the Chicago Tribune, April 5, 2016
"lustrous...skillful plotting and effortless prose...meticulously documents not only artists' products but also their tools and labor." Full review.
Pub Day for The Last Painting & Great Review in The Washington Post, April 5, 2016
Very grateful for this amazing review in today's Washington Post. Read full review.
"The genius of Smith’s book is not just the caper plot but also the interweaving of three alternating timelines and locations to tell a wider, suspenseful story of one painting’s rippling impact on three people over multiple centuries and locations."
My Essay About the Lost Women Painters of the Dutch Golden Age on the Paris Review website, April 2016
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/04/04/daughters-of-the-guild/
My Essay on Fictional Artists from Literature Now up at Electric Literature, April 2016
http://electricliterature.com/the-great-fictional-artists-of-literature-a-reading-list/
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos chosen for Amazon Editors' Picks for Best Books of April, April 2016
"A vivid, enthralling novel that is as timeless and luminous as the painting itself."
Full list and review here.
Interview and coverage in The Chicago Tribune, April 2016
Dallas Morning News Review, April 2016
“...a sublime tale of one woman’s lost art, another woman’s tragic mistake, and a privileged man’s link between the two.” Full review here.
Podcast Interview with Publishers Weekly, March 2016
Listen to my conversation about The Last Painting of Sara de Vos on the Publishers Weekly podcast series.
Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews, March 4, 2016
"This is a beautiful, patient, and timeless book, one that builds upon centuries and shows how the smallest choices—like the chosen mix for yellow paint—can be the definitive markings of an entire life." Full review.
Early Review in The Australian, February 27, 2016
"The Last Painting of Sara de Vos is a deeply researched, beautifully written, intellectually absorbing novel that also has the qualities of a page-turner...a tremendous story of art, deception, love, ambition and the place of women in the world, and in history. From the opening pages you know you are in the hands of a writer at the top of his game." Full review.
Booklist Starred Revew, Jan/Feb 2016
Delighted to receive a starred review over at Booklist:
"Wonderfully engaging...an outstanding achievement, filled with flawed and fascinating characters." Full review.
First Pre-publication review for The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, November 2015
Library Journal starred review:
"Highly evocative of time and place, this stunning novel explores a triumvirate of fate, choice, and consequence and is worthy of comparison to Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring and Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch. VERDICT Just as a painter may utilize thousands of fine brushstrokes, Smith slowly creates a masterly, multilayered story that will dazzle readers of fine historical fiction."
American Library Association adds Bright and Distant Shores to its 2012 Reading List, January 2012
http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/readinglist
Kirkus Reviews chooses Bright and Distant Shores for its "Best Books of 2011" list, November 2011
Thanks to Kirkus Reviews for including Bright and Distant Shores on its "Best Books of 2011" list.
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2011/fiction/
Bright and Distant Shores shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year, August 2011
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/diverse-titles-compete-for-top-prize-20110805-1ifk4.html
"Bright and Distant Shores" shortlisted for the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, July 2011
http://wheelercentre.com/dailies/post/5ff0bb324840/
Sydney Morning Herald Profile, March 2011
A recent profile of me and Bright and Distant Shores in The Sydney Morning Herald's Spectrum section.
http://dominicsmith.net/files/SMHProfileScanned.pdf
Review of Bright and Distant Shores in The Australian, February 26, 2011
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/the-new-pacific-solution/story-e6frg8nf-1226011590344
Events
Texas Book Festival
Austin, Texas, November 11, 2023
”Abandoned Places: Searching for Truth Amidst Physical and Emotional Ruins” a panel discussion with author Joyce Maynard and Susannah Auby
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Capitol Extension Room E2.030 (1100 Congress Avenue)
US Book Launch
Seattle, June 13, 7 pm
In Conversation with Daniel Tam-Claiborne
Hugo House
Details here.
Australian Book Tour for Return to Valetto
Melbourne, March 8, 6pm
In Conversation with Corrie Perkin
Sorrento Writers festival
Toorak Uniting Church Hall
Details: https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/.../Corrie-is...
Sydney, March 9, 7pm at The Royal Oak Balmain
In conversation with Caroline Baum
Details:
https://www.roaringstories.com.au/.../dominic-smith-in.../
Scone Literary Festival, March 11
Details: https://sconeliteraryfestival.com.au/2023-festival-events/
Australian Book Tour, August 01, 2019
I will be on book tour in Australia for The Electric Hotel from August 1 thru 12. Full listings and details here.
Book Event: BookPeople, Austin, Monday, June 17, 2019
BookPeople
603 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78703
In conversation with beloved Texas novelist, Stephen Harrigan, I'll be discussing and reading from The Electric Hotel.
Book Event: Third Place Books, Ravenna, Seattle, Wednesday, June 05, 2019
Third Place Book Ravenna
6504 20th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115
I'll be discussing and reading from my new novel, The Electric Hotel. I'll even show a few silent film clips from the very first cinema exhibition in 1895.
Gaithersburg Books Festival, Saturday, May 20, 2017
Edgar Allen Poe Pavillion, with Eleanor Brown and Mark Laframboise
Festival schedule
Tucson Festival of BooksSaturday, March 11, 2017
Desert Nights, Rising Stars Writing Conference | Arizona State UniversityFebruary 16, 2017
2016 Events for The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, Various, April 01, 2016
SYDNEY
6:30pm Wed. Aug. 3 Art Gallery of NSW Art After Hours: In Conversation with Michael Brand
http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/calendar/michael-brand-dominic-smith/
BYRON BAY
Aug. 4 thru Aug. 7 Byron Bay Writers Festival
https://byronwritersfestival.com/
BRISBANE
6pm Mon. Aug. 8 Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/whats-on/calendar 10am Tue. Aug. 9 Riverbend Books
http://riverbendbooks.com.au/p/events-meet-the-author-dominic-smith?barcode=RBE09AUGAM2016
MELBOURNE
6pm Tue. Aug. 9 Readings, Carlton 309 Lygon Street, Carlton
6:30pm Wed. Aug. 10 My Bookshop 430 Toorak Road, Toorak
CANBERRA
6pm Thur. Aug. 11 National Gallery of Australia
http://nga.gov.au/calendar/
PREVIOUS EVENTS
04/02 San Antonio Book Festival
04/05 US On Sale Date for The Last Painting of Sara de Vos/ Dallas Museum of Art Book Launch
04/09 Lone Star Book Festival, Houston
04/10 LA Times Book Festival
04/12 Reading at Scuppernong Books, 304 South Elm Street Greensboro NC
04/20 Writing on the Air interview, KOOP Radio Austin
04/21 Blanton Museum of Art Event in Austin
04/27 Australia On Sale Date
05/12 Friends of Georgetown Public Library Event
Reading and table host, Saturday, October 06, 2012
"An Evening with the Authors," a fundraiser for the Dr. Eugene Clark Library in Lockhart, TX.
Texas Book Festival 2011, Saturday and Sunday, October 22, 2011
Participating in the Texas Book Festival, appearance date and time TBD.
Writers League of Texas: An Author's Guide to PR and MarketingThursday, October 20, 2011
Writers' League of Texas
611 S. Congress, Suite 130
Austin, TX 78704
512-499-8914
Baltimore Book Festival, Saturday, September 24, 2011
CityLit Stage. Will be participating in the reading "Not From These Parts: Readings by Non-Hometown Boys."
http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/saturday
Chicago Public Library Event - A Reading and Panel, Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Chicago Public Library
Harold Washington Library Center
Cindy Pritzker Auditorium
400 S. State Street, 60605
(312) 747-4300
http://www.chipublib.org/events/details/id/70670/