Joan Smith (novelist and journalist)
Encyclopedia
Joan Alison Smith is an English
novelist, journalist
and human rights
activist, who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English
section of International PEN
.
at the University of Reading
in the early 1970s . After a spell as a journalist in local radio in Manchester
, she joined the staff of the Sunday Times
in 1979 and stayed at the newspaper until 1984, although Smith still contributes book reviews to the publication. She has had a regular column in the Guardian
Weekend supplement, also freelancing 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 travelled extensively and this is reflected in her articles. Smith has taken a strong anti-Iraq war
stance. She is scornful of popular culture
and once gave away her television
set to her ex-husband, although she acquired a new set a decade later.
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. She is a supporter of the political organisation,Republic
and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society
.
Smith was married to journalist Francis Wheen
between 1985 and 1993. She had a relationship with Denis MacShane
, a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom, which ended in 2010 after seven years. On 25 May 2009, during the expenses scandal of 2009
Smith wrote an article for The Guardian
titled "I am sick of my country and this hysteria over MPs" objecting to the furore over MPs' expenses which she cited as an example of bullying in public life, stating that her partner was an (unnamed) MP. She stands by the article and has since republished it on her website. A complaint by the British National Party
against MacShane concerning expenses was referred to the Metropolitan police in October 2010.
On 15 September 2010, Smith, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian
, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI
's state visit to the UK.
She is a keen supporter of Classics
in state schools, describing the 1997-2010 Labour government's failure to act on the matter as "hardly their finest hour" and is a patron of The Iris Project
.
In November 2011 she gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry
into press and media standards following the telephone hacking practiced by the News of the World
. She testified that she considered celebrities thought they could control press content if they put themselves into the public domain when, in reality the opposite was more likely. She repeated a claim that she has persistently adhered to in her writings that the press is misogynistic.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
novelist, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activist, who is a former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
section of International PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
.
Life and work
The daughter of a park superintendent, Smith was educated at a state school before reading LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
at the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
in the early 1970s . After a spell as a journalist in local radio in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, she joined the staff of the Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
in 1979 and stayed at the newspaper until 1984, although Smith still contributes book reviews to the publication. She has had a regular column in the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Weekend supplement, also freelancing for the newspaper and in recent years has contributed to The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, the Independent on Sunday, and the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
.
In her non-fiction Smith displays a commitment to atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and republicanism; she has travelled extensively and this is reflected in her articles. Smith has taken a strong anti-Iraq war
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
stance. She is scornful of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
and once gave away her television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
set to her ex-husband, although she acquired a new set a decade later.
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
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for her services to PEN, but refused the award. She is a supporter of the political organisation,Republic
Republic (political organisation)
Republic is a British non-partisan republican pressure group advocating the replacement of the United Kingdom's monarchy with a democratically-elected head of state....
and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society
National Secular Society
The National Secular Society is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no-one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of religion. It was founded by Charles Bradlaugh in 1866...
.
Smith was married to journalist Francis Wheen
Francis Wheen
Francis James Baird Wheen is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster.-Early life and education:Wheen was born into an army family and educated at two independent schools: Copthorne Preparatory School near Crawley, West Sussex and Harrow School in north west London.-Life and career:Running...
between 1985 and 1993. She had a relationship with Denis MacShane
Denis MacShane
Denis MacShane is a British politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rotherham since the 1994 by-election and served as the Minister for Europe from 2002 until 2005, as well as being a current Policy Council member for Labour Friends of Israel.On 14 October 2010, it was announced...
, a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom, which ended in 2010 after seven years. On 25 May 2009, during the expenses scandal of 2009
United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal
The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal triggered by the leak and subsequent publication by the Telegraph Group in 2009 of expense claims made by members of the United Kingdom Parliament over several years...
Smith wrote an article for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
titled "I am sick of my country and this hysteria over MPs" objecting to the furore over MPs' expenses which she cited as an example of bullying in public life, stating that her partner was an (unnamed) MP. She stands by the article and has since republished it on her website. A complaint by the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
against MacShane concerning expenses was referred to the Metropolitan police in October 2010.
On 15 September 2010, Smith, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
's state visit to the UK.
She is a keen supporter of Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
in state schools, describing the 1997-2010 Labour government's failure to act on the matter as "hardly their finest hour" and is a patron of The Iris Project
The Iris Project
The Iris Project is an educational charity which was started in 2006 by Dr Lorna Robinson in order to bring ancient languages and culture to inner city state schools and communities...
.
In November 2011 she gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry
Leveson Inquiry
The Leveson Inquiry is an ongoing public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal. On 6 July 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced to Parliament that a public government inquiry would convene to further...
into press and media standards following the telephone hacking practiced by the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
. She testified that she considered celebrities thought they could control press content if they put themselves into the public domain when, in reality the opposite was more likely. She repeated a claim that she has persistently adhered to in her writings that the press is misogynistic.