Dan Smith has lived in many places that inspire his writing - including Sierra Leone, Sumatra, Brazil, Spain, the Soviet Union, and Newcastle. His first novel, Dry Season, was shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award 2011, and was nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He is also the author of My Friend the Enemy, Dark Horizons, The Child Thief, Red Winter, The Darkest Heart, and My Brother's Secret.