Susan Arnout Smith is a renowned screenwriter, playwright, and novelist who has made a significant impact in the literary world. Born and raised in Alaska, she is a third-generation Alaskan who currently resides in San Diego.
Smith's most notable achievement is winning the 2018 Grand Prize for The Faith in Film International Screenwriting Award for her screenplay, GOD'S PHOTO ALBUM, which is adapted from the book of the same name by Shelly Mecum. She has the option agreement rights for this project and is actively working to assemble a team to produce it as a motion picture, with Dennis Brown serving as her mentor.
In addition to her work in screenwriting, Smith is a published author of thrillers, including THE TIMER GAME and OUT AT NIGHT, which feature a forensic crime specialist with the San Diego Police Crime labs, Grace Descanso. Her novels have been published by major houses in the US and translated into other languages.
Smith's novel, THE FROZEN LADY, about the birth of Alaska, was a best seller in her home state and was published by Arbor House and Zebra Books.
As a playwright, Smith has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Stanley Drama Award and the Shiras/Mildred and Albert Panowski Playwriting Award for her play BEAST. She has also been a playwright at the National Playwrights' Conference, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and has had her plays produced on television.
Smith has the distinction of having written only four scripts for television and having them all produced, while being over forty and never living in Hollywood. Her television credits include DIFFERENT, ANOTHER WOMAN'S HUSBAND, DYING TO BE PERFECT: THE ELLEN HART PENA Story, and LOVE LESSONS. DIFFERENT was a finalist for a Pen-West Award and was a TV Guide Editor's choice.
Her newest play, SEPARATION RAPID, was commissioned by the Chenango River Theatre, Greene, New York, and features Kate Hamill as Bessie Hyde.
In addition to her work in writing, Smith was also an essayist for NPR, Weekend Edition-Sunday, for a decade.
