Lee Smith, born in Grundy, Virginia, in the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia, started her writing career at the young age of nine. She would write stories about her neighbors in the coal boomtown of Grundy and sell them for a nickel apiece. Since 1968, Lee Smith has authored seventeen works of fiction, including notable novels such as Fair and Tender Ladies, Oral History, Guests on Earth, and Dimestore. Her work is deeply infused with a sense of place, demonstrating a profound understanding and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia.

Lee Smith has received numerous accolades for her literary contributions, including the North Carolina Award for Literature and the prestigious Academy Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her novel The Last Girls was not only a New York Times bestseller but also won the Southern Book Critics Circle Award.