Anna Smith Spark

{{Family name hatnote|Smith Spark}}{{Infobox writer

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| occupation = Author, civil servant

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| education = The Hertfordshire and Essex High School

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| genre = Grimdark fantasy

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| children = 2{{cite news |last1=Corr |first1=Sinead |title=Anna Smith Spark: Fourth novel A Woman of the Sword is new direction for Bishop's Stortford's Queen of Grimdark after The Court of Broken Knives, The Tower of Living and Dying and The House of Sacrifice |url=https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/whats-on/anna-smith-sparks-new-fantasy-novel-explores-a-womans-role-9301581/ |access-date=30 June 2024 |work=Bishop Stortford Independent |date=6 March 2023 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306184041/https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/whats-on/anna-smith-sparks-new-fantasy-novel-explores-a-womans-role-9301581/ |url-status=live }}

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Anna Smith Spark (born 1978 or 1979) is a British fantasy fiction writer and civil servant from Bishop's Stortford. She wrote a trilogy titled Empires of Dust as well as several other standalone works, and has been styled the "Queen of Grimdark".{{cite web |last1=Mauro |first1=John |title=ANNA SMITH SPARK: WHERE TO START READING |url=https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/anna-smith-spark-where-to-start-reading/ |website=Grimdark Magazine |access-date=1 July 2024 |date=7 March 2024|issn=2204-4655}}

Early life

Smith Spark is from Bishop's Stortford, where she was educated at The Hertfordshire and Essex High School. Academically she has a BA from University College London (UCL), an MA from the University of Essex, and a PhD from Birkbeck, University of London, focused on classical and cultural history.{{cite web |last1=Lindberg |first1=S. E. |title=Disgust and Desire. An interview with Anna Smith Spark |url=https://www.blackgate.com/2019/05/18/disgust-and-desire-an-interview-with-anna-smith-spark |website=blackgate.com |publisher=Black Gate |access-date=8 July 2024 |date=18 May 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk/news/my-stortford-author-anna-smith-spark-s-home-town-favourites-9055300/|title=My Stortford: Author Anna Smith Sparks home-town favourites|work=Bishop's Stortford Independent|date=10 March 2018|accessdate=26 September 2024}}

Career

As well as authoring fantasy literature, Smith Spark works in the civil service.

The Court of Broken Knives, Smith Spark's first novel and the first in the Empires of Dust trilogy, was released in 2017. Focused on four protagonists, the story is a grimdark fantasy about an attempt to overthrow the Sekemleth Empire. It was released to positive critical reception, with Kirkus magazine stating that it should "appeal to grimdark fans looking for the extreme edge", but that "others may well find it nasty, brutish, and not short enough".{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Adrian |title=REVIEW: THE COURT OF BROKEN KNIVES BY ANNA SMITH SPARK |url=https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-the-court-of-broken-knives/ |website=Grimdark Magazine |access-date=30 June 2024 |date=22 September 2017 |issn=2204-4655|archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002175915/https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-the-court-of-broken-knives/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=THE COURT OF BROKEN KNIVES |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anna-smith-spark/court-broken-knives/ |website=Kirkus |access-date=30 June 2024 |date=2017 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305134356/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anna-smith-spark/court-broken-knives/ |url-status=live }} The sequel, The Tower of Living and Dying, was released in 2018. The previous protagonist, Marith Altrersyr, becomes king and leaves behind a "trail of violent death". A review in Publishers Weekly states that Smith Spark "fascinates and entertains", with no sign of "middle-book sag".{{cite journal |title=The Tower of Living and Dying: Empires of Dust, Book 2 |journal=Publishers Weekly |date=2018 |volume=265 |issue=25 |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=130207351&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=30 June 2024 |archive-date=30 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240630213718/https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=130207351&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |url-status=live }} The concluding novel in the "blood-spattered" trilogy, The House of Sacrifice, was released in 2019.{{cite news |last1=Nicol |first1=Patricia |title=GAME OF LITERARY THRONES; Patricia Nicol rounds up the next generation of hit fantasy fiction |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A582257781/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=36fb15c8 |access-date=1 July 2024 |work=Sunday Times |date=14 April 2019}}

In 2023, Smith Spark published A Woman of the Sword. Set in the same world as the Empires of Dust, the novel is character-led, focusing more on "grunt" characters, including from a feminist perspective and addressing PTSD and the trials of motherhood. A review in Grimdark magazine stated that the book "hurts to read", but is "unputdownable at times".{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Adrian |title=REVIEW: A WOMAN OF THE SWORD BY ANNA SMITH SPARK |url=https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-a-woman-of-the-sword-by-anna-smith-spark/ |website=Grimdark Magazine |access-date=30 June 2024 |date=19 November 2022 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002120949/https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-a-woman-of-the-sword-by-anna-smith-spark/ |url-status=live }} Also released in 2023 was the novel A Sword of Bronze and Ashes, about a retired warrior, Kanda, who is now a wife and mother living peacefully until ancient foes return and threaten the agrarian existence of herself and her family. It was described by Liz Rourke of Locus Magazine as a "peculiar, ambitious novel" that recalls "oral epic poetry" and is reminiscent of the Táins.{{cite journal |title=A Sword of Bronze and Ashes |journal=Publishers Weekly |date=2023 |volume=270 |issue=31 |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=167661744&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |access-date=30 June 2024 |archive-date=30 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240630213718/https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=167661744&lang=en-gb&site=eds-live&scope=site |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Bourke |first1=Liz |title=Liz Bourke Reviews A Sword of Bronze and Ashes by Anna Smith Spark |url=https://locusmag.com/2023/12/liz-bourke-reviews-a-sword-of-bronze-and-ashes-by-anna-smith-spark/ |website=Locus Magazine |access-date=30 June 2024 |date=7 December 2023 |archive-date=25 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231225134850/https://locusmag.com/2023/12/liz-bourke-reviews-a-sword-of-bronze-and-ashes-by-anna-smith-spark/ |url-status=live }}

Personal life

Smith Spark and her husband Jamie have two children.

Awards

In 2018 Smith Spark's novel The Court of Broken Knives was nominated for both a David Gemmell award and a British Fantasy Award.{{cite web |title=2018 British Fantasy Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/10/2018-british-fantasy-awards-winners/ |website=Locus Magazine |date=2018 |access-date=30 June 2024 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002235146/https://locusmag.com/2018/10/2018-british-fantasy-awards-winners/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=2018 Gemmell Awards Winners |url=https://locusmag.com/2018/07/2018-gemmell-awards-winners/ |website=Locus Magazine |access-date=30 June 2024 |date=2018 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308181700/https://locusmag.com/2018/07/2018-gemmell-awards-winners/ |url-status=live }}

Bibliography

=Empires of Dust=

{{cite book |last1=Smith Spark |first1=Anna |title=The Court of Broken Knives |date=2017 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780008204174}}
{{cite book |last1=Smith Spark |first1=Anna |title=The Tower of Living and Dying |date=2018 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780008204105}}
{{cite book |last1=Smith Spark |first1=Anna |title=The House of Sacrifice |date=2019 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=9780008204143}}

=Other novels=

{{cite book |last1=Smith Spark |first1=Anna |title=A Woman of the Sword |date=2023 |publisher=Luna Press |isbn=9781915556042}}
{{cite book |last1=Smith Spark |first1=Anna |title=A Sword of Bronze and Ashes |date=2023 |publisher=Flame Tree |isbn=9781787588400}}
{{cite book |last1=Fletcher |first1=Michael |last2=Smith Spark |first2=Anna |title=In the Shadow of Their Dying |date=2024 |publisher=Grimdark Magazine |isbn=9780648663539}}

=Short stories=

{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |title=A Knight Was Once Sent on a Quest by Her Master |encyclopedia=Unbound II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy |date=2016 |editor1-last=Speakman |editor1-first=Shawn |publisher=Grim Oak Press |isbn=9781944145088 }}
{{cite magazine |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |date=2017 |title=Red Glass |magazine=Grimdark Magazine |issue=12} |isbn=9780648010586}}
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |date=2018 |title=The Fall of Tereen |encyclopedia=Art of War: Anthology for Charity |editor1-last=Triantafyllou |editor1-first=Petros |publisher=Booknest.eu |isbn=9781983961304}}
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |date=2019 |title=A Hero of Her People |encyclopedia=Legends 3: Stories in Honour of David Gemmell |editor1-last=Whates |editor1-first=Ian |publisher=Newcon Press |isbn=9781912950201}}
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |title=Gold Light |encyclopedia=Unbound III: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy |date=2019 |editor1-last=Speakman |editor1-first=Shawn |publisher=Grim Oak Press |isbn=9781944145262}}
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |title=Stones |encyclopedia=Three Crows: Year One: Anthology of Weird Science Fiction and Fantasy |date=2019 |editor1-last=Khlopenko |editor1-first=Alex |editor2-last=Hoffer |editor2-first=Olivia |publisher=Three Crows Magazine |isbn=9781079110050}}. Originally appeared in Three Crows Magazine issue #2.
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |date=2020 |title=The Second Siege of Telea |encyclopedia=Knaves: A Blackguards Anthology |editor1-last=Abbott |editor1-first=Alana Joli |editor2-last=Meadors |editor2-first=Melanie R. |publisher=Outland Entertainment |isbn=9781947659384}}
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |title=Water |encyclopedia=Lost Gods |date=2021 |editor1-last=Hall |editor1-first=Joanne |editor2-last=Garland |editor2-first=Dolly |publisher=Kristell Ink |isbn=9781913562045}}
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |title=Glory to the King! |encyclopedia=The King Must Fall |date=2022 |editor1-last=Collins |editor1-first=Adrian |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Mike |editor3-last=Chorn |editor3-first=Sarah |publisher=Grimdark Magazine |isbn=9780648178477}}
{{cite encyclopedia |last=Smith Spark |first=Anna |title=Saturday Morning |encyclopedia=The Other Side of Never: Dark Tales from the World of Peter & Wendy |date=2023 |editor1-last=O'Regan |editor1-first=Marie |editor2-last=Kane |editor2-first=Paul |publisher=Titan Books |isbn=9781803361796}}

=Articles=

{{cite magazine |last1=Smith Spark |first1=Anna |date=2018 |title=Finding Your Author Voice |magazine=Grimdark Magazine |issue=14}}
{{cite web |last1=Smith Spark |first1=Anna |date=2019 |title=Grimdark and Nihilism |url=https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/grimdark-and-nihilism/ |access-date=July 25, 2024 |publisher=Grimdark Magazine}}