When Matt Smith entered college, he intended to be a writer. A two-decade detour into the legal profession intervened, but better late than never, he figures. He still has to pay the bills, but for the past four years, he has put his spare time to different use. His first short story was a Daily Fiction selection for Mystery Tribune. Other stories have appeared in and are forthcoming from Mystery Weekly, Close to the Bone, and Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir Vol. 3 (Down & Out Books).

Matt’s debut crime novel, Twentymile, set in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is out now from Latah Books. It has garnered praise from respected publications such as Foreword Reviews, which called it a “disturbing, potent thriller.” Edgar Award winner James A. McLaughlin (Bearskin) said Twentymile is “an accomplished first novel from a talented and fully-formed writer,” and bestselling author Diane Les Becquets (Breaking Wild and The Last Woman in the Forest) called it “a beautiful and brutal and extraordinary debut.”

Matt graduated from Davidson College with a degree in English and from the University of Georgia School of Law. He lives in Newnan, Georgia—just south of Atlanta—with his wife, son, and father-in-law. He is a member of the Atlanta Writers Club and Sisters in Crime.