Gabriel Smith
Gabriel Smith (born 1995) is a British author living in London. He was mentored by Giancarlo DiTrapano of Tyrant Books, and his work has appeared in DiTrapano's New York Tyrant Magazine, as well as in such outlets as The Drift and The Moth.[1]
Smith's debut novel, Brat, was published in 2024 by Scribner in the U.K. and by Penguin Press in the U.S.[2] Coverage of the book increased after a joke tweet by the author went viral, in which he shared an alleged email from British pop star Charli XCX asking him for permission to use the title of his book as the title for her new album.[3] Brat has been described by reviewers as "autofiction"[2], a term which the author resists, claiming that that genre is "a symptom of a couple of generations being told they could not imagine alternatives to the present".[4][5][6]
Reviews for Brat were mixed. Anthony Cummins, writing for The Guardian, praised Smith for crafting "a moving coming-of-age family story", noting that while the novel "sometimes feels like it's been put into the world before quite being ready," he was nonetheless eager to read more of the author's writing, as "Smith definitely has something". Jay McInerney, writing for Air Mail, praised the author's humor and noted the influence of DiTrapano but ultimately claimed he was "not sure that DiTrapano would have approved".[2] Leah Abrams, writing for the Cleveland Review of Books, gave the book high points for style and humor but made several criticisms as well, writing that Smith "eschews arc and plot altogether", "neglects the few characters beyond his eponymous protagonist", and "tends to the novel's central epiphany only implicitly, without much interest or investment in the outcome".[7] In his write-up for the New York Times, Matt Bell expressed confusion over the significance of some events in the novel but acknowledged that ambiguity and mystery are key elements of the narrative style of the book.
Smith's second novel, The Complete, is to be based on his short story of the same name, for which he earned a PEN/O. Henry Award in 2023.
Bibliography
Novels
- Brat (2024). The two subtitles under which the works appeared were added by the publishers.[4]
- Brat: A Ghost Story, first U.K. edition. ISBN 978-1-39-852531-3 Search this book on
.. - Brat: A Novel, first U.S. edition. ISBN 978-0-59-365687-7 Search this book on ..
- Brat: A Ghost Story, first U.K. edition. ISBN 978-1-39-852531-3 Search this book on
References
- ↑ "Gabriel Smith | Penguin Random House". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Jay McInerney Reviews Gabriel Smith's Buzzy Debut". airmail.news. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
- ↑ Creamer, Ella (2024-03-01). "Charli XCX prankster is latest in a long line of authors to fool the public". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Barrow, Kiara (2024-06-04). "Gabriel Smith Writes Like He Has Nothing Left to Lose". The Millions. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ↑ "Writer Gabriel Smith on the perception of authenticity – The Creative Independent". thecreativeindependent.com. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
- ↑ ""The Stare"". The Drift. 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
- ↑ Abrams, Leah (2024-07-23). "Brat2Brat: On Gabriel Smith's "Brat"". Cleveland Review of Books. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
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