Karen Smith was educated at Goldsmiths, UCL and the University of Kent. She works as a Cataloguer at The National Poetry Library, is a member of the Covent Garden Poetry Stanza, and attends regular workshops with Mimi Khalvati at Lewes Live Literature. She lives near Brighton with her partner and black cat, and is addicted to open-air swimming.

Her collection Schist has been selected by Carol Ann Duffy for the 2019 Laureate’s Choice series.