Zadie Smith Interviewed by Richard Ovenden

Highly acclaimed novelist Zadie Smith talks about her life and work with Bodley’s Librarian Richard Ovenden and receives the Bodley Medal for her outstanding contribution to literature.

Smith’s debut novel, White Teeth, was published in 2000. It was an instant bestseller and a critical success. It won many awards, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Betty Trask Award, and was made into a television series. It was followed by further novels including The Autograph Man, On Beauty – winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction – and Swing Time. Her most recent work is a collection of essays, Intimations, and her first foray into children’s literature, Weirdo.

Smith’s writing is characterised by themes such as the politics of race and gender, and multiculturalism. She is a professor of creative writing and fiction at New York University and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

After the event, Smith will receive the Bodley Medal from Bodley’s Librarian Richard Ovenden – awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the worlds in which the Bodleian is active including literature, culture, science and communication.

Previous recipients of the Bodley Medal include Peter Carey (2012), Hilary Mantel (2013), Nicholas Hytner (2014), Ian McEwan (2015), Professor Mary Beard (2016), William Boyd (2017), Claire Tomalin (2018) and Kazuo Ishiguro (2019).

Presented by the Bodleian Libraries.