Tom Rob Smith
Tom Rob Smith (born February 19, 1979) is an English author, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the author of Child 44, a novel about the investigation of child murders during the Soviet Union. The book was adapted into a film of the same name, and Smith has written two sequels: The Secret Speech and Agent 6.
Tom Rob Smith
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- Name
- Tom Rob Smith
- Born
- 19 February 1979
- Birthplace
- London, England
- Occupation
- * Author
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Fields
- literary activity · prose · television production · film production
- Education
- St John's College · Dulwich College
- Honours
- Barry Award for Best First Novel
- Languages
- English
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Tom Rob Smith (born February 19, 1979) is an English author, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the author of Child 44, a novel about the investigation of child murders during the Soviet Union. The book was adapted into a film of the same name, and Smith has written two sequels: The Secret Speech and Agent 6.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1334536 · wikipedia · Tom Rob Smith
In this article
Biography
Biography
His first standalone novel, The Farm, was published in 2014.
Tom Rob Smith studied at St John's College and Dulwich College. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is literary activity, prose and television production. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are crime and thriller. Places of work recorded in the authority are Greater London. Distinctions recorded are Barry Award for Best First Novel.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tom Rob Smith • Born — 19 February 1979 • Birthplace — London, England • Occupation — * Author • screenwriter • producer • Genre — Thriller, Mystery • Website — tomrobsmith.com
Personal life and education
Personal life and education
The son of Swedish mother Barbro and English father Ron, both antiques dealers, Smith was born and raised at Norbury, South London. He went to school at Dulwich College between the years of 1987 and 1997. Following his graduation from St John's College, Cambridge, in 2001, he received the Harper Wood Studentship for English Poetry and Literature and continued his Creative Writing studies for a year at the University of Pavia, in Italy. He was formerly the partner of Ben Stephenson.
Career
Career
After completing his studies, Smith worked as a writer and a script editor, including a stint with the BBC. Among his projects was story-lining Cambodia's first soap opera, set in Phnom Penh. His first novel, Child 44, published in early 2008, was inspired by the true-life case of Andrei Chikatilo, who committed a series of child murders in Soviet Russia. It was awarded the 2008 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller of the year by the Crime Writers' Association, named on the long list for the 2008 Man Booker Prize, and nominated for the 2008 Costa First Novel Award (former Whitbread). In July 2009, he won the Waverton Good Read Award for first novels and the Galaxy Book Award for Best Newcomer with Child 44. It has been translated into 36 languages and in January 2011, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan listed it in their Book Club "100 Books of the Decade". In 2007, Ridley Scott optioned the film rights. Fox 2000 bought the project. A film based on the novel was announced in 2009, with Ridley Scott originally attached as both director and producer. The 2015 film was produced by Scott and his longtime production collaborator Michael Costigan, via Scott Free Productions, and directed by Daniel Espinosa. Child 44 stars Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, Charles Dance, and Joel Kinnaman. Smith's sequel to Child 44, The Secret Speech, was published in April 2009, and the final novel in the trilogy, Agent 6, was published in July 2011. Smith's fourth book, a standalone novel entitled The Farm, was published in February 2014. Smith also wrote a drama television series, London Spy, which was first broadcast on BBC Two in November 2015. Smith was selected as executive producer and writer for season 2 of American Crime Story, an FX true crime anthology series. It is titled The Assassination of Gianni Versace and explores the murder of designer Gianni Versace by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.
Child 44 Trilogy
Child 44 Trilogy
• Child 44 (2008). • The Secret Speech (2009). • Agent 6 (2011).
Other
Other
• The Farm (2014). • Cold People (2023). • Twenty Years Together (2026).
Filmography
Filmography
• Production — Episodes — Broadcaster • Doctors — * "Today's the Day" (2003) * "Gap Year" (2004) — BBC One • Dream Team — * 6 episodes (2005) — Sky One • London Spy — * Series creator (2015) — BBC Two • The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story — * Series creator (2018) — FX • MotherFatherSon — * Series creator (2019) — BBC Two • Class of '09 — * Series creator, all episodes (2023) — FX on Hulu
Identity
Identity
Tom Rob Smith is recorded as writer, novelist, screenwriter, television producer and film producer.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1979
Tom Rob Smith born at London.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1334536: Tom Rob Smith
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Tom Rob Smith”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Cold-Blooded Killer in Novel Child 44 By Tom Rob Smith (2008), English Language and Literature, 2021
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2021
scholarly index
- OpenAlex author record A5067859775 for Tom Rob Smith.
General reference · OpenAlex
Literature
Literature
Literature
Cold-Blooded Killer in Novel Child 44 By Tom Rob Smith (2008), English Language and Literature, 2021
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Cold-Blooded Killer in Novel Child 44 By Tom Rob Smith (2008), English Language and Literature, 2021Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly index
Secondary witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1334536: Tom Rob SmithWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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