(Smith, Laura Lee) Laura Lee Smith is the author of the novels Hearts of Palm. Her short fiction has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories and New Stories of the South. A writer who’s been praised for her “intelligence, heart, and wit” by Richard Russo, Smith has won awards and accolades from across the United States, and her work has been translated into German and French. Smith’s novel, The Ice House (Grove Press) follows the beleaguered MacKinnons as they weather the possible loss of the family business, a serious medical diagnosis, and the slings and arrows of familial discord. Witty and heartbreaking by turns, The Ice House is a vibrant portrait of multifaceted, exquisitely human characters that readers will not soon forget.