Michael Farris Smith is an American writer from McComb, Mississippi. He was born on January 1, 1970. Smith has established himself as a novelist with a steady output of work over the past decade and a half. As of 2025, Smith has published eight novels. His debut novel, The Hands of Strangers, was published in 2011, followed by Rivers in 2013. His subsequent works include Desperation Road (2017), The Fighter (2018), Blackwood (2020), Nick (2021), Salvage This World (2023), and Lay Your Armor Down (2025).