DID YOU HEAR ABOUT
KITTY KARR?
Her debut novel is a sprawling page-turner set against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine.
CRYSTAL SMITH PAUL IS THE AUTHOR OF
Crystal Smith Paul is a writer with over a decade of experience in digital editorial and e-commerce writing and marketing. Her debut novel is a multigenerational saga about the impact of racism on American families. The story is told through the lives of a celebrity family, unpacking the generational trauma from an act of racial violence that occured in the Jim Crow era. The novel is inspired by experiences growing up in the South with a diverse family, and attending a historically black college, which influenced her views on race, colorism, and social justice as a young black woman. She attended Spelman College, UCLA and NYU, and is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Crystal Smith Paul’s writing has been featured by Salon, Jezebel, and The Huffington Post. Since obtaining her Master’s in Journalism from New York University, she has worked in digital media as an editor for a start-up where she edited the work of Marc Lamont Hill, music producer 9th Wonder, Keli Goff and Mark Anthony Neal. She also worked as a paralegal at the Department of Justice while working on her first novel.
Her book explores how racial violence can split apart American families, resulting in complex issues of colorism within a family tree. Currently, Smith works in e-commerce marketing for wellness and beauty brands in Los Angeles. She loves writing, dining, German Shepard dogs, and staying on top of pop culture. She is working on her second novel, which will also be published by Holt.
author bio
Crystal Smith Paul is a writer with over a decade of experience in digital editorial and e-commerce writing and marketing. Her debut novel is a multigenerational saga about the impact of racism on American families. The story is told through the lives of a celebrity family, unpacking the generational trauma from an act of racial violence that occured in the Jim Crow era. The novel is inspired by experiences growing up in the South with a diverse family, and attending a historically black college, which influenced her views on race, colorism, and social justice as a young black woman. She attended Spelman College, UCLA and NYU, and is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Crystal Smith Paul’s writing has been featured by Salon, Jezebel, and The Huffington Post. Since obtaining her Master’s in Journalism from New York University, she has worked in digital media as an editor for a start-up where she edited the work of Marc Lamont Hill, music producer 9th Wonder, Keli Goff and Mark Anthony Neal. She also worked as a paralegal at the Department of Justice while working on her first novel.
Her book explores how racial violence can split apart American families, resulting in complex issues of colorism within a family tree. Currently, Smith works in e-commerce marketing for wellness and beauty brands in Los Angeles. She loves writing, dining, German Shepard dogs, and staying on top of pop culture. She is working on her second novel, which will also be published by Holt.
