Janna Malamud Smith is the author of four books, An Absorbing Errand: How Artists and Craftsmen Make Their Way to Mastery; My Father is a Book: A Memoir of Bernard Malamud; A Potent Spell: Mother Love and the Power of Fear; and Private Matters: In Defense of the Personal Life. Her titles have been New York Times Notable Books and Private Matters was a Barnes and Noble “Discover Great New Writers” pick. She has written for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Threepenny Review, among other publications. A practicing psychotherapist, she lives with her husband in Massachusetts.