Richard Smyth is a nature writer, critic and novelist. His most recent novel, The Woodcock, was published in 2021 by Fairlight; his non-fiction books include An Indifference Of Birds (2020) and A Sweet, Wild Note (2017). He writes regularly for journals including The New Statesman, Aeon, Prospect, the Guardian, New Humanist and the TLS. His short fiction has been widely published, and in 2021 his story ‘Maykopsky District, Adyghe Oblast’ was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. He lives in Bradford, West Yorkshire.