Anna Smaill was born in Auckland in 1979. She holds an MA in English Literature from the University of Auckland, an MA in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington and a PhD in English Literature from the University of London.

She has published one book of poetry, The Violinist in Spring (Victoria University Press, 2005). Her debut novel The Chimes (Sceptre, 2015) was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won best novel in the World Fantasy Awards 2016. She lives on Wellington's south coast with her husband, novelist Carl Shuker, and their two children.