Zadie Smith Is Writing a Science Fiction Novel and Loves Game of Thrones—Excuse Us While We Die

Zadie Smith, author of bestsellers like NW and White Teeth, is in the process of writing a fantasy-inspired book. According to a recent article in the London Evening Standard, the Jamaican-English writer has been reading a lot of Ursula K. Le Guin (best known for her Earthsea series, or my personal favorite, the Catwings tales): “It’s a concept novel,” Smith told the paper. “It’s the only novel I’ve ever written that has a plot, which is thrilling. I don’t know if I can do it. Those books are incredibly hard to write.”
While we appreciate Smith’s attempt at modesty, the rest of the Standard interview reveals her lifestyle is currently the perfect literary incubator for her next piece of work. Per the interview, a few more tidbits about her idyllic writer’s life:
On being surrounded by other awesome writers:

“The peace I find in New York comes because there’s less focus on me. There are 30,000 writers in Manhattan. You walk past Jonathan Franzen every other day.”

On interviewing Jay Z about his hip-hop connections for the New York Times:

“It was like talking to Chaucer—he knew everybody.”

On her best friend/husband/editor Nick Laird:

“It’s an incredible friendship.We never expected to get married but it’s very useful to be married to your friend.”

On Game of Thrones:

“That is a masterpiece. The last episode, after it finished, we just sat in the dark for half an hour… Literary novelists would do well to learn to plot from these people.”

In short: Smith is awesome and we should all be excited for her new novel. Let’s all hope it comes out as soon as possible.