Kay Smith-Blum

An Austin, Texas transplant, Kay Smith-Blum is a recovering retailer who is redefining the historical fiction genre from her bayside perch in Seattle. Named Woman Business Owner (NWWA) of 2013, her wit, humor, and resourcefulness helped her high-end retail fashion business endure multiple economic shifts in a decades-long career. She and her husband sold their company in 2016, allowing KSB to write full-time.

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Recenlty named Best Regional Fiction in the West by the National Indie Excellence Awards for 2025 and Best Historical Mystery/Suspense by the American Fiction Awards at Book Fest 2025, TANGLES (also named 2024 Book of the Year from the Literary Global Book Awards, 2024 Best Debut Novel by the American Writing Awards, and awarded the Bronze medal for Best Adult Fiction in the 2024 Readers Choice Book Awards) was released on December 3, 2024. Smith-Blum is a member of the WFWA (serving on the Scholarship committee), the HistFic Affinity Group, a member of the award-winning Feisty Deeds Anthology editorial committee (see Short Works for more on Feisty Deeds), Ravenna Writers Circle, CommuterLit Writers Group, the Authors Guild, PNWA, NIWA and AWP. She has been published in over a dozen literary journals and her short story, Ten Days won the2023 Black Fox Lit contest.

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As a publicly elected official (President of the Seattle School Board 2012) KSB led multiple initiatives on behalf of the students of Seattle. As a private citizen, Smith-Blum raised millions of dollars for education, the arts, and medical research. She established the first elementary school greenhouse gardening program in Seattle Public Schools, and has served on numerous charitable boards in the Pacific Northwest. 

​A graduate of the University of Texas, Smith-Blum chaired Downtown Seattle’s first marketing campaign and published a seasonal magazine for 10 years. With Teresa Elliott, KSB co-edited and licensed the “Every Man, Every Woman” inspirational series of cards and posters, published by Schurman Fine Papers, Portal Publications, and Sawdust City. Smith-Blum is a dynamic speaker and experienced producer of large and small events that leverage both traditional and social media. An active member of the downtown Seattle community, she is currently advocating for a park in the last green space in the urban core, made available by the demolition of the Highway 99 viaduct. An avid gardener, Smith-Blum works out her writer's block in her three sons' gardens (which she designed) and the nearest lap pool.