Smith Henderson was born in Montana, where he grew up. He first started off his career with the publication of his first novel, Fourth of July Creek, in 2014. It would be recognized by the New York Times as a notable book in 2014. It also won the John Creasy Dagger Award for 2015 as well as a 2014 Montana Book Award.
The novel made it to the finalist status level for the USA Award for Fiction for Pen Center in 2015 and was a finalist for the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize from the Center for Fiction, the James Tait Black Prize, the Ken Kesey Award, and a Jesse H. Jones Award from the Texas Institute of Letters for the best work of fiction. It was acknowledged on the long lists for the Folio Prize, International DUBLIN Literary Award, and First Novelist Award from VCU Cabel.
Books in order of publication:
| Fourth of July Creek | (2014) | |
| Make Them Cry (With: Jon Marc Smith) | (2020) |
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