Al Smith read English Literature at Edinburgh University. He has been a Pearson Playwright in Residence at the Finborough Theatre and participated in the Paines Plough/Channel 4 Future Perfect Scheme. He is a graduate of the BBC Writers Academy and has been a broadcast Hot Shot. In 2012 Al won the BFI Wellcome Trust Screenwriting Prize. In 2017 his radio series Life Lines won gold for Best Fictional Storytelling at the ARIAS, the Radio Academy Awards and he was nominated for the Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at the 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.