Alumna Randi Smith Teams up With Professor to Publish Debut Novel

Publishing alumna tackles contemporary issues with debut young adult novel

When Randi Smith (publishing, ‘24) sat down at a WELL Core event in spring 2023, she expected to listen, get her credit and move on. Instead, she left with the spark for what would become her debut novel and the beginning of a faculty collaboration that helped bring it to life. 

Library Love

The WELL Core talk was called “Library Love” and featured a discussion with several library employees from across the city on book banning and censorship. 

“Until then, I didn’t realize book bans were something that still happened today,” said Smith. “I always thought that was something from a long time ago and had no idea what the present landscape of censorship looked like.” 

Over the course of the presentation, librarians shared both statistics and personal experiences that illustrated the realities of modern book censorship. Smith grew more and more disturbed as they spoke — vexed by the complexity of the issue and beginning to wonder how she could get involved. “I was very angry about the whole situation and didn’t know what I could do to help. What’s a girl from Kentucky supposed to do for Tennessee?” 

For her, the answer spelled itself out on the page as she began to write through these feelings. 

From Fiction Editing to Published Fiction

"I never originally saw myself as an author,” Smith recounted. “I’ve always been drawn to the behind-the-scenes work of editing and publishing. But as it happens, the best way to learn how to edit a novel is to write one.” 

Belmont’s Advanced Book Editing Workshop launched in the Spring semester of 2023. With a tight-knit cohort of students, the class took shape under the direction of Sara Wigal, associate professor and director of publishing, and the assignment to write an 18,000-word manuscript. 

“It was such a great experience, and the most I’d ever written in so short a time,” Smith remembered. In high school, she had been part of a writing club wherein each member wrote a novelette over the course of a month and self-published it. While formative, Smith saw the experience as being mainly for fun, and by the time Advanced Book Editing rolled around, she was ready for a more serious challenge. 

She began by revisiting a ten-page short story she had written for a previous class. 

“With that short story, all I was really aiming for was to bring together the formal elements of plot and pacing that I had learned in class,” she remembered. “But as I began to consider my manuscript, I realized there was more to say.” 

The story centered around a teenager named Ada Holloway, whose research for a school project is thwarted by a book ban. The semester’s work of unfolding that story into a full manuscript saw Smith asking deeper and more thoughtful questions about this character and developing previously unexplored nuances in the story. She wrote whenever she could, especially during her desk shifts as a residence assistant. Using those long hours to write, Smith’s dedication to the story became central to her process.  

"I credit the publishing program as much as I credit Belmont with this story, because ‘Ada Holloway’ would not exist without Sara believing in my story and the opportunity that was our small Fiction Editing class,” she shared. 

Before the semester ended, Wigal offered students the opportunity to continue developing their manuscripts into full novels over the summer. 

Smith leapt at the chance, continuing her collaboration with the professor throughout the summer months. “When Sara gave me my notes back at the end of it, she also sent an email to say that, since I’d graduated, she was interested in representing me as a literary agent,” she said. “That encouragement gave me the go-ahead to finish the book and make it what it is today.” 

Before long, Smith held the final text of the book in her hands, now titled “Ada Holloway’s Had Enough.” Looking back, she recognizes herself in the main character in ways that weren’t evident during the process. 

“So much of Ada's uncertainty about life after high school mirrors what I experienced after college,” she said. “It was during that period of figuring out where I was going to land that I wrote the chapters where Ada wonders the same thing. That’s all so clear in hindsight, but I had no idea at the time.” 

The process of writing Ada into being helped Smith find her own voice. As the character grew from timidity to confidence, Smith found herself doing the same. “Ada starts out very passive, not knowing how to have productive conversation with adults or speak up about what matters to her,” she remembered. “When I was her age, I felt the same way.” By the time the book was done, however, Smith set out on a tour to share the story and boldly speak on what she cares about. 

Literary Community

With the release of “Ada Holloway’s Had Enough,” Smith embarked on a tour of libraries, schools and bookstores to talk about the themes of the book and share it with young audiences. While she is the focal point of these events, she is quick to point to the community that helped bring it to life. 

"Writing the book and speaking has been a great experience, and I would not have been able to do it without the support of Sara, my classmates and the time that being at Belmont afforded me.” 

As Smith continues to write and speak about literary freedom, she encourages young people to find what they are passionate about and chase it with all they’ve got. 

“As you work towards your goals, more doors open,” she said.

"Ada Holloway's Had Enough" is available for purchase here.