Alena Smith is a playwright and TV writer. She is the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the critically-acclaimed series Dickinson starring Hailee Steinfeld as Emily Dickinson. The show aired its third and final season on Apple TV+, and Smith made her directorial debut, directing the season three finale episode of the show.

Dickinson won a Peabody Award in the category of Entertainment and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy series.

Smith previously served as a writer and producer for Showtime's The Affair and HBO's The Newsroom.

Variety said of her play Icebergs, which had its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, “Smith shows impeccable comic timing, and also knows how to layer her drama with pathos.” Other published plays include The Bad Guys, Plucker, The Lacy Project, and The New Sincerity, which The New York Times called “Splendid... entertaining and thought-provoking... comedy with a poignant edge.”