Ben Schott
Ben Schott was born in London in 1974, and educated at University College School, Hampstead, and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, where he read Social & Political Sciences. He graduated in 1996, taking a double First. After an astonishingly brief ‘career’ at the ad agency J. Walter Thompson, he spent most of his twenties as a magazine portrait photographer.
In 2002, Ben turned a Christmas card into his first book —
Schott’s Original Miscellany — which within weeks was a number one bestseller. He has since written four Miscellany sequels; six volumes of
Schott’s Almanac (2006–12); and
Schottenfreude, a compendium of German neologisms to describe the human condition. Together these have sold some 3 million copies, in 21 languages — hitting bestseller lists in Britain, France, Germany, and America.
Ben has written for a wide range of publications, including The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Private Eye, Vanity Fair, The Spectator, Playboy, and The Paris Review. He is currently a contributing columnist for Bon Appétit, Inc., and Op-Ed page of The New York Times.
Picture Credit; Harry MacAuslan