After an astonishingly brief “career”at the advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, Ben spent most of his twenties as a freelance portrait photographer for a diverse range of editorial and commercial clients. The idea for the first book originated in some cards that Schott made to send to friends, which contained booklets of what he considered vital but hard to find information. [4] Schott typeset the book himself and had 50 copies privately printed by the Pear Tree Press in Stevenage. After sending copies out to his friends, he sent one to the CEO of Bloomsbury, Nigel Newton. Newton told The Boston Globe, "I was completely bowled over when it arrived on my desk. It was a work of striking originality, and it was remarkable to receive an unsolicited submission like this in the mail. I immediately passed it to one of our editors, who signed it up." [5] He is married to the award-winning travel editor, Pavia Rosati; lives and works in London; and finds writing in the third-person awkward. Schott publishes a bespoke Miscellany Diary with the society printers Smythson of Bond Street, and a desk-pad diary with Workman. On the advice of another friend (Elinor), I sent one of these books to Nigel Newton, the head of Bloomsbury Publishing (the Harry Potter people). Nigel loved it, a contract was signed, and the book was in the shops just in time for Christmas 2002.

Schott ABOUT | Ben Schott

On my way to pitch this Christmas card idea to a large advertising agency (WPP), I was waylaid by an old friend (Martin) who persuaded me to turn the card into a book. Ben has written for many of the great British and American titles including The Times, The Telegraph, The New York Times, The Spectator, Private Eye, Bloomberg Opinionand Playboy. McCrum, Robert (8 December 2002). "God bless you, Mr. Schott". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 20 April 2010. Ben Schott (born 26 May 1974) is a British writer, photographer, and author of the Schott's Miscellanies and Schott's Almanac series.

As a photographerBen worked with The Independent, The Times, The Sunday Times, Reader’s Digest, and Sunday Business, amongst many others, and has photographed a wealth of celebrities from Hugh Grant and Tony Blair, to Gordon Brown and Enoch Powell. Haldenby, Andrew (2002). "Ben gave up a pension – but his trivial pursuit has become a serious success". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 31 December 2003 . Retrieved 20 April 2010. Ben Schott was born in North London, England, the son of a neurologist and a nurse. He has one brother, also now a neurologist. He went to school at University College School, Hampstead. In November 2018 his first novel, a pastiche Jeeves book titled Jeeves and the King of Clubs, was published by Little, Brown, and Company. It was written in homage to Jeeves creator P. G. Wodehouse, with the blessing of the Wodehouse Estate. [7] Schott wrote a sequel titled Jeeves and the Leap of Faith that was published in 2020. [8] Journalism [ edit ] Wendy: I’m sure you could put out a Schott’s Miscellany about the place. Victor: Schott’s? Wendy: It’s like a farmer’s almanac for non-farm stuff…

Ben Schott - Wikipedia

For two years after the publication of the first Miscellany, Schott wrote a weekly miscellany column for The Daily Telegraph, and also produced special miscellany features on Christmas and the Olympics. For over a year he wrote a regular travel miscellany column for the UK edition of Condé Nast Traveler magazine. In 2005 and 2006 the Guardian featured special editions of G2 featuring extracts from Schott's Almanac.Grylls, David (24 October 2020). "Jeeves and the Leap of Faith by Ben Schott, review – a 'new' Wodehouse". The Times. Jeffries, Stuart (6 November 2002). "The bare facts". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 20 April 2010. Unusually, Ben designs and typesets virtually all of his work –as well offering design and narrative consultancyto a range of clients. Schott's Original Miscellany was published with little fanfare in 2002, but after an article in the Guardian, in which the book was described as the "publishing sensation of the year", sales increased, and within weeks Schott's Original Miscellany was at No. 1. Robert McCrum said of the book in The Observer: "Originality is like charisma. It's hard to define, but we know it when we find it ... Schott's Original Miscellany is, without doubt, the oldest, and possibly merriest title you will come across in a long day's march through the shimmering desert of contemporary publishing". [6]