Alain de Botton was born in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1969. He is a philosopher and bestselling author in 30 countries and has written on subjects including love, travel, architecture and literature. Alain's debut novel, Essays in Love (US title On Love), was published when he was just twenty-three, and it went on to sell two million copies worldwide. Since then he has become best known for his nonfiction work, which includes his global hit How Proust Can Change Your Life and the equally successful Consolations of Philosophy, which approaches the problems of everyday life through the wisdom of six of history's finest philosophers. Other works include The Art of Travel, a lyrical and personal look at the psychology of travel, Status Anxiety, examining universal but rarely discussed anxieties around how others see us, and The Architecture of Happiness, discussing questions of beauty and ugliness in architecture. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work explores the secret world of ordinary workplaces, from biscuit factories and tuna fishing boats to career counselling services and accountancy firms, asking fundamental questions about how we work and why. Religion for Atheists, looks at what committed atheists might take from the traditions of religion: ritual, architecture, art, morality, community and pilgrimage. Art as Therapy, co-written with art historian John Armstrong, explores how art can help us answer both the intimate and the everyday questions we all ask ourselves, and The News: A User's Manual urges readers to think differently about the media and how it manipulates our mentalities.

Alain lives in London and spends much of his time running The School of Life, an organisation he founded in order to promote a new vision of education. He is also a founder of Living Architecture, which aims to give everyone access to the work of some of the greatest architects in the world. In April 2016, Alain will publish his first novel in almost twenty years: The Course of Love. This novel returns to many of the themes Alain first discussed in Essays in Love.