Simon Sebag Montefiore

Simon Sebag Montefiore is the internationally bestselling author of prize-winning history and novels. HIs books are now published in 48 languages. His latest book is THE WORLD: A FAMILY HISTORY - a history of humanity, unlike any previous world history: it uses family, the one thing all humans have in common, to tell the story. It is genuinely global, spanning all eras and all continents, from the perspective of places as diverse as Haiti, Congo and Cambodia as well as Europe, China and America. From the stone age to the drone age, it features a cast of extraordinary span and diversity: as well as rulers and conquerors there are priests, prophets, charlatans, artists, scientists, doctors, tycoons, gangsters, rockstars, lovers, husbands, wives and children. All human drama is here - all the way to Putin and Zelensky. A dazzling achievement as spellbinding as fiction, The World is both a celebration and an indictment that takes the human story, in a single narrative by a master storyteller. He is the author of a Russian Quartet on Russian potentates: THE ROMANOVS: the story of the Russian Empire 1613-1918; CATHERINE THE GREAT & POTEMKIN: Love, Power and the Russian Empire; YOUNG STALIN and STALIN: THE COURT OF THE RED TSAR. His wider history of the Middle East, JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY, chronicles the Holy City and the region, covering from pre-history to 2020, from King David to today. He has curated two anthologies of speeches and letters - VOICES OF HISTORY: SPEECHES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD and WRITTEN IN HISTORY: LETTERS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD. As a novelist, he is the author of the Moscow Trilogy: SASHENKA, ONE NIGHT IN WINTER and Red Sky at Noon. Montefiore has written a series of childrens’ novels - ROYAL RABBITS OF LONDON - with Santa Montefiore. Montefiore has won prizes for his works, both non-fiction and fiction. His novel, ONE NIGHT IN WINTER won the Best Political Novel of the Year Prize (UK) and was longlisted for the Orwell Prize. CATHERINE THE GREAT & POTEMKIN was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson, Duff Cooper, and Marsh Biography Prizes (UK). STALIN: THE COURT OF THE RED TSAR won the History Book of the Year Prize at the British Book Awards. YOUNG STALIN won the Costa Biography Award (UK), the LA Times Book Prize for Biography (USA), Le Grand Prix de la Biographie Politique (France) and the Kreisky Prize for Political Literature (Austria). JERUSALEM: THE BIOGRAPHY has now sold over a million cover internationally: it won the Wenjin Book of the Year Prize (awarded by the Library of China, People's Republic of China) and the Book of the Year Prize from the Jewish Book Council (USA). THE ROMANOVS won the Lupicaia del Terriccio Literature Prize (Italy), was chosen as one of Oprah Winfrey's Books of the Year (USA). Many of his books are now being developed as TV drama series or movies. Montefiore read history at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge University where he was awarded his Doctorate of Philosophy. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Visiting Professor at the University of Buckingham, Dr Montefiore has written and presented fiver BBC TV series including Jerusalem (2011); Rome (2012) and Istanbul/Constantinople - 'Byzantium: a tale of 3 cities' (2013); Spain - 'Blood & Gold' (2015) and Vienna (2016). Follow the author on twitter: @simonmontefiore. On Instagram: @simonsebag_montefiore For more information: www.simonsebagmontefiore.com