Tiffany Watt Smith is an internationally acclaimed writer and historian of emotions.
Her new book Bad Friend: A Century of Revolutionary Friendships was published in Spring 2025, by Faber & Faber in the UK and Celadon (Macmillan) in the US.
Her previous books, Schadenfreude and The Book Of Human Emotions have been translated into a dozen languages and have appeared on best-seller lists.
In 2019, she was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize, and her research has been supported by grants from Wellcome Trust, the British Academy and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Tiffany is a very experienced public speaker, regularly invited to give keynote lectures and public talks. She is a skilled broadcaster, frequently invited as an expert contributor on BBC Radio.
Her TED talk has been watched by nearly 5 million people.
A former Director of the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London, where she also taught for fifteen years, she now teaches creative non-fiction writing, and works as a consultant for individuals, arts organisations and branding agencies.
In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Tiffany was educated at the universities of Cambridge and London, and in her twenties worked as a theatre director, including as part of the founding group at the Arcola Theatre in East London, and as International Associate at the Royal Court. From time to time, she still collaborates on performance projects.
She lives in London with the Northern Irish novelist and actor Michael Hughes, their two children and one grumpy cat.
Tiffany Watt Smith is an internationally acclaimed writer and historian of emotions.
Her new book Bad Friend: A Century of Revolutionary Friendships was published in Spring 2025, by Faber & Faber in the UK and Celadon (Macmillan) in the US.
Her previous books, Schadenfreude and The Book Of Human Emotions have been translated into a dozen languages and have appeared on best-seller lists.
In 2019, she was awarded the Philip Leverhulme Prize, and her research has been supported by grants from Wellcome Trust, the British Academy and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Tiffany is a very experienced speaker, regularly invited to give keynote lectures and public talks. She is a skilled broadcaster, frequently invited as an expert contributor on BBC Radio.
Her TED talk has been watched by nearly 5 million people.
A former Director of the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London, where she taught drama and cultural history for fifteen years, she now teaches creative non-fiction writing, and works as a consultant for individuals, arts organisations and branding agencies.
In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Tiffany was educated at universities of Cambridge and London, and in her twenties worked as a theatre director, including as part of the founding group at the Arcola Theatre in east London, and as International Associate at the Royal Court. From time to time, she still collaborates on performance projects.
She lives in London with the Northern Irish novelist and actor Michael Hughes, their two children and one grumpy cat.