Pico Iyer is the author of twelve books on globalism, modernity and faith, including a novel about Islamic mysticism based on his extensive travels across the Muslim World, Abandon.

He has been a Fellow, more than once, at the World Economic Forum in Davos and in both 2013 and 2014 he delivered talks for TED—one on movement, one on stillness—seen by 2 million people. Born in Oxford, England and educated at Eton, Oxford and Harvard, he has been a writer for Time magazine since 1982, and his pieces appear regularly in The New York Times, The Financial Times and many other magazines across the globe. His most recent book is the best-selling TED Original, The Art of Stillness.