Carl Honoré is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and TED speaker. He is the voice of the global Slow Movement.
“An in-demand spokesman on slowness.” The Wall Street Journal
“The global guru on the Slow Movement.” Globe and Mail
“The unofficial godfather of a growing cultural shift toward slowing down.” Huffington Post
“The world’s leading evangelist for what has become known as the Slow Movement.” CBC Radio (Canada)
“The godfather of the Slow Movement.” ABC News
“An international spokesman for the concept of leisure.” Newsweek
“A verbal magician, conjuring concepts with no new idea too complex to capture.” Australian Financial Review
Carl Honoré is a bestselling author, broadcaster and the voice of the Slow Movement. His two main-stage TED Talks have racked up millions of views. His TED Course is entitled How to slow down.
Carl travels the world to deliver powerful keynotes that put time and tempo in a whole new light. His counter-intuitive message is simple but game-changing: To thrive in a fast world, you have to slow down.
Carl’s first book, In Praise of Slow, chronicles the global trend toward putting on the brakes in everything from work to food to parenting. The Financial Times said it is “to the Slow Movement what Das Kapital is to communism.”
Carl’s second book, Under Pressure explores how to raise and educate children in a fast world and was hailed by Time as a “gospel of the Slow Parenting movement.”
Carl’s third book, The Slow Fix, explores how to tackle complex problems in every walk of life, from health and relationships to business and politics, without falling for superficial, short-term quick fixes.
Carl’s latest book, Bolder: Making The Most Of Our Longer Lives, explores ageing – how we can do it better and feel better about doing it. It’s a spirited manifesto against ageism.
Carl recently published his first children’s book: It’s The Journey, Not The Destination.
Published in 36 languages, his books have landed on bestseller lists in many countries. In Praise of Slow was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and the inaugural choice for the Huffington Post Book Club. It also featured in a British TV sitcom, Argentina’s version of Big Brother and a TV commercial for the Motorola tablet. Under Pressure was shortlisted for the Writers’ Trust Award, the top prize for non-fiction in Canada. Bolder was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and a Reader’s Digest (UK) Book of the Month.
Carl featured in a series for BBC Radio 4 called The Slow Coach in which he helped frazzled, over-scheduled people slow down. He presented a television show called Frantic Family Rescue on Australia’s ABC 1. He also spent three years on the Board of Trustees of Hewitt School in New York City. In 2024, he was named an Advocate for Aging by the American Society for Aging and Next Avenue.
Carl is a father of two and lives in London.
While researching his first book on slowness, he was slapped with a speeding ticket.