Internationally bestselling author, as seen on The Joe Rogan Experience, Diary of a CEO and more New book: A STORY IS A DEAL https://teapawt.org/t.co/0av5SzA4tU
Joined August 2010
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NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT!
And You'll Be Okay Forever: Selected Essays
“In this unflinching new collection of essays, bestselling author Will Storr continues his unique investigation of the human condition. By turns searingly honest, darkly funny, vulnerable and moving, he examines subjects ranging from status anxiety, grief, depression, self-hatred, love and the uses and nature of art.”
Featuring 26 essays, And You’ll Be Okay Forever is essential reading for anyone who enjoyed Storr’s hugely influential books Selfie, The Science of Storytelling and The Status Game."
And You’ll Be Okay Forever is available now as an ebook (£3.99) and in paperback (£10.99)
amazon.co.uk/dp/1911297708
Will Storr retweeted
Love those rare books that change the way you see almost everything.
Latest one - the Status Game by @wstorr, exploring how the human drive for social status explains the weirdest, most frustrating, and most energising things in society.
goodreads.com/book/show/5864…
Will Storr retweeted
I’ve seen how conversations can draw you into a life you never lived, because some stories you hear become part of your own. On 18th Nov, I’ll be on the main stage in Barca with @wstorr bestselling author of The Science of Storytelling, exploring what gets inside our heads and stays there. #IBTMWorld #IBTM2026
🤖 Made with AI
Will Storr retweeted
Times review of my new book.
Book is out on 22nd October.
If any journalists/podcasters want a proof of the book let me know.
thetimes.com/culture/books/a…
Will Storr retweeted
"It’s about loss, it’s about grief and it’s about men who have even in small ways failed, and that includes the author [...] sometimes uncomfortable, but incredibly compelling”
- Jason Hazeley on the Oh God, What Now? podcast
My new book's out on October 22
Will Storr retweeted
Ted Kaczynski, who’d been humiliated by a prestigious scientist at Harvard, became the “Unabomber,” the “un” standing for the universities that were partly his target. His brain took his feelings of debasement and resentment and magicked them into a story in which he was the hero. He went to war against smart people and the world they’d made, writing that the technological age and its consequences have “been a disaster for the human race” and have “made life unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to indignities, have led to widespread psychological suffering.” His bombing campaign was the start of a revolution, aimed at freeing the masses from slavery by “the system.” He sought and received, in return for a promissory cessation of violence, the extraordinarily statusful experience of having his 35,000 word exposition on modernity’s evils published by the Washington Post.
- @wstorr in the Quillette archive
quillette.com/2021/09/13/mal…
Will Storr retweeted
New book coming out on October 22. Have some TV and radio lined up but keen to do podcasts and events too.
Will Storr retweeted
“Prestige is our most marvellous craving. It’s a bribe that induces us into being useful, benefitting the interests of the tribe.” Geoffrey Miller
Great review of @wstorr's book The Status Game
performativebafflement.subst…
Will Storr retweeted
You can figure people out if you understand what Will Storr calls the "theory of control."
It helps explain the behavior of people like Donald Trump or fictional figures like Ebenezer Scrooge:
"You can think about the brain as this machine for controlling the world. That's what we're all trying to do, that's what every living thing is trying to do, trying to control the world in order to get what they want."
"Every human has this kind of set of ideas that dictates their behavior such that they get what they want. If you put Donald Trump and Gandalf in a room, they both want different things from the world."
"A character is this kind of theory of control about how do they control the world. And the way to start off is with a really simple idea, ideally a one-sentence idea. This is my theory of how the world works."
"Think about Scrooge in A Christmas Carol: I'm only safe if I keep all the money and love to myself. That's his theory of control. The only way he can protect himself and keep himself safe is by making sure he's got all the money."
"Then, the three ghosts come along. They show him: these are the ramifications of your theory of control, this is the damage it's causing your life. And he learns and changes. Then by the end of the story, he's the opposite. He's very generous. And so he gets the rewards of the hero: he gets love, he gets status."
@wstorr
Will Storr retweeted
While at @ns, @PeterMcCormack shared this episode he had done with @wstorr
youtu.be/kEd1ir0Y0V8?si=NCSk…
incredibly illuminating. I taught a "Status Games" section of Man Camp from it. Illuminating look into interaction.
Something I find pops out to me in conversation now is how easily it is to note victimhood as identity.
I have a friend who always frames any conversation topic - from food to weather to seating arrangements - in terms of their trauma.
It's both heartwarming and heartbreaking to note.
Will Storr retweeted
Book of the Day 📘: A Story is a Deal by Will Storr
Facts inform. Stories persuade.
In A Story is a Deal, Will Storr explores the psychology and neuroscience behind why stories shape what we believe, who we trust and the decisions we make. @wstorr
Whether you're pitching an idea, building a brand or leading a team, this book shows why the most powerful way to influence people isn't with more information. It's with a better story.
A great read for anyone who wants to communicate more clearly, and become a more persuasive storyteller. a.co/d/0eBcSgAw
Will Storr retweeted
Moral grandstanding (the use of moral and political discourse to gain social status) is associated with stronger affective polarization
This link was partly connected to dichotomous thinking--seeing complex political issues in black-and-white terms. osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/c2…
However, moral grandstanding was also linked to self-reported civic engagement.
Will Storr retweeted
Great book! Love @wstorr amazon.com/Status-Game-Socia…
Will Storr retweeted
Book of the Day 📘: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr
Why do some stories grip us… while others fall flat?
In The Science of Storytelling, Will Storr explores the psychology and neuroscience behind what makes narratives work, unpacking how our brains are wired for character, conflict, and change. @wstorr
It’s not just a book about writing better stories. It’s about understanding why stories shape what we believe, how we act, and who we become.
If you care about storytelling in marketing, business, or life, this one earns its place on your shelf. a.co/d/0ivi1pCl
Will Storr retweeted
Academia in a nutshell:
We are status-seeking chimps searching for status through a tiny number of journals. This is not particularly healthy nor efficient.
Will Storr retweeted
Analysis of books on the NYT bestseller list show that sentences today are about 30% shorter than they were 100 years ago. This suggests a preference for shorter, more direct comms.
This isn't just relevant to fiction. When it comes to commercial comms there's evidence that brevity is preferable (not just in sentence length, but also in the total length of the comms).
In 2020, @Todd_Rogers_ and Jessica Lasky-Fink from Harvard sent emails to 7,002 US school board members requesting they complete a short online questionnaire. Sometimes that request was made in 127 words, other times, just 49 words.
It was the shorter request that got the best response.
The lengthy email had a response rate of 2.7% compared to 4.8% for the short one (an improvement of 78%).
Follow-up work showed that recipients used message length as a guide to how long the survey would take to complete. The more concise message made the task feel quicker, so people were more likely to engage.
If you want people to undertake a task, it's wise to whittle out the padding.
And if you’d like to learn more behavioural science tactics, sign up to my newsletter, AstroHacks. Each fortnight I look at one bias and explain how you can apply it to business or marketing challenges. And best of all, I'll do it in just a few words! Average reading time for the newsletter is about 3 minutes!
You can sign up here: eepurl.com/i-ZfiQ
