When photographer Ben Schott decided to put together a little booklet of useful info instead of sending his clients Christmas cards, he wasn't expecting the idea to turn him into Bloomsbury's second most successful author, after JK Rowling. By Christmas 2002, the idea had snowballed into the elegantly - self-designed - Schott's Original Miscellany, which remained at the top of the books chart for most of 2003. Christmas 2003 brought a bestselling assemblage of facts about food and drink, which was followed in 2004 by another bestseller on sport.
This year sees the inaugural Schott's Almanac, a compendium of essential gen about the last 12 months in fact, together with useful scrying tools for anticipating 2006.
This Monday, December 19, as G2 publishes extracts from the new book, GU will be welcoming the Original Miscellanarian in person for a live chat with readers at 4 pm.
You can start posting questions now, and the 10 most interesting ones will receive a signed copy of Schott's Almanac (Bloomsbury, £15).
