Anna Pasternak Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerAnna Pasternak

Acclaimed Author, Columnist and Journalist

Anna Pasternak is the international bestselling author of The American Duchess, the Real Wallis Simpson, a biography which pulls back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood women in British royal history, The Duchess of Windsor. Her previous book, Lara; The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago, which revealed the true... Read more

Biography

Anna Pasternak is the international bestselling author of The American Duchess, the Real Wallis Simpson, a biography which pulls back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood women in British royal history, The Duchess of Windsor.

Her previous book, Lara; The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago, which revealed the true story about the mistress and muse of Anna’s great uncle Boris Pasternak, achieved critical acclaim and is currently in film development.

Other titles include Princess in Love, which sold over half a million copies and was made into a CBS movie of the week and Call Off The Search, a jaw-droppingly honest self-help book about true love and relationships.

Anna’s work has featured in every mainstream British newspaper including The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail as well as in magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country, Conde Nast Traveller and Tatler.

She is a founder member of the Free Speech Union and a member of their Writers Advisory Council.

A frequent royal commentator on television, radio and podcasts Anna regularly shares insights about the British Royal family, women’s issues and modern relationships. In June 2021, she spoke at The Oxford Union, the world’s most prestigious debating society, against the motion to abolish the British monarchy.

After witnessing the impact of a lecture she gave at St Paul’s Girls’ School in 2024, Anna is inspired to help others discover their own voice.  Her talk ‘Finding Your Voice’ encourages people of all ages how to fine tune their inner dialogue to help them access their authentic and individual mode of expression.

“I just wanted to say how wonderful your talk was today – the students completely loved it and I heard the whole lunch queue full of chatter about how funny you were and then I had two hours of lessons with VII students during the afternoon who all kept referring to ‘Finding their Voice’ and about their watermark!” CLAIRE ASHLEY, HEAD OF CAREERS, ST PAUL’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL
“What an incredible lecture, you were so inspiring, entertaining and honest. I really enjoyed listening to your speech and as I said, I have rarely heard such a loud, long round of applause after a Friday lecture!” SARAH HARRISON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, ST PAUL’S GIRLS’ SCHOOL
“I am one of the St Paul’s Girls’ students that you had lunch with last Friday. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your talk (everyone says it is the best Friday lecture so far!) and how honoured I was to have lunch with you afterwards. Usually, events that we have like that are very forced and I find myself struggling to fill up silences with boring questions but our conversation as a table was quite the opposite. It was honestly so thought-provoking and enriching and generally a thoroughly good way to spend my Friday lunchtime. I loved the way you spoke about the damaging nature of ‘cancel culture’, and how you stand by your beliefs no matter what. As my departure from St Paul’s steadily approaches, I can only hope that in forty years time (I think you said you left in ’85) I will be a fraction of the woman you are with all that you have achieved. Please come back and visit soon.”
“Use your voice to its best effect, trust yourselves, have courage, go out in the world and don’t worry if it doesn’t happen immediately – because with faith, it will. We were incredibly lucky to have writer and alumna, Anna Pasternak, return to the school to deliver the Friday Lecture. Informed by her successful career as a writer, Anna gave an impassioned and inspirational lecture on finding your voice. Our students, including some budding journalists and editors, thoroughly enjoyed listening to her experiences and advice. A big thank you to Anna for coming back to see us!” ST PAUL’S GIRLS ALUMNAE

Popular Talks by Anna Pasternak

  • Women
  • Media
  • Work/Life Balance
  • Finding Your Voice - Embrace the power of your authentic voice to speak with confidence
  • Journalism
  • Royal Family