Meet Tia Williams: Esteemed Author & Estée Lauder Companies Editorial Director

Welcome to Second Life, a podcast spotlighting successful women who've made major career changes—and fearlessly mastered the pivot. Hosted by Hillary Kerr, co-founder and chief content officer at Who What Wear, each episode gives you a direct line to women who are game changers in their fields. Subscribe to Second Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts to stay tuned.

To say Tia Williams is a multi-hyphenate is quite the understatement. Williams is the editorial director at the Estée Lauder Companies Inc., overseeing the voice of its subsidiary brands, and is a best-selling author. Her latest book, Seven Days in June, became an instant hit, captivating audiences everywhere by immersing them into the life of writer Eva Mercy as she navigates motherhood, her career as a vampire-erotica author, and a reignited romance. The book garnered attention and esteemed accolades, becoming an NYT best seller and Reese Witherspoon's book-club pick. The intricacy of detail and emotion-evoking language woven throughout the book are skills Williams has been honing through her career as a novelist, as this book marks her sixth to date.

Her first book published was The Accidental Diva, followed by her two YA novels It Chicks and Sixteen Candles. She then worked on The Beauty of Color, which she wrote alongside supermodel Iman, and the novel The Perfect Find, which is currently being adapted into a Netflix film starring Gabrielle Union. Perhaps her impressive career as a beauty editor for notable magazines, including Elle, Glamour, and Essence, over the last 15 years is what shaped her into the wildly successful writer she is today. 

Listen to the latest episode of Second Life to hear how Williams continues to evolve her writing and her voice, entering a new dimension of literary creativity, and every lesson she has learned along the way.

Next: Meet the Woman on a Mission to Transform the Coffee Industry, Sahra Nguyen