American Library in Paris

Paris didn't just witness the American Revolution—it helped make it happen🇺🇸🇫🇷

This June, join us for The American Revolution in Paris, a four-part illustrated lecture series with historian Mary Jo Padgett, tracing the secret alliances, café conversations, and Parisian salons that shaped a nation. From Beaumarchais's covert arms operation to the signing of the Treaty of Paris on the Rue Jacob, the story of American independence runs right through this city.

📅 Sundays in June, 2:00–4:00 pm
💶 €40 members / €50 non-members
🔗 More information and register here: https://americanlibraryinparis.org/america250/

To celebrate the Library's birthday this past 20 May, Story Hour guests were treated to a special reading by the amazing Kwame Alexander! 🎂

Missed it? Come by the Library to browse and borrow his wonderful books 📚

Thanks for stopping by !

Celebrating 106 years of the American Library in Paris! 📚

We’ve opened our historic photo archives to the public for the first time ever on JSTOR. We invite you to take a rare glimpse into our earliest days, including snapshots dating back exactly a century ago to 1926.

This is just the beginning, with more 20th-century history dropping soon. Head to the link in our bio to explore a century of stories.

Last week, we hosted Breaking Bread, a poetry workshop with our Scholar of Note Dr. Eve L. Ewing 📝🍞

Ewing invited participants to explore a selection of bread using sensory details to unlock memories and free fresh verses onto the page ✨ At the Library, Ewing is working on a collection of essays about the joy and craft of bread and what it reveals about society, culture, history, and communities.

To learn more about Ewing's work and the de Groot Visiting Fellowship and Scholar of Note program, visit our website on the link in bio.

Wether you're a non-fiction fiend like Emma or a fiber artist like Alexandra, the Library has the perfect magazine for you! 📰 🧶 Come by the Member's Lounge to discover your next favorite essay in Believer Magazine or find yarnspiration in The Idler's Wool Britannia issue.

Our 2026 Annual Gala Dinner is fast approaching and we are delighted to welcome award-winning author Amy Tan as our honoree.

The Gala will be a truly special evening: a cocktail reception in the historic salons of the Automobile Club de France, a gourmet dinner in the Bibliothèque Clément-Bayard, and an intimate conversation with Amy Tan on her remarkable literary journey.

🎟️ Individual and Patron tickets (partially tax-deductible) are for sale until 12 May. Reserve your spot: https://americanlibraryinparis.org/gala/

In the meantime, immerse yourself in Tan's works, available now at the Library and online via our digital lending platforms, OverDrive and Libby, from her instant classic The Joy Luck Club to the charming and witty The Backyard Bird Chronicles 📖

Two issues from the Library’s treasured American Vogue collection have left the shelves (temporarily) and are now on display at the Paris Museum of Modern Art as part of Lee Miller, the most significant retrospective in twenty years devoted to the iconic American photographer in France. Among them: the November 1948 issue featuring Miller’s own "Five Modern Italian Artists" (pp. 190–191). The exhibition runs until 2 August 2026.

🗞 Can’t make it to the MAM? Come see us instead. The Library holds one of the most extensive Vogue collections on the European continent, and the issues are available for members to browse.

On Friday 29 May, join author Nikki Grimes and illustrator and fine artist E.B. Lewis at the Library for a conversation about how their work brings historical figures to life and how research impacts their art as they create original works of historical fiction, fiction, and memoir.

In the meantime, here are some of their books available for checkout at the Library:
📘To Walk the Sky: How Iroquois Steelworkers Helped Build Towering Cities by Patricia Morris Buckely, illustrated by E.B. White
📘A Walk in the Woods by Nikki Grimes, illustrated by Jerry and J. Brian Pinkney
📘Sparrow by Mary Tebo, illustrated by E.B. White
📘One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes, featuring several of E.B. White’s illustrations

🔗 Register here: https://americanlibraryinparis.org/event/nikki-grimes-eb-lewis-2026/

An evening to pause and listen 📘 Looking back at an intimate poetry reading with Alice Oswald, one of Britain’s most distinctive contemporary poets.

Oswald has published three anthologies and seven poetry collections, including Dart, Memorial, and Falling Awake, and among her distinctions are the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.

In partnership with the Institute for Ideas and Imagination.

🔗 Link in bio to browse our upcoming events.