American Library in Paris

The Stages of Reading Development (for parents and caregivers)
2023-03-25 15:00 - 16:00 (Europe/Paris) | The American Library in Paris
Join us for an afternoon discussion on reading and multilingualism. Dr. Allison Peck, in interview with Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads, will address how caregivers can help children strengthen reading skills at home, what to look for as red flags in reading development for children, how multilingualism plays into reading, what it might look like for beginning readers in multiple languages simultaneously, as well as what research-backed strategies and practices can be implemented at home to strengthen reading. The interview will be followed by an audience Q&A.

About Dr. Allison Peck: Dr. Allison Peck is currently the Chief Academic Officer at Neuhaus Education Center in Houston, Texas. She holds certifications as a Certified Academic Language Therapist-Qualified Instructor, Licensed Dyslexia Therapist for the state of Texas, and a Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist per the International Dyslexia Association. She is a special education, general education, and reading specialist teacher, with her experience being in the public school (middle school) and private school (elementary) realms for the last 18 years. She started her journey in the field of education after her oldest child was diagnosed with dyslexia. Allison has a BA in Political Science, an MLA in History, and an MEd in Curriculum and Instruction. She completed her Ph.D. in Literacy at St. John’s University in New York. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Attendees are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children, teens and families can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Saturday Series: Good Luck Charms (ages 6–12)
2023-03-25 11:00 - 12:00 | The American Library in Paris
Discuss superstitions about good luck and bad luck with Front of House Assistant Sinamen McGee, and read a story as a group, then create your own good luck charm.

Children between the ages 6–12 may participate in Library programs on their own, while their chaperone remains inside the Library.
Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Teen Night: A Capella with Rock U. (ages 12–18)
2023-03-24 19:00 - 21:00 | The American Library in Paris
Join Jessica Moore and Matt Black from Rock U. for an evening dedicated to song! Jess and Matt will teach you to sing a capella versions of some pop/rock songs you know and love. We’ll work on harmony, blend, and dynamics to create something that rocks—with only our voices! No need to have any experience singing to enjoy this event. Amateurs, experienced singers, and beginners are all welcome to attend.
Learn more about Jessica Moore, Matt Black, and Rock U. here.

Important information:
This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. All visitors are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. After-hours events for teens, such as Teen Nights, require a signed permission slip, which can be downloaded here. One permission slip is needed per academic year (September–July).
Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Critical Conversations Meeting Five: A Life of Reading and Writing
2023-03-23 19:00 - 21:00 | The American Library in Paris
Given the pressure of constant connectivity today, forging a life of reading and writing may feel like a solitary or revolutionary pursuit. But how might such a life benefit the individual and society at large? What exactly doesa life of reading and writing demand of, and offer to, the individual? Do reading and writing complement or disrupt a digital lifestyle, and are words on the screen the same as words on the page? Like tasting wine or looking at a 5 painting, is there depth to reading and writing which we can only reach through honing our attention?
In partnership with Analog Sea, an offline publisher of printed books, we’re delighted to announce the fourth season of Critical Conversations, an expert-led discussion series that allows Library members to ponder the most important issues of our time. This season, we will reflect on how to lead a contemplative, vital, and unmediated life in an ever-faster digital world. We will discuss questions such as: What do we gain from disconnecting, and how can we do it? How can we sharpen our senses and redirect our attention in order to change our thoughts and actions? And most of all, how can we live in contemporary society with nuance and intention?
Some details: The 2022–23 series will unfold over nine sessions, from November 2022 to July 2023. Conversations will begin at 19h00 CET and run for two hours, in person, at the Library; technology of all description is happily forbidden. Each participant will receive copies of all four Analog Sea Review volumes published so far. Course reading and discussion will, for the most part, be based on work published in The Analog Sea Review. Jonathan Simons, founding editor of Analog Sea, will begin each meeting with some opening remarks, before guiding a group discussion.
About Critical Conversations: Whether in France or America, debate is central to healthy democracy. Critical Conversations encourages both disagreement and agreement through thinking, talking, reading, and actively participating in community. Since the series’ inception in 2020, we have tackled race in America, the climate crisis, and migration. Across seasons, participants have challenged themselves, their peers, and the world in which we live. Please write to Emilie Biggs at biggs@americanlibraryinparis.org with any questions.
About the Critical Conversations 2022-23 leader:
Jonathan Simons is the founding editor of offline publishing house Analog Sea and its literary journal, The Analog Sea Review. As a poet and essayist, he has written for publications including The London Magazine, PN Review, El País, subTerrain Magazine, and The Analog Sea Review. His work has been covered by, among others, the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, the Washington Post and La Vanguardia. He researched Buddhist poetics at Naropa University and McGill University and was formerly a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Humans and Machines, in Berlin.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.

(Hybrid) Macron's Second Term, Analyzed
2023-03-22 19:30 - 20:30 | The American Library in Paris
Emmanuel Macron’s win in the 2022 French presidential election arrived at a moment of intense political polarization across France. The divided state of French politics has continued to limit Macron’s success, already undermined by the lowest turnout in a French presidential election since 1969 and a smaller-than-expected margin of victory. Is Macron, polling at 35% in October, falling out of favor with the French? How should we evaluate the first six months of his second term? What challenges does a minority government face in modern-day France? And what sort of prognoses can we draw from this about centrism in Europe today? In partnership with the Overseas Press Club of America (OPC), we invite a panel of experts to analyze the state of French politics, what led up to this, and what this means for the future. This discussion will be moderated by Vivienne Walt.
About the speakers:
Constant Méheut is a reporter in the Paris bureau of the New York Times, covering France. He joined the Paris bureau in 2020, after graduating from HEC Paris and MGIMO university in Moscow with a dual master’s degree in business and international relations. Méheut has reported the 2022 presidential campaign in France and the rise of the French far right.
Vivienne Walt is a Paris correspondent for TIME Magazine and Fortune Magazine. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, BusinessWeek, and more. She is governor of the Overseas Press Club of America.
Matthew Dalton is a reporter in the Wall Street Journal Paris bureau where he covers climate change, energy security and European politics and foreign policy. Before moving to Paris, he was a reporter in the Journal’s Brussels bureau for seven years, where his coverage ranged from the eurozone economic crisis to Islamist militancy in Europe.
Thierry Arnaud is currently international editor for French news network BFMTV. Thierry joined BFMTV in 2006 as its US Correspondent, and later served as the network political editor for six years. He was managing editor for sister network BFM Business from 2019 to 2022. Thierry started in career in print journalism, and was based for several of these years in London and New York.
Victor Mallet has covered France in three stints, and was the Financial Time‘s Paris bureau chief until last September. He has spent three decades covering Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and has written two books, on the Ganges River and the modernisation of south-east Asia.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Abboud, Méheut, Arnaud and Walt will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
Please note the Daylight Savings gap between the US and France. This event will take place at 19h30 CET / 14h30 EDT
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
This event has been organized in partnership with the Overseas Press Club of American (OPC).
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Story Hour: Knights and Ninjas (ages 3–5)
2023-03-22 14:30 - 15:30 | The American Library in Paris
For this Story Hour, we’ll read tales both factual and fictional all about knights and ninjas. Books included in this Story Hour are short picture books such as the 2023 Caldecott Honor winner Knight Owl by Christopher Denise.
This Story Hour will be hosted by Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads. They will read books and lead you and your little one in songs and hand-rhymes during a live, interactive session. This participatory program is intended to encourage children to actively engage with stories. Plan to join in, sing along, and move around, and model movement and listening for your little one. We ask that all caregivers put away their phones and other electronic devices for the duration of this program. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

(Hybrid) A Dispatch from the Fashion Archives with Marco Pecorari and Antoine Bucher
2023-03-21 19:30 - 20:30 | The American Library in Paris
Fashion captures the historical moment, giving it shape and fixing it in fabric. We often turn to fashion as a record and reflection of its time. Yet how is fashion itself recorded? What tools do we have to document the design, production, and use of fashion? What constitutes a fashion object? When writing the history of fashion, what is worthy of the archive, and what is cast aside? When considering the legacy of the most famous luxury brands, what is included in the narrative, and what is deliberately left out? At the heart of this question is the idea of ephemera: from invitations, to press releases, to catalogs, minor and often forgotten documents provide an alternative means of envisioning the development of modern fashion within the contemporary marketplace. Experts in fashion history, practices of collection, and archival sciences discuss.
About the speakers:
Antoine Bucher graduated from the University of Lille and from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. He is the co-founder of Diktats, a bookstore specialized in rare books and documents related to fashion from the 16th century to the 20th century. As the manager of Diktats, Antoine Bucher has been working with international museums and libraries, private collectors and heritage departments of luxury brands for more than a decade.
Dr. Marco Pecorari is Assistant Professor and Program Director of the MA in Fashion Studies at Parsons Paris. He is co-editor of the volume Fashion, Performance and Performativity: The Complex Spaces of Fashion (2021) and author of Fashion Remains: Rethinking Fashion Ephemera in the Archive (2021). He is the co-founder of the festival and publication Printing Fashion and sits on the editorial boards of Fashion Theory, ZoneModa Journal, and Bloomsbury Fashion Central.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Bucher and Pecorari will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
Please note the Daylight Savings gap between the US and France. This event will take place at 19h30 CET / 14h30 EDT
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
This talk is supported by the Florence Gould Foundation and the American Center for Arts and Culture.
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Master Shot Film Club Meeting (ages 12–18) (FULL)
2023-03-18 17:00 - 18:30 | The American Library in Paris
Led by Paris-based filmmaker and writer Clarence Tokley, the purpose of this club is to allow budding filmmakers the opportunity to produce high quality short films.

The Master Shot Film Club provides a space for teens to explore all aspects of film-making, including the development and production process, script-writing, camera work, directing, acting, editing and much more, not to mention that you’ll get to know other young filmmakers in the community! This club is open to teens ages 12–18 in the Paris area who are fluent in English, by application. Applications were open through the end of August 2022 and are closed for the 2022–2023 film club. Applications for the 2023–2024 club opened on 31 March. Apply to here for the 2023–2024 Master Shot Film Club.
About Clarence Tokley:Clarence Tokley is a Paris-based teacher, filmmaker, and writer. A native of New Jersey, Clarence attended Rutgers University, obtaining a degree in History and Film Studies. Clarence then attended the New York Film Academy in New York City, before packing up everything and moving to Paris—he wanted to get a taste of the European style of storytelling. He fully immersed himself in the film industry and quickly landed his first job in Paris. Some of his credits include Rush Hour 3, Truth in 24, Exes, and the Cherry Orchard. Clarence also does voice-over work in Paris. Along with his duties as teacher of the BAW Teen and Youth Acting courses, he is the director of camps in France and provides workshops and private coaching. When he’s not teaching or coaching, Clarence continues to work professionally in film and theater productions in and around Paris.

Important information:
This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. All visitors are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons.
Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Spring Stories and Crafts (ages 6–12)
2023-03-18 14:00 - 15:30 | The American Library in Paris
Join the Children’s and Teens’ Services staff and volunteers for a spring celebration full of music, games, crafts, fun, and surprises!
Children between the ages 6–12 may participate in Library programs on their own, while their chaperone remains inside the Library, although parents and caregivers are encouraged to participate in crafts and games with their children during this event. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Spring Stories and Crafts (ages 0–6)
2023-03-18 11:00 - 12:00 | The American Library in Paris
Join the Children’s and Teens’ Services staff and volunteers for a spring celebration full of music, games, crafts, fun, and surprises!
Children ages 0–6 must have a chaperone with them at all times during Library events. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to participate in crafts and games with their children during this event. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Science Fiction Movie Night (ages 12–18)
2023-03-17 19:00 - 21:30 | The American Library in Paris
Join us for a Sci-fi movie night! Vote on the science fiction film you’d like to watch when you register for this event. Participate in trivia based on science fiction and dystopian books at the start of the evening, then settle in with popcorn and enjoy a screening of a film in the Library’s comfortable reading room. We’ll discuss the film as a group at the end of the night.
This event will be hosted by Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads, with the help of Library volunteers.
Drinks and light snacks will be provided. Important information:
This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. All visitors are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. After-hours events for teens, such as Teen Nights, require a signed permission slip, which can be downloaded here. One permission slip is needed per academic year (September–July).
Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Toddler Time (ages 1–3)
2023-03-16 11:00 - 11:30 | The American Library in Paris
Stories featured during our Toddler Time programs include short picture books and board books, such as Dinosaur vs. the Library by Bob Shea, which will be included in this 16 March event.
Our Toddler Time is for children ages 1–3 and their caregivers, and lasts 30 minutes. This session will be hosted by Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads and Assistant Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Jason Hazard. Each child must be accompanied by an adult chaperone, and chaperones are required to remain with their children for the duration of the program. Parents and caregivers are expected to sit with their children beside them, or in their laps, and participate in the program. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

(Hybrid) Bruno Patino on the Age of Information
2023-03-15 19:30 - 20:30 | The American Library in Paris
Are we living through an information overload? Constantly bombarded by images, facts, and opinions emanating from screens of varied shapes and sizes, one may begin to wonder what purpose staying up to date ultimately serves. In the words of ARTE President Bruno Patino, is it only natural to ask, “s’informer, à quoi bon?” Yet Patino insists upon the social imperative of remaining informed, providing a compelling case for knowledge as a public good. Patino will discuss new essay “S’informer, à quoi bon”, as well as his celebrated works on the attention economy and the failures of internet utopianism. Join him to learn how we can rework digital society to reclaim our relationship to our devices and re-enter the shared human world.
About the speaker:
Bruno Patino is an author and journalist. He has published five works on digital media with Grasset, including La civilisation du poisson rouge (2019) and its sequel, Tempête dans le bocal : la nouvelle civilisation du poisson rouge (2022). “S’informer, à quoi bon?” was published in 2023. Patino has been CEO of the French-German TV channel ARTE since 2021, after previously serving as Editorial Director of Arte France. He is Associate Professor at Sciences Po and an analyst of digital society.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Patino will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
Please note the Daylight Savings gap between the US and France. This event will take place at 19h30 CET / 14h30 EDT
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Story Hour: Rainy Days (ages 3–5)
2023-03-15 14:30 - 15:30 | The American Library in Paris
For this Story Hour, we’ll read tales both factual and fictional all about rainy days, and the weather. Books included in this Story Hour are short picture books such as Rain! by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Christian Robinson.
This Story Hour will be hosted by Assistant Children’s and Teens’ Services Librarian Jason Hazard and Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads. They will read books and lead you and your little one in songs and hand-rhymes during a live, interactive session. This participatory program is intended to encourage children to actively engage with stories. Plan to join in, sing along, and move around, and model movement and listening for your little one. We ask that all caregivers put away their phones and other electronic devices for the duration of this program. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

(Hybrid) Noga Arikha on the Self and the Disrupted Mind
2023-03-14 19:30 - 20:30 | The American Library in Paris
Philosopher Noga Arikha’s decision to study neuropsychiatric patients at a hospital in Paris was not initially motivated by personal experience. However, when her mother began to succumb to dementia, Arikha’s research into the threats to the self posed by mental illness took on new dimensions. Seeking to understand the confrontation of the mind with its own dissolution, Arikha grew close to a network of patients whose variety of symptoms defied neat classification and whose loss of identity is a current of intense pain throughout Arikha’s new work, The Ceiling Outside. Empathic and unflinching, the book details the fragility of the mind, the limits of medical practice, and, above all, the humanity of all beings trying to grapple with who they are. Arikha will appear in conversation with writer Rachel Donadio.
About the speaker:
Noga Arikha is a philosopher, historian of ideas and essayist who works as a “science humanist”. Her book The Ceiling Outside: The Science and Experience of the Disrupted Mind was published in spring 2022 by Basic Books. She is also the author of Passions and Tempers: A History of the Humours (2007). She is a Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute in Fiesole, Associate Fellow of the Warburg Institute and of the Center for the Politics of Feelings (London), Research Associate at the Institut Jean Nicod (Paris), and Research Associate at the Fotopoulou Lab at UCL.
Rachel Donadio is a Paris-based writer and journalist, a contributing writer for the Atlantic, and a former Rome Bureau Chief and European Culture correspondent for the New York Times. She regularly publishes textured profiles and features at the intersection of culture and politics, as well as literary criticism. Since 2022 she has been the administrator of the American Library in Paris annual Book Award.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Arikha and Donadio will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
Please note the Daylight Savings gap between the US and France. This event will take place at 19h30 CET / 14h30 EDT
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Saturday Series: Fractured Fables (ages 6–12)
2023-03-11 11:00 - 12:00 | The American Library in Paris
Discuss fairy tales and fables, then explore how you can alter these classic stories to create your own original fractured fairy tale or fable. Join us for this writing workshop and then get started on your own piece for the Library’s Young Authors Fiction Festival here.

Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads will host this event with the help of Library volunteers, and will be available to answer questions about the Young Authors Fiction Festival.

Children between the ages 8–12 may participate in Library programs on their own, while their chaperone remains inside the Library. Children ages 6–8, and children who cannot yet write on their own must have a chaperone with them to assist with writing.
Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Youth Leadership Program (ages 14–18) (FULL)
2023-03-10 19:00 - 21:00 | The American Library in Paris
This public speaking club is for teens ages 14-18. The YLP is led by the teen participants themselves with the guidance and support of Toastmasters from several groups in the Paris area and the American Library in Paris’ Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager. Toastmasters participate at each meeting to coach and help evaluate.

Participants between the ages of 14-18 were selected for this program based on applications sent in August 2023. Applications will be open on 31 March for the 2023–2024 Youth Leadership Program, and will close on 31 July 2023. Important information:
This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. All visitors are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons.
Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Teen Advisory Group meeting (FULL) (ages 12–18)
2023-03-10 17:30 - 18:30 | The American Library in Paris
Teen Advisory Group (TAG) members provide valuable feedback and share ideas about the Library’s teen programs, services, and collections. This club is open for Library members ages 12–18 by application. TAG 2022–2023 is full. Applications for the 2022–2023 club were accepted through 31 July 2022, and will open for the 2023-2023 season on 31 March 2023.
Members of this group are asked to:

Brainstorm suggestions for future teen programs
Help with preparation of programs
Offer input and suggestions about policies
Advise on furnishings and decorations for the Teen Mezzanine
Offer opinions on selected books that we are considering adding to our collections
Promote the Library as a great place to be, to work, to study, and to read

Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads facilitates each meeting, and will take notes on all of the comments and feedback. If you are interested in joining the Teen Advisory Group next year, you can find out more here. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

(Hybrid at The London Library) Nancy Cunard, Jazz Age Icon
2023-03-09 20:30 - 21:30 | The London Library, 14 St James's Square, London, London, SW1Y 4LB, United Kingdom
Nancy Cunard, writer, heiress and political activist, was an icon of the Jazz Age, who was said to have inspired half the poets and novelists of the twenties.
Rebelling against expectations to pursue a life in the arts, she moved between the glamorous cafes and artistic circles of London and Paris, reading widely, writing poetry, campaigning for civil rights and fighting fascism. Her Paris life – the focus of Anne de Courcy’s glorious new biography – was filled with art, sex and alcohol. Mina Loy wrote poems to her; Constantin Brâncuși sculpted her; Man Ray photographed her; she played tennis with Ernest Hemingway and had love affairs with, amongst others, Ezra Pound, Aldous Huxley, Louis Aragon and jazz musician Henry Crowder, with whom she ran a printing press.
In conversation with American Library in Paris Programs Manager Alice McCrum at The London Library, de Courcy discusses Five Love Affairs and a Friendship, a tempestuous tale of passion and intrigue, which is as much a portrait of twenties Paris as it is the story of an extraordinary woman who defined her age.
About the speakers:
Anne de Courcy is the author of fourteen widely acclaimed works of social history and biography, including, Chanel’s Riviera, The Husband Hunters, The Fishing Fleet, The Viceroy’s Daughters and Debs at War. In the 1970s she was Woman’s Editor on the London Evening News and in the 1980s she was a regular feature-writer for the Evening Standard.
Alice McCrum is the head of cultural programming at The American Library in Paris. She also studies at Sciences Po, and co-hosts a podcast at Shakespeare and Company.
Important information: This event will happen offsite at The London Library and will be live-streamed on Zoom.
Access to this event requires purchase of a ticket through The London Library. Click on the button below to purchase your ticket.

(Hybrid) Philippe Sands on Britain’s Living Colonial Legacy
2023-03-08 19:00 - 20:15 | The American Library in Paris
Please note that this event will exceptionally begin at 19h00 CET.
In the immediate post-World War II period, the founding of the International Court of Justice heralded a new age of international cooperation according to a shared code of human rights. Thirty years later, in flagrant violation of these rights, the UK forcibly removed the population of the Chagos Islands in order to found the British Indian Ocean Territory. In new work The Last Colony, human rights lawyer Philippe Sands exposes the heart of this scandal and his experience defending the case of Chagossian repatriation in 2018 in the court of The Hague itself. Sharing stories from Chagossians forced into exile and demystifying the legal framework, Sands uncovers a hidden history of British colonialism unfolding in the present day.
About the speaker:
Philippe Sands KC is Professor of Law at University College London and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard. He is a practicing barrister at 11KBW, appears as counsel before the International Court of Justice and other international courts and tribunals, and sits as an international arbitrator. He is a Board Member of Hay Festival and President of English PEN. His latest books are East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide (2016), The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (2020) and The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain’s Colonial Legacy (2022).
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Sands will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Story Hour: Classics and Favorites (ages 3–5)
2023-03-08 14:30 - 15:30 | The American Library in Paris
For this Story Hour, we’ll read classic children’s stories, and new Library favorites. Each Story Hour program features short picture books such as Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beatty, illustrated by David Roberts, as well as songs and rhymes.
This Story Hour will be hosted by Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads and Library Volunteer Mary Wessels. They will read books and lead you and your little one in songs and hand-rhymes during a live, interactive session. This participatory program is intended to encourage children to actively engage with stories. Plan to join in, sing along, and move around, and model movement and listening for your little one. We ask that all caregivers put away their phones and other electronic devices for the duration of this program. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

(Hybrid) Getting Life Back on Track with Oliver Mol
2023-03-07 19:30 - 20:30 | The American Library in Paris
Listed as a best Australian book of 2022 by the Guardian, writer Oliver Mol’s new memoir, Train Lord, tells the story of how a chronic, 10-month-long migraine subsumed him, robbing him of writing, reading, and–ultimately–existence itself. “Two things happened,” Mol notes, “I became a writer who no longer wrote, and a person who could no longer communicate with the modern world. In literature, and life, I began to disappear.” Steadied by a job as a train guard, and surrounded by a new collection of characters, Mol reflects on his new vocation with wit and honesty, sharp images and deep emotions. Ultimately Train Lord captures the experience of pain, but it also captures the bright ideas of possibility, creativity, and growth that pain so often trails in its wake.
About the speaker:
Oliver Mol is the author of Lion Attack! (Scribe Publications, 2015) and Train Lord (Penguin Michael Joseph, 2022), which was a Guardian, Australian Book Review and Sydney Morning Herald book of the year. He is a contributing editor at Apartamento Magazine and was a 2022 Marten Bequest Scholar for Prose through the Australian Council for the Arts. He grew up in Australia, and currently lives in Paris.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Mol will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Beginning Your Short Story (ages 8–12)
2023-03-04 15:00 - 16:30 | The American Library in Paris
Explore what elements are needed to create a successful short story, and get tips and tricks on writing your own piece during this small-group workshop with YAFF Coordinator Kirsty McCulloch Reid. Find out more about the Library’s Young Authors Fiction Festival here.

Children between the ages 8–12 may participate in Library programs on their own, while their chaperone remains inside the Library.
Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Saturday Series: Focus on Collage (ages 6–12)
2023-03-04 11:00 - 12:00 | The American Library in Paris
Look at the collage work of children’s illustrators Sophie Blackall, Oge Mora, Susan Roth, and others, then create your own collage pieces.

Children between the ages 6–12 may participate in Library programs on their own, while their chaperone remains inside the Library.
Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Teen Night: Pizza and Games
2023-03-03 19:00 - 21:00 | The American Library in Paris
Join us for a game tournament and enjoy pizza! Get to know other teens as you learn new games, and try something new. Compete in teams.
This event will be hosted by Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads, with the help of Library volunteers. Important information:
This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. All visitors are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons.
Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

Toddler Time (ages 1–3)
2023-03-02 11:00 - 11:30 | The American Library in Paris
Stories featured during our Toddler Time programs include short picture books and board books, such as Sugar and Snails by Sarah Tsiang, which will be included in this 2 March event.
Our Toddler Time is for children ages 1–3 and their caregivers, and lasts 30 minutes. This session will be hosted by Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads and Assistant Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Jason Hazard. Each child must be accompanied by an adult chaperone, and chaperones are required to remain with their children for the duration of the program. Parents and caregivers are expected to sit with their children beside them, or in their laps, and participate in the program. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

(Hybrid) Linda Kinstler on the Haunting of History
2023-03-01 19:30 - 20:30 | The American Library in Paris
What is the nature of proof, and how is it obfuscated by memory and time? Faced with indescribable monstrosities, what level of justice can a court trial achieve? In the aftermath of a totalitarian regime, what remains of national memory? In Linda Kinstler’s rich and probing work Come to This Court and Cry, family and international history intertwine in an investigation a Latvian Nazi killing squad. The granddaughter of a member of this group, Kinstler uncovers decades of revisionist practices which rehabilitated its figurehead and rewrote historical reality. From legal cases to cultural narratives and evolving national identities, Kinstler demonstrates the world’s failure to reckon with the Holocaust and its enduring, haunting presence today. Kinstler will be in conversation with journalist Madeleine Schwartz.
About the speakers:
Linda Kinstler is the author of Come to This Court and Cry: How the Holocaust Ends (Le Contraire De L’Oubli, Denoël, January 2023). She is the deputy editor of The Dial magazine and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The Economist, and other publications. She is a PhD candidate in Rhetoric at U.C. Berkeley, where she is writing a history of legal oblivion. Kinstler is Deputy Editor of The Dial.
Madeleine Schwartz is a journalist and editor based in Paris whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The London Review of Books and The New York Review of Books. Schwartz is Editor-in-Chief of The Dial.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Kinstler and Schwartz will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Story Hour: Endangered Animals (ages 3–5)
2023-03-01 14:30 - 15:30 | The American Library in Paris
For this Story Hour, we’ll read books both factual and fictional all about endangered animals. Books included in this Story Hour are short picture books such as Hello, Hello by Brenden Wenzel.
This Story Hour will be hosted by Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager Celeste Rhoads and Library Volunteer Mary Wessels. They will read books and lead you and your little one in songs and hand-rhymes during a live, interactive session. This participatory program is intended to encourage children to actively engage with stories. Plan to join in, sing along, and move around, and model movement and listening for your little one. We ask that all caregivers put away their phones and other electronic devices for the duration of this program. Important information: This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.

(Hybrid) Lex Paulson on Philosophy and Power
2023-02-28 19:30 - 20:30 | The American Library in Paris
Does “the will of the people” exist? How could any community of divided views and changing minds ever have a single will? And where did we get the idea that self-government could only happen through elections and ruling elites?
The answer emerges in the story of a young orator from the Italian countryside who rose to the heights of power as his republic fell apart. Cicero and the People’s Will is an adventure story of ideas, centered on the creative genius of Rome’s greatest orator and most underappreciated thinker, Marcus Tullius Cicero. Surviving plots, exile, and the rise of Julius Caesar, Cicero fuses Roman tradition with Greek philosophy, establishing an idea–popular sovereignty through an elected elite–that failed in his time but has shaped the modern world.
About the speaker:
Dr. Lex Paulson is Executive Director of the UM6P School of Collective Intelligence (Morocco) and lectures in advocacy at Sciences Po-Paris. Trained in classics and community organizing, he served as mobilization strategist for the campaigns of Barack Obama in 2008 and Emmanuel Macron in 2017. He served as legislative counsel in the 111th U.S. Congress (2009-2011), organized on six U.S. presidential campaigns, and has worked to advance democratic innovation at the European Commission and in India, Tunisia, Egypt, Uganda, Senegal, Czech Republic and Ukraine. He is author of Cicero and the People’s Will: Philosophy and Power at the End of the Roman Republic, from Cambridge University Press, and is co-editor of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Collective Intelligence for Democracy and Governance.
Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Paulson will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.
This event requires advance registration.
Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.
Evenings with an Author are free and open to the public (with a 10€ suggested donation)
thanks to the generous support of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of GRoW @ Annenberg.

Bookworms Book Club: "Flying Lessons and Other Stories" (ages 9–12)
2023-02-25 11:00 - 12:00 | The American Library in Paris
Discuss the short story collection Flying Lessons and Other Stories, and explore what elements are needed to create a successful short story. After our discussion, participants will begin stories of their own—just in time for the Library’s Young Authors Fiction Festival!

Each participant should read the book Flying Lessons and Other Stories before attending this book club activity. Copies are available in the Library’s collections.

Children between the ages 6–12 may participate in Library programs on their own, while their chaperone remains inside the Library.
Important information:
This event is for Library members, and advance registration is required. Caregivers are expected to familiarize themselves with the Library Policy for Children and the Rules and Code of Conduct so that we can provide a pleasant library environment for all patrons. Questions about collections and programs for children and teens can be sent to the Library’s Children’s and Teens’ Services Manager, Celeste Rhoads: celeste@americanlibraryinparis.org.
