Events Archive

Mingmei Yip will read from her latest novel Petals from the Sky, a Buddhist, interracial love story set in Hong Kong, Manhattan and Paris. Mingmei is also a professional qin musician and after her reading she will treat us to a special performance. ‘Yip’s second novel is a serious, engaging story of faith, devotion, and the commingling of cultures.’ – Booklist Read more...

After the Sunday afternoon tea party chez George, join us in the Shakespeare and Company library to hear John Kirby Abraham speak about his new book Paris Made Me…We are delighted to present John, after he has presented many readers in the past at Shakespeare and Company. Read more...

The Note Well Salon makes its international debut with BOOK MUSIC, a night of literary-themed music. Read more...

Andrew Kaufman will read from his new novel The Waterproof Bible, a magical story of love and the isolation that defines the modern condition. This is a wholly original allegorical tale that is both emotionally resonant and outlandishly fun. Read more...

Please note the event with Andrew O’Hagan has been cancelled this coming Monday 26 July. Read more...

Come and celebrate the launch of Going Back at Granta’s first-ever event in Paris. Join Pulitzer Prize-winning poet C. K. Williams,  O. Henry Story Prize-winner Mavis Gallant and Vogue Young Writer’s  Award-winner Owen Sheers in conversation with Granta Editor John Freeman about Memory and Writing. Read more...

Tonight come and join us for two exhilarating readings with Jonathan Lethem & Helen Schulman - the finale of this year’s collaboration with New York University in Paris. Read more...

In collaboration with New York University in Paris, Nathan Englander, author of The Ministry of Special Cases and Darin Strauss of Chang and Eng fame, will be joining us to read a selection of their work. Read more...

In collaboration with New York University in Paris, we are delighted to present celebrated poets Dan Chiasson, Yusef Komunyakaa and Meghan O’Rourke who will be joining us to read a selection of their work. Read more...

*Exceptional time*. We are thrilled to present Booker Prize-winning author Yann Martel who will read from his much anticipated new novel Beatrice and Virgil. With all the spirit and originality that made Life of Pi so treasured, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey and asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity. Read more...

As part of the Mairie de Paris literary festival Paris en toutes lettres, tonight we have a special evening dedicated to the founder of the original Shakespeare and Company, Sylvia Beach. Keri Walsh, the editor of recently released The Letters of Sylvia Beach will discuss the life of this formidable woman as revealed through her correspondence. Read more...

In his youth, James Frey spent many an afternoon at Shakespeare and Company and tonight we have the pleasure of welcoming him back into the fold. James Frey is the bestselling author of A Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard and more recently, a novel about LA, Bright Shiny Morning.  ‘A furiously good storyteller’ – New York Times

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Shakespeare and Company is thrilled to welcome Pulitzer Prize winning author Marilynne Robinson, ‘one of America’s greatest – and most singular – contemporary novelists’. The Guardian. Read more...

Cecilia Woloch’s Paris Poetry Workshop returns to Shakespeare and Company:  A tradition for local and visiting poets, this May workshop is in its ninth year, reuniting English speaking poets from various corners of the map.  We have many publications to celebrate this year – faculty and participants alike –so this grand finale is not to be missed.  Come meet the poets and hear their latest work: Pam Davis, Kim Noriega, Elizabeth Iannaci, Betzi Richardson, Hope Alvarado, Elizabeth Marshall, Maria Ruiz, Eve Hoffman, Cheryl Passanisi, Shannon Burns, and Suzanne Allen. Read more...

Tonight we welcome Assaf Gavron, one of Israel’s most exciting writers, to read from CrocAttack!/Almost Dead, his provocative, gripping and tragicomic novel about the perfectly ordinary madness that resides in the Middle East. ‘Blasts right through the cliches and the politically correct surface to touch the chaotic and ambiguous core of the Israeli identity.’ – Etgar Keret Read more...

Rob Stephenson will read from Passes Through. In language that is frank and uncompromising this debut novel moves forward in a rare and daring manner. Read more...

The St. Petersburg Review present Kenyan writers Parselelo Kantai and Mukoma Wa Ngugi, both shortlisted for the Caine Prize in 2009. Parselelo Kantai is a writer and investigative journalist who writes short fiction and is currently working on a novel. Mukoma Wa Ngugi is the author of Nairobi Heat and Hurling Words at Consciousness. Read more...

Magda Danysz will present her groundbreaking new book From Style Writing to Art, the first Street Art anthology ever published. She will be talking about why style writing/graffiti/street art is turning out to be the major art movement at this turn of the century. Magda will also be in discussion with Seen, the Godfather of graffiti. Read more...

Tonight award-winning author Yiyun Li will read from her novel The Vagrants followed by a short extract read in French. “Yiyun Li has written a book that is as important politically as it is artistically. The Vagrants is an enormous achievement.” – Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto Read more...

Irene Vilar will be reading from her acclaimed memoir Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict and will also discuss her previous book The Ladies’ Gallery. ‘A writer of extraordinary passion, erudition, and intelligence’ – Tobias Wolff Read more...

Publishing icon John Calder will read from his new book of poetry Solo, and discuss his past and present publishing activities. Read more...

Tonight come and join us to hear Dom Gabrielli read from his recently published book of poetry, The Parallel Body. This is the second fascinating collaboration of poetry and art between Dom and his brother Piers Faccini, the painter and musican. Piers will accompany some of the poems on guitar. Read more...

Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier will be discussing their new translation of The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir which marks the 60th anniversary of publication. They have produced the first integral translation, reinstating a third of the original work. Read more...

Author and artist Roma Tearne will read from her acclaimed novels Bone China and Brixton Beach and present her Paris sketchbooks to the audience. She will also talk about the importance of memory for migrants and what made her start to write after having been a painter for so many years. Read more...

Chloe Aridjis will be reading from Book of Clouds, winner of the Prix du Premier Roman Etranger 2009. It is a haunting, masterfully wrought debut novel about a young woman adrift in Berlin, where a string of fateful encounters leads to romance, violence, and revelation. Read more...

A reading and wine tasting with writer Kristin Espinasse and her husband, winemaker Jean-Marc Espinasse (Domaine Rouge-Bleu). Read more...

Songbirds Kate Stables and Erica Buettner will be singing and performing acoustically ! Both are exquisite, lyrical musicians and writers… They will be joined by poet Colin Mahar. Read more...

Janet Skeslien Charles will be reading from Moonlight in Odessa published by Bloomsbury and chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of their top ten debut novels this autumn. Read more...

Wendell Steavenson will be reading from The Weight of a Mustard Seed. This book tells the story of Iraq from the inside out, giving a portrait of the Iraqis behind the headlines ‘a masterly and elegantly told story that weaves together the Iraqi past and present.’ – The New York Times. Read more...

Join us to celebrate the launch of Heather Hartley’s brilliant new book of poetry, Knock Knock, published by Carnegie Mellon University Press. ‘Heather Hartley writes the kind of poetry many of us are starved for, a poetry without borders, Read more...

In Paris for the publication in French of The End, finalist for the National Book Award Salvatore Scibona will read from his prize winning novel. Excepts will also be read in French. The English paperback edition was published in Fall 2009.

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Margo Berdeshevsky will be reading from her new book of short stories Beautiful Soon Enough. Read more...

A special reading from celebrated author and critic Luc Sante, who is in Paris for Christian Boltanski’s Monumenta exhibition at the Grand Palais. Read more...

In Paris for the publication in French of The Hour I First Believed (Le Chagrin et la Grâce), the New York Times bestselling author Wally Lamb will be with us for a signing of his books and some mulled wine ! Read more...

We are honoured to present prize-winning poet Marilyn Hacker as she reads from her new book of poetry Names. ‘Hacker is, to use a trite term, a major poet. More than that she is exciting and true.’—George Szirtes. Read more...

For the first reading of 2010 Anita Michaels and Patricia Page will read from a selection of their work. Anita will read new Poems on China and identity and Patricia will read from her novel about Paris, Clean Start. Read more...

Tonight join author Jeff Koehler who will discuss his new cookbook Rice Pasta Couscous, the unity of these three grand staples and their similarities around the Mediterranean – their cultural and historical significance and their role at the center of celebrations, traditions, family meals and life’s transitions. Read more...

Jacques Réda, celebrated French poet, and jazz critique will read from Suburban Beauty his book of poetry, just published by Gival Press. The poems will be read in English by his American translator Peter Schulman. This will be a bilingual event. Read more...

Tonight is a special Christmas event with Roy Howat who will read extracts from his new book The Art of French Piano Music: Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Chabrier that has just won the Book of the Year Award in the International Piano Awards for 2009. He will then play certain pieces on the piano. Read more...

Come for an evening of poetry and fiction with celebrated American authors Thaddeus Rutkowski and Charles D’Ambrosio. Read more...

Join us for a special tour with Michael Schuermann, author of Paris Movie Walks. Michael will take you to his specially chosen Parisian haunts, passing Notre Dame Cathedral and exploring the Rive Gauche as he describes classics such as An American in Paris, A Bout de Souffle… The walk is free – just turn up and come along! Read more...

French poet Celine Zins, will reading in French from her collection of poetry Adamah and her American translator Peter Schulman will be reading his English version. Celine and Peter will also talk about the caveats and collaborative techniques of translation. This is a bilingual event. Read more...

We are thrilled to announce prize-winning novelist, critic and cultural historian Marina Warner will read from her new work-in-progress, a novel inspired by her father’s bookshop in Egypt in the Fifties and will discuss her writing on the 1001 nights. Read more...

Marina Temkina, artist and author of What do you Want? and French poet Zeno Bianu will read a selection of their work. This event will mainly be in English with Zeno reading his poems in French. Read more...

Shakespeare and Company’s writer-in-residence, Michael Smith will be reading a selection of his work including his novel, The Giro Playboy, a twenty-first century beat classic in the making. It’s an utterly charming miniature picaresque and a portrait of a life blissfully unmoored. Read more...

Award-winning travel writer and journalist Rosemary Bailey will be reading from Love and War in the Pyrenees, winner of the British Guild of Travel Writers Award for best narrative travel book. One of the main characters, Jean Kohn, will be an honoured guest at the event. Read more...

Laurence Korb and Liliane Lefèvre will be reading from their fourth Victor Legris mystery, The Marais Assassin. Read more...

Sir Alistair Horne will be reading from his compelling new book Kissinger 1973, The Crucial Year and talking about ‘the man at the epicentre of events that shook the decade’. Read more...

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dir="ltr"> In collaboration with the Faber and Faber Workshop organized at Shakespeare and Company, we are delighted to welcome prize-winning novelists Sarah Hall (How to Paint a Dead Man) and Andrew Miller (Oxygen) for an exceptional reading.

Jim Christy will be reading a selection of his work and Simon Lane will be launching his new book of short stories The Real Illusion. Read more...

David Waller will be reading from The Magnificient Mrs Tennant. Read more...

London’s most intriguing literary magazine, Five Dials, launches its eighth issue, the Paris issue, at Shakespeare and Company. The evening will feature a reading by authors Steve Toltz (A Fraction of the Whole) and Joe Dunthorne (Submarine), and others. The magazine will be sent out to thousands of readers around the world at 11pm.

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Sarah Hesketh will be reading from her collection of poetry Napoleon’s Travelling Bookshelf. Read more...

Michelle Tea and Sister Spit: The Next Generation, a “literary celebration of outspoken and courageous feminists” (The Independent Weekly magazine) from San Francisco, will be performing their poetry at Shakespeare and Company. Read more...

Mark Gevisser will be reading from his award-winning biography A Legacy of Liberation: Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South African Dream and in conversation with Janine Di Giovanni about South Africa and its prospects for the future under Jacob Zuma.

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We are thrilled to present Dave Eggers who will be speaking about Sudan and his recent book What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Read more...

Josh Ekroy, Susie Reynolds and Robert Cole, poetry editor of Chimera Magazine, will be reading from a selection of their work. Read more...

Simon Von Booy will be reading from his collection of short stories Love begins in Winter, recently shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize 2009. Read more...

T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poet George Szirtes, will read from The New and Collected Poems and his recent book The Burning of the Books. Read more...

Gregor Dallas, author of Metrostop Paris, will be speaking on ‘The Impossible Love: Abelard and Héloise’ and reading extracts from their medieval correspondence. Read more...

As part of the Faber Academy writing workshop at Shakespeare and Company, Erica Wagner will be reading and discussing her work. Read more...

Writing Workshop run by Sabrina Chapadjiev, editor of Live Through This – On Creativity and Self-Destruction.

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Lucy Wadham will be reading from her new book The Secret Life of France (highly recommended by Shakespeare and Company). Read more...

At 5:30pm there will be readings from students at the American Academy, presented by their teacher Rolf Potts. Rolf will then read at 7pm from his recent travel book Marco Polo Didn’t Go There. Read more...

Ruth Waterman will be reading from When Swan Lake Comes to Sarajevo: Musical Journeys into the Aftermath of War. Read more...

In collobaration with New York University of Paris, Shakespeare and Company presents Matthew Rohrer and reading a selection of their poetry. Read more...

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>Bilingual event (in English, translated into French). In collaboration with New York University, Shakespeare and Company presents Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of the bestselling novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Event in French only

As part of the festival We Aren’t Going to Avignon, there will be a theatrical debate between two theatre companies, la Compagnie du Corbeau Blanc (with Sophie Millon playing Gertrude) and Compagnie Torquemada (Directed by Fabienne Maitre) performing Murder Party, a confrontation between Penetrator by Anthony Neilson and Gertrude – The Cry by Howard Barker. Provocation and aggression of the spectator is at the heart of these plays and will be at the heart of this debate. Despite their differences, will they be able to understand each other? Read more...

In collobaration with New York University, Shakespeare and Company presents Darin Strauss, the author of the international bestseller Chang and Eng, and The New York Times Notable Book The Real McCoy, one of the New York Public Library’s ‘25 Books to Remember’. His latest novel, More Than It Hurts You, was published in June, 2008. Read more...

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In celebration of Canada Day, July 1st 2009, this is the 5th annual Canada Day poetry reading by a visiting group of well-known and emerging Canadian poets and writers.

Steve Tomasula will be reading from a selection of his books. He is the author of the novels The Book of Portraiture (FC2); IN & OZ (Ministry of Whimsy Press); and VAS: An Opera in Flatland, an acclaimed novel of the biotech revolution. Read more...