Spotlight of The Parisian Chapter by Janet Skeslien Charles

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TYPORAMA

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THE PARISIAN CHAPTER

JANET SKESLIEN CHARLES

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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF DAYNA JOHNSON |SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER | ATRIA BOOKS | SIMON & SCHUSTER | AND THE PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade, THE PARISIAN CHAPTER is a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who takes a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and her own dreams.

Janet Skeslien Charles has penned another beautiful piece of fiction - this time part literary and part historical.

"I was immediately whisked away to the streets of Paris. And if you've read her previous novel THE PARIS LIBRARY, you'll find lots of lovely easter eggs here." - From the e-mail from Dayna Johnson

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May 5, 2026

Atria Books

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PRAISE FOR THE PARISIAN CHAPTER:

“A delightful love letter to the glorious American Library in Paris. If you love Paris, don't hesitate to say 'Oui oui!' to this sparkling, heartfelt ode to libraries—and to the people who make them magical.” —Kristen Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of Meet Me in Paris

“A colorful tapestry shot through with themes of friendship, the power of books, the importance of history, and the joys and trials of an artist’s life. It’s told with charm and flair and filled with genuine joie de vivre. Francophiles, bibliophiles, and anyone who enjoys an engaging story with memorable characters will be delighted.” —Library Journal

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ABOUT THE PARISIAN CHAPTER:

Paris, 1995: It’s been five years since Lily Jacobsen and her best friend Mary Louise arrived in Paris from their small town of Froid, Montana. Determined to establish themselves as artists—Lily, a novelist, and Mary Louise, a painter—they share a tiny walkup and survive on brie and baguettes.

When Mary Louise abruptly moves out, Lily feels alone in the city of light for the first time and must find a new way to support herself. She lands a job as a programs manager at the American Library in Paris, following in the footsteps of Odile, her beloved French neighbor in Montana who told her stories of heroic World War II librarians when Lily was growing up.

Here in the storied halls of the ALP, she meets an incredible cast of characters—her favorite author, quirky coworkers, broke students, trailing spouses, haughty trustees, and devoted volunteers—each with their own stories... and agendas. Lily often seeks solace in the Afterlife, the library’s attic that’s home to hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, and there, she discovers a box of archives that may be a link to the past: to Odile’s own Parisian chapter.

This moving, propulsive story offers a panoramic view of a real historic institution, and revisits characters from both of Janet Skeslien Charles’s beloved novels. Lily’s story is a love letter to the artist’s life, friendship, and leaving home only to find it again.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Photo Credit:  Krystal Kenney

Janet Skeslien Charles is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of The Paris Library.

Her work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. She has spent a decade researching Jessie Carson (Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade) at The Morgan Library, the NYPL, and archives across France.

Her shorter work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, The Sydney Morning Herald, LitHub, and the anthology Montana Noir. 

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FIND THE AUTHOR AT THE LINK BELOW:

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