Laurel Zuckerman's Paris Weblog

Paris Writers Festival Sep 20 to 22 to feature Richard Ford, Kiran Desai and more!

Mark your calendars! Terrific bilingual literary event in Paris this September:

Festival des Ecrivains du Monde: September 20-22, 2013

The truth about the tourism industry in France

France top tourism destination!  France breaks travel record with 83 million visitors! France number "UN"!

Not according to Jean-Pierre Nadir, CEO of the travel site Easyvoyage.

Aliette de Bodard, author of Immersion, on writer boot camp, languages and breaking through in sci-fi

As part of Paris Writers News' series on women science fiction writers, Barry Kirwan, author of The Eden Paradox Novels, sat down to talk with Aliette de Bodard, author of award winning speculative fiction and novels, including 'Immersion' (Nebula and Locus awards),  'The Shipmaker' (British Science Fiction Award) and 'The Jaguar House, In Shadow' (nominated for both Hugo and Nebula).  Born in the USA but raised in France, Aliette writes in English.  Here is Barry's report.

Is France's FNAC doomed? A short internet history

1. 

   Europe's top destination for cultural goods

 

Created in 1954  by  French leftists André Essel and Max Théret, FNAC has become Europe's leading distributor of books, films and music - and, until recently, a great hang-out for readers of every genre. But changing technology, challenges from new competitors and evolution in the way people buy cultural goods have hit this once great retailer hard.  As bookstore chains disappear across the globe, will France's FNAC be able to resist? Recent internet headlines suggest the magnitude of the challenge...

Writing Classes at WICE this fall in Paris

2013 Registration is now open for writing classes (in English) at WICE in Paris.   Check them out!  Many fine writers got there start here.

Douglas Trevor, author of Girls I Know, on the power of dark poetry in 21st century America

Douglas Trevor

Douglas Trevor is the author of the novel Girls I Know (Sixoneseven Books, 2013), and the short story collection The Thin Tear in the Fabric of Space (University of Iowa Press, 2005) which  won the 2005 Iowa Short Fiction Award and was a finalist for the 2006 Hemingway Foundation/Pen Award for First Fiction.  A professor of Renaissance literature and creative writing at the University of Michigan, his writing has appeared in numerous publications.

Kilian Tep, French future expat, on blogging and studying abroad

 

Kilian Tep

When I heard about a French high school student who blogged about economics  and was trying to find a way to leave France to study at an American university, I was intrigued. There has been a lot of talk about young people wanting to leave France, but few do it. Who was this young man? And what was inspiring his initiative? On the eve of the "bac", Jacqueline Leahy sat down with Kilian Tep to find out. - LZ

Heather Stimmler-Hall - journalist, author, publisher, and tour guide - on writing about Paris' naughty, secret side

by Jacqueline Leahy

Heather Stimmler-Hall is the creator of the ‘Secrets of Paris’ blog and author of  the book Naughty Paris: A Lady's Guide to the Sexy City.  In this interview, she answers questions about everything from French culture to feminism to blogging.

Paris tourists watch out for these three scams

 

Paris glows richly under a brilliant summer sun. Gorgeous museums, unforgetable walks and incredible meals beckon.   A moveable feast, it truly is. Enjoy - Paris deserves its reputation as the world's most beautiful city...

 Yet is it also a place of tried and tested scams on tourists - and not all by visiting gangs of thieves either!

Paris literary events end July!

Looking for some fun literary events in Paris this summer?  Check out these selected events July 17 to 31, 2013 for Paris books lovers