There is always something interesting going on at the Village Voice Bookshop. Find out what we're currently reading and what WE RECOMMEND. And, don't miss any of our upcoming author events. The world's writers, and the world's readers, gather at our store. . . .

OUR NEXT EVENT

KAMILA SHAMSIE
Burnt Shadows
Thursday, Sept 2nd at 7 pm
More info »

COMING SOON

ALEKSANDAR HEMON
The Lazarus Project
Thursday, Sept 23rd at 7 pm
More info »

Village Voice Bookshop is open seven days a week, and carries approximately 18,000 English-language titles. All our titles are carefully selected by founder Odile Hellier and her knowledgeable staff; our selection reflects our passionate interests in literature, culture, politics, and contemporary social issues. If you are looking for a title we do not stock, we will be happy to special order it for you. During the year, there are special reading and lecture events in the evenings, publicized on our events page. You can be added to our mailing list by sending us your name, email address and mailing address.
Paris BookstoreVillage Voice Bookshop opened in 1982 (view slideshow), and is located in the heart of the historic Saint Germain des Près neighborhood, between the cobblestones of Place Saint Germain des Près and the equally charming Place Saint Sulpice. You will find the Village Voice Bookshop on a narrow street, the rue Princesse (near Metro stops St. Germain des Près or Mabillon), named after La Grande Demoiselle, one of King Louis XIV’s favorites. With its windows full of new titles, the Village Voice Bookshop stands out as a literary gem among the trendy cafés, restaurants, bars and fashion boutiques.

When the bookstore first opened, these narrow streets, lined with 16th and 17th century houses, was still a “village” - famous for its bookshops, publishing houses, literary cafés and restaurants where writers and students gathered. Thus we named the bookshop Village Voice in reference to this vibrant local community, as well as in tribute to the vanguard New York weekly, Village Voice, founded by Norman Mailer.

From the beginning, the Village Voice Bookshop was a gathering place for Americans, British, Anglophones and Anglophiles. For more than twenty years, the most prestigious writers have read and discussed their work in our intimate shop. By now, the list of writers who have read at the Village Voice would make a thick and exciting anthology, representing Anglophone literature from all over the globe at the turn of the 21st century.

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On the Closing of Brentano's
Following a long battle with its landlord, Brentano's, the American Bookstore established in 1895 in the heart of Paris on the prestigious avenue de L'Opera leading to the Paris Opera House, has just closed its doors.

The closing of a bookstore is a common occurrence in America and in England, yet the closing of Brentano's comes as a shock not only to the Anglophone community in Paris, but also to Parisians.

A bookstore disappears and it is as many books which will not be read, voices not heard, ideas and opinions not shared. But the browser, the reader is not the only loser in this, the city is. What becomes of a city if its avenues, its streets do not offer its 'flanneurs' a window with a display of books which will excite their imagination and invite them to come in.

A bookstore which closes its doors, wherever it is, is a loss and Brentano's will be missed by Parisians and travelers alike.

Odile Hellier
June 2009