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Author on Tour: Thomas Schlesser
Books & Ideas
(c) Pascal Ito
This September and October, author and art historian Thomas Schlesser will be in the United States and Canada to promote the US release of his book Mona’s Eyes (trans. by Hildegarde Serle, Europa Editions; Les Yeux de Mona, Albin Michel, 2024).
About Thomas Schlesser
Thomas Schlesser is an art historian and the director of the Hartung-Bergman Foundation in Antibes, France. He teaches Art History at the École Polytechnique in Paris and is the author of several works of nonfiction about art, artists, and the relationship between art and politics in the 20th century, including Luminous Lives – a Biography of Anna‑Eva Bergman (trans. by Charles Penwarden, Eris Press). Mona’s Eyes is Schlesser’s second novel and his American debut. It has been translated into thirty-eight languages, including Braille. Schlesser is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and was awarded 2025’s Author of the Year by Livres Hebdo.
About Mona’s Eyes
(trans. by Hildegarde Serle, Europa Editions, 2025)
Mona’s Eyes is an inspiring journey across five centuries of art with 10-year-old Mona and her grandfather Henry. They have only fifty-two weeks to encounter all that is beautiful in the world before Mona loses her sight forever. Together, Mona and her grandfather will experience a full range of emotions; their enchantment as well as their sadness will be complete. From Botticelli to Basquiat, Mona will discover not only the power of art but also the meaning of generosity, doubt, melancholy, loss, and revolt.
At once a profoundly moving and beautifully crafted novel about the fullness of life and an enthralling guide to the world’s most renowned art, Mona’s Eyes is, at its core, a story about the deep and moving relationship between a young girl and her grandfather. Heartfelt and full of emotion, erudite but accessible, Mona’s Eyes is a novel about love and beauty that will capture the hearts of readers.
Mona’s Eyes will be released in the United States in August 2025.
Find more information here.
Schedule
Thomas Schlesser’s public schedule will include:
- Sunday, September 21: Event @ Brooklyn Book Festival (New York, NY) – event in English
- September 22: @ Talking Leaves Books (Buffalo, NY) – event in English
- September 23: @ TYPE Books (Toronto, ON) – event in English
- September 24: @ Center for Fiction (Brooklyn, NY) – event in English
- September 25: @ Montclair Art Museum (Montclair, NJ) – event in English
- October 19: @ Albertine Bookstore (New York, NY) – event in English
- October 20: @ Rizzoli Bookstore (New York, NY) – event in English
- October 21: @ Harvard Book Store (Boston, MA) – event in English
- October 23: @ San Francisco Lit Festival (San Francisco, CA) – event in English
- October 24-26: @ Vancouver Writers Festival (Vancouver, BC) – event in English
- October 27: @ Vroman’s Bookstore (Pasadena, CA) – event in English
- October 28: @ Warwick’s (San Diego, CA) – event in English
- October 29: @ Interabang Books (Dallas, TX) – event in English
For more information, please email Valentine Richet: valentine.richet@villa-albertine.org
In partnership with
Europa Editions
Europa Editions is an independent publisher of quality fiction. The Europa catalog is eclectic, reflecting the founders’ belief that dialogue between nations and cultures is of vital importance and that this exchange is facilitated by literature chosen not only for its ability to entertain and fascinate but also to inform and enlighten.
