Jane Rogoyska has won the American Library in Paris Book Award for Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War. The 5 November ceremony took place at the Lutetia, the hotel whose wartime history the book follows. The author received 5,000 dollars and a specially hand-bound edition of her book.
Jane Rogoyska won the American Library in Paris Book Award for Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War at a ceremony on 5 November. The event was held at the Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, the Paris hotel whose history the book follows. Rogoyska received 5,000 dollars and a hand-bound copy of the winning work. The award recognizes fiction and nonfiction drawing inspiration from France.[1], [2]
The library describes Hotel Exile as an account of the Lutetia between 1933 and 1945. It follows the building from a meeting place for artists to its occupation by German military intelligence during the Second World War. The hotel later became a reception centre for survivors returning from concentration camps. Rogoyska said an award from a library had special significance because some people in her book had found moments of solace in Paris libraries.[1]
Previous winner Sue Prideaux, actor and writer Molly Ringwald, and historian Dan Jones formed the jury. They praised the original research and its attention to human lives. Paris workshop Bourgogne Reliure made two bespoke hand-bound copies: the author received one, and the second joins the library’s Special Collections. The shortlist also included Nicholas Boggs, Andrew Hussey, Deborah Levy and Lisa Robertson. Allen Lane published the winning book.[1]
