Each year in October as autumn gathers its gold and red leaves, I arrive in Paris to meet a group of writers. Each day we meet at an elegant apartment in the rue Montmartre, just up the street from the grand Gothic church of St Eustache. There we read, write, discuss: shaping sentences, weighing words, feeling their rhythm, listening to the meaning, as we try to express the experience of being here in ‘this great world’.

In 2023, the first group to meet in Paris after the worldwide pandemic, arrived at the rue Montmartre. As we talked on that first day, it was immediately clear that this would be an open-hearted and engaged group, ready to share their experience and awareness of being. It is not always easy to connect, it’s not easy to write; both demand observation, insight, willingness to be changed. Here in the centre of Paris, we heard stories of childhoods in suburbs, heartbreak in kitchens, adventures, romances, daily slog, loss and grief, tender exchanges, teenage dreams, as we came to know ourselves – and each other.

In this collection, the Paris 23 writers turn their insightful and unsentimental gaze on Paris itself. They show us not a tourist view, but a deeply engaged personal view of individuals, architecture, history, gardens, taxi-drivers – and most importantly inner landscapes, personal histories, hearts and minds. The reader sees and feels their experiences from the inside as their fine observations reveal the infinite facets of the city of lights. Pick up each story and gaze into the looking-glass  – and see reflected another Paris and perhaps even a new version of yourself.