The Art Spy is on the 8-book longlist for the esteemed book award. Finalists to be announced in September.

Meet Rose Valland in this excerpt of The Art Spy and find out what motivates her to become a spy.

“This new biography of unlikely heroine Rose Valland, an art historian and museum curator, shows how one civilian fought back during World War II. In anticipation of Germans attacking Paris, the city fills with smoke as diplomats burn paper in the streets and destroy gas reserves so they won't fall into enemy hands.”

In a new documentary on Rose Valland, Michelle Young shares her new research on Rose’s personal life and her life partner Joyce Heer.

“Michelle Young’s electrifying account…”

The Art Spy is “a gift to history buffs and art mavens.”

“In Michelle Young’s deeply researched biography, Valland’s fearlessness and resolve are inspiring.”

“Compelling…well-told…”
“In 'The Art Spy,' Michelle Young shines new light on the heroic French curator Rose Valland... illuminates aspects of her personal life...an energetic and novelistic writing style…featuring dramatic cliffhangers and vivid sensory details.”

Award-winning journalist Michelle Young shares how (and why) she prefers to write her narrative nonfiction book without an outline.

Q&A with Michelle. The hero of Michelle Young’s ‘The Art Spy’ is Rose Valland — a quiet, relentless French art historian who risked everything to save Jewish-owned art from the Nazis.

“An absorbing account of the work of Rose Valland, the curator who became ‘The Art Spy.’” Chris Hewitt describes the book has having “cinematic momentum.”

In an adapted excerpt from “The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland,” writer Michelle Young recounts how a Jeu de Paume employee quietly kept score as the Nazis filled the Parisian museum with looted art.

How did spies, curators, and an army of art handlers save some of the world's most important artwork? An excerpt from the new book The Art Spy, reveals the amazing truth.

Book excerpt of The Art Spy. Hitler’s first and last trip to the city in 1940 was not for military purposes — he left that to his generals — but for his one true love: art.

“intriguing story of a battle of war versus fine art…”

With The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland, Michelle Young has revealed the extent of her commitment and bravery.

An unlikely superhero spy; a bookish art historian in a paisley print dress, posing rather meekly beside her inventory of valuable museum works. But behind the innocent smile and the matronly garb…

While penning 'The Art Spy,' Michelle Young learned how to meticulously research subjects who are no longer alive and stories that are not widely known. Here, she shares tips on how you can do it too.

“Valland’s story is a reminder that not all resistance is loud or violent,” Fischoff said. “Sometimes it’s a quiet act of defiance, a decision to bear witness, and a refusal to look away.” Fischoff added that Young’s approach to telling this story captured the layered complexity of Valland’s mission.

We are so pleased to present the following conversation between two Taiwanese American authors we admire…

“Young recounts Valland’s brilliance, courage, and sangfroid in enthralling detail…Young vibrantly restores a hidden treasure to the pantheon of WWII heroes.”

Library Journal calls the book "exciting reading," a "fascinating book," that "reads like a compelling novel, and "inspiring." “VERDICT This book should have broad appeal, thanks to its previously unsung World War II Resistance spy heroine and the rich details of her exploits, making it ideal for fans of espionage and strong narrative nonfiction that reads like a compelling novel."

Publisher’s Weekly calls The Art Spy “a thrilling saga…Readers will relish this riveting tale of a clever war hero playing the long game against bumbling fascists.”

“Young's work—uncovering the harrowing details of Valland's life and her partner's imprisonment as an enemy of the state—reminds us of how, when brutality emerges, everyone gets swept into it eventually." The Art Spy rescues an intrepid and resourceful heroine's story from being lost to history and brings her vibrantly to life.”

The Untapped New York Podcast, hosted by Michelle Young and Justin Rivers, won a GANYC Apple Award

Secret New York, Hidden Bars & Restaurants, goes Deutsch on RTL!

The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland by Michelle Young digs up the story of a Paris museum employee who was key to the liberation of France.

French traveler Augustin Pasquet met American backpacker Michelle Young while traveling in Bolivia. They fell in love, got married and soon after found themselves working together when Michelle convinced Augustin to leave his big corporate job.

Brent talks with Michelle Young about the art curator featured in the movie “The Train” – Rose Valland.

Michelle Young gives a talk to the U.S. Embassy In Paris about Rose Valland, and meets US Ambassador to France Denise Campbell Bauer at the Emassy residence in Paris with Emmanuelle Polack, head of art restitution at the Louvre an Jacqueline Barthalay, President of the Rose Valland Association.

Michelle Young 12GSAPP, who teaches urban studies at Columbia, began Untapped New York as an online guide to the city's hidden gems and historical curiosities….

“She wouldn’t want to sleep so she would just sk for more milk and then spi tit up, and it was so painful, like, ‘No, not my expensive milk!’” says Young, a 41-year-old author

Three of Hyperallergic’s writers talk about the journeys that took them from writing blog posts to publishing full-length books on the politics of memes, the battles over America’s monuments, and forgotten World War II heroes.

The second edition released last year is honored in the travel book category

Michelle is interviewed by Jon Leiberman on “A Hard Look,” a Howard Stern radio show, about the history of Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, where Barbra Streisand attended.

This event will explore why Rose Valland, one of the most decorated women of World War II and one of the greatest spies in the Resistance against Nazi art looting, has been mostly forgotten.

Michelle is interviewed by France24’s Gavin Lee about The Art Spy & Rose Valland

On her first date with Augustin Pasquet, Michelle Young found herself weaving through the streets of Paris on the back of his moped…

“The remnants here have drawn transit and history buffs, like Michelle Young, the founder of Untapped New York, an online magazine that has taken thousands of people on tours through Penn Station. ‘I see them as portals to the past,” she told me.’”

Joining such esteemed writers as Robert Caro, Michelle has been selected to be a scholar in the NYPL’s Frederick Lewis Allen Memorial Room, established by the Ford Foundation in 1958.

On October 27 6-7PM at Harvard’s History of Art & Architecture department, Michelle will be on the panel discussion HAA Futures; Undergraduate Alumni Conversations with Akili Tommasino, assistant curator of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Paige Newell, General Surgeon at Brigham and Women’s

Founder of Untapped New York Michelle Young’s THE ART SPY, spotlighting French Resistance spy Rose Valland, the often-overlooked female member of the famous "Monuments Men" who secretly tracked and saved art looted by Nazis from right under the nose of Hitler’s right-hand man Hermann Goering, to Elizabeth Mitchell at Harper One, in a major deal, in a pre-empt, by Peter Steinberg at Fletcher & Company (NA).

“In a deal rumored to be in the high six figures, Peter Steinberg of Fletcher & Company sold North American rights to The Art Spy: The Untold Story of World War II Resistance Spy Rose Valland to Elizabeth Mitchell at HarperOne.”

Get to know your bushy-tailed (and sometimes not so bushy) neighbors who live interesting hidden lives right out in the open. Michelle gets quoted for her knowledge of the mysterious black squirrels of New York City.

“Michelle Young, an adjunct professor of architecture at Columbia, is the founder of Untapped New York, a website dedicated to the secret corners and hidden gems of America’s biggest city. So it’s no surprise that her guide to Brooklyn is equally full of treasures “

“Michelle Young, founder of Untapped New York, writes that she ended up unfollowing or leaving all her Facebook groups, and unfriending people she didn’t know in real life.”

“Some of that crazy is also what makes living here, especially in NYC, exciting, unpredictable and inspiring. When it’s harnessed for good, nobody does it better than us. I have faith that New York City is going to come back from this - history shows that it will.”

“Today the mews provide a nice break from the street grid,” said Michelle Young, a professor of architecture at Columbia University and the founder-editor of Untapped New York. “It’s a quaint surprise to happen upon a mews, especially with the high skyscrapers that surround them.”

“Brooklyn also has the population size for conscripting an army.”

“Although Warren Place is described as mews — which traditionally refer to homes that were once horse stables — the properties there never housed horses, Michelle Young, founder of Untapped New York, told Insider”

“I fought hard to turn my passion into a sustainable business and I’m really thankful I was able to do so…I felt really inspired to create a website that could bridge the gap between the academic discussion of architecture and cities, and the popular consumption of this kind of content.”

“I’ve never seen it on a TV show before,” she said. “Usually they use recognizable New York City locations, and you tend to see the same places often. But these felt like neighborhood spots. They seemed to reflect the places where Aziz himself hangs out.”

After the gay pride march, she picked up a Citi Bike on Washington Street and “weaved through the drunk crowds” to get uptown. A cab would have cost about $10, and she estimates that she has more than recouped the bike-share membership fee by forgoing taxis and MetroCards. “It’s cheaper and healthier,” Ms. Young said. “And it’s definitely more pleasant than heading underground in the heat.”

“...mail used to be sent underground in New York, by pneumatic tubes...I thought, ‘Wow, if I didn’t know about that in New York, what else don’t I know about?’”

“What I do…is absolutely a combination of my education and professional experience. At Harvard, I studied the History of Art and Architecture, and after college I went to work in the corporate offices of fashion companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, J. Crew, and Calvin Klein. After five years in fashion, I decided to go back to architecture and studied urban planning and design…”

After several failed attempts, Kowloon Walled City was finally demolished 20 years ago, leaving behind a legacy of fascination that continues to grow, fueled in part by the extraordinary communities many urban legends.

“I wanted to showcase a side of the city that wasn’t about lamenting what was lost, but celebrating what makes the city so vibrant. Uncovering the secret layers of urban life shows people a side they might miss in their everyday environment.”

“Michelle Young, the founder of the online travel guide Untapped New York, reached out to Ms. Kim to tell her about an undisclosed start-up that bought ad space from her company — but then stopped paying. Ms. Young was eventually offered $40,000 in guaranteed business by the start-up if she agreed to a nondisparagement clause. She did not sign”

“There’s a historic lighthouse from 1823 at this peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island. Go past it through the brush to a rocky crescent-shaped beach with water on both sides. It goes for 11 miles, and it’s usually empty except for some fishermen. We’ll explore, collect shells, have a picnic.”

“I love that every day, my job is to find the most inspiring architectural finds and hidden places and share them with our readers–helping them rediscover their own cities in a new way, whether they’re long time residents or new transplants. Reading excited emails from residents who also want to contribute to Untapped New York is just about the best thing to land in my inbox every day. “

What would you do as Mayor of NYC? “Push for more daring architecture, encourage and keep small businesses running, focus on neighborhoods and communities, and retain diversity and artists.”

“All in all, I think performing arts and creative backgrounds make for resilient entrepreneurs because we are used to putting in long hours of work, we strive for perfection, and we are used to both successes and even more so — failures.”

““I see my work as one continuous project — to inspire urban discovery —with many spokes.”

Share with us a childhood nature memory? “Walking up through a river in Vermont with camp friends, none of us having a map but perfectly content at having no particular destination. At the end, it turned out to be a gorgeous waterfall and big swimming hole.”

“ I give a lot of credit to my parents. Maybe being Taiwanese made them a little more renegade. Even though I had to do the typical Asian things— learn piano, perform cello at Carnegie Hall, get straight A+’s in school, go to Harvard—they also let me paint, run track, play basketball, even drink alcohol! And most importantly, they took me traveling everywhere. “

One place you would go back to again and again: “Bolivia. The first time I went, Abercrombie & Fitch sent me to monitor factory production and I fell absolutely in love with the chaos of La Paz and the austere, natural beauty of the land. I made it my goal to go back and on that trip I met the guy who is now my husband.”