Michelle Young is an award-winning journalist and author. Her latest book, The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of World War II Resistance Hero Rose Valland was named a Best Book of 2025 by the New York Public Library, Library Journal, and Hyperallergic, and was named an Honor Book by the Massachusetts Book Awards. The Art Spy was also a finalist for the Marfield Prize and The Lambda Literary Prize and was longlisted for the American Library of Paris Book Award. Michelle’s work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Airmail, The Forward and Town & Country. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University, and lives in the Berkshires, MA.
How do you research and write about someone when there is little to no information readily available? Michelle Young, author of The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland, shares her journey uncovering the vibrant, untold story of her heroine's life partner, Joyce Heer, the unexpected research angles and resources she uses, and how she pulls on insignificant threads that often lead to big discoveries.