I’m Janice MacLeod.

I'm a writer and artist with a fondness for paper, paint, and the postal service.

In 2012, I started writing and illustrating letters from Paris and mailing them around the world. Those letters eventually became my New York Times bestselling book, Paris Letters. Two more books followed: A Paris Year and Dear Paris.

These days, I continue the tradition with my Cottage Letters Mail Club, sending a monthly letter and art print to mailboxes around the world. Actual mail. With stamps and everything.

But that's not all.

  • I write on Substack about life, creativity, gardens, and travel.

  • I make pretty things with Chronicle Books, including notecards and notebooks.

  • I paint and make art, much of which finds its way into my Etsy shop, along with notecards and other paper goods.

It's a lot of writing, painting, and paper. Apparently, I've made a career out of things people keep predicting will disappear.

I'm glad you're here.

A letter subscription is the nicest gift for both you AND a friend… and it keeps giving month after month. Two series are available:

  • COTTAGE LETTERS about life, gardening, the seasons.

  • PARIS LETTERS about life in Paris, of course.

NEW!

Brie & Baguette Cards & Journals

  • NOTECARD SET: 20 cards in a beautiful box set!

  • JOURNAL SET: 2 journals featuring French cheeses and breads!

A memoir about becoming an artist in Paris. An illustrated journal. An anthology. Wow. Loads of books, plus A New York Times best seller, a Top 20 of all books on Amazon, and one studied at Oxford University. Pas mal, as they say.