American Readers at Home

Between September and December 2016, Ludovic Balland set out to document how Americans were making sense of the campaigns and the constant hum of media coverage in the run-up to and aftermath of the contentious election. On his 13,000- mile road trip across the country, Balland called on twenty cities and attended major events, such as the Inauguration and the Women’s March in Washington, DC. The result of this road trip is American Readers at Home, which collects interviews with people living in cities and small towns across the United States.

With print media struggling to survive in an age of twenty-four-hour real-time news and social media feeds, American Readers at Home presents a new, personalized model of storytelling in journalism that reaches audiences by emphasizing how everyday news items relate to personal experience and form people’s views. Through their statements and the expressive full-page portraits featured in the book, we are encouraged to consider their perspectives—their hopes, fears, and expectations both before and after the election. Filled with insights, American Readers at Home forms a highly original record of the United States at a time when the country is facing great uncertainty and change.

Named one of the Most Beautiful Swiss Books and one of the Most Beautiful German Books. Also winner of the German Design Award 2019 Gold.