Véronique Massenot
Who am i?
Born in Bourgogne in 1970, I grew up surrounded by books and paintbrushes.
​
Granddaughter of a ceramist, daughter of two French (classics) teachers, watercolour artist and amateur singer, I remember spending entire Sundays listening to music, reading, drawing, writing and illustrating books ... Later, writing appealed to me, but frightened me equally. How do I dare add my tiny voice to those of Boris Vian, Albert Camus, Emile Zola, Guy de Maupassant, Gustave Flaubert ... all of whom I devour?
​
I am happy to share dozens of "letter streams" - and discover Mail Art! - with my friends or strangers in search of correspondents in France, Germany, Turkey and further afield, from Japan to New Zealand. ‘How other people live? What do they like? What do they think of life?’ These are the big questions that lead me to a career in writing. For me, Charles Perrault got it all wrong: curiosity is NOT a bad thing!
​
At sixteen, thanks to one of my aunts, who invited me on a trip to the USA which started in New York and took in Boston, Maine and Vermont, I discover the joys of travelling, of seeing the world from a whole new perspective ... and I contract the travel bug. Since that first big trip, I can no longer pass a year without crossing one or several borders, with a pack on my back and my senses on high alert, driven by an insatiable curiosity about other people and places.
​
At eighteen, I go to Paris to study the History of Art. Archaeologist? Paintings restorer? Medievalist? Everything tempts me! Passionate about philosophy and the history of mentalities, I choose to orient myself more towards theory than practice. After some assignments for various Parisian museums (the Picasso Museum and The City of Architecture), I became an assistant archivist at the Musée d'Orsay while completing my Masters Degree on contemporary artists’ vision of medieval stained glass.
​
​But once I graduate, my childhood dreams come back to me "tickle" my imagination! My neglect of artistic pursuits while studying has knocked me off balance. I take my paintbrushes and my pen, working on various illustrated book projects and produce my very first novel which I write in a just a few weeks after having been overwhelmed by a report on a radio programme. To my amazement, the book Lettres à une disparue ("Letters to a Missing Person") immediately finds a publisher! Book fairs, award ceremonies, readers' questions in meetings with authors, publishers ... the great literary adventure begins!
​
What i do?
books!
To date, I have published some fourty texts, novels and illustrated books ... as a writer. Five of these have been translated into English: Journey on a Cloud, The Great Wave, The three Musicians, The Dreaming Giant and The Mermaid and the Parakeet. Some have also been published in German (Die Reise auf der Wolke and Die große Welle), in Spanish (La Grande Ola, Una Amistad Monstruosa), Italian (Quel Mostro del mio Vicino, Viaggio su una Nuvola, A Grande Onda, Il Gigante che sognava, Il Cocorito e la Sirena, I tre Musicanti, L'albero di Caramelle), Turkish and Brazilian Portuguese ... And lots of my books have been translated into Chinese and Korean too!
_JPG.jpg)
I also have published rhymes and stories in children's magazines. Some of these have been translated into English: Mystery Letter ("Adventure Box" n°128) and Village of thousand treasures ("Story Box" n°122).
​
One day, in the Land of the Rising Sun, two wicked robbers stopped at an inn after a long journey. There they overheard a conversation about a place known as "the village of a thousand treasures". Immediately they gallopped off to the village hoping to seize the treasures. When they arrived, however, all they found were hard-working men and women, lots of children and humble houses. Where were the villagers hiding their treasures? Blinded by their greed, the two robbers end up falling into the trap that the villagers set up to protect their most valuable possessions, something far more precious than money or gold ...
​
Martin finds out he has a bone disease and must use a wheelchair. He cheers himself up by dreaming of going to China when he's better. Then he gets a mysterious letter ... Mystery Letter have also been published in Spanish: La carta misteriosa. ("Leoleo" n°233)
And sometimes I also publish as an illustrator. I use mixed media: pastels, gouache, Indian ink, watercolor and collage of various papers and other materials. I do love to make unusual combinations! My palette is cheerful, colorful, bright ... and my pictures are in my image: they celebrate whatever is alive and vibrant. Humour and affection also have their place.
​
and also
Travel sketchbooks
In the ‘90s, I practiced the art of Travel Journal in a spontaneous way, little suspecting that it would soon become a "true" artistic discipline – and be recognized as such – celebrated in France by a major international event: the Travel Journal Festival of Clermont-Ferrand. I have been there four times to exhibit the work I have done in Palestine, the Comoros and ... Paris!
Not all my notebooks are "travel journals", or rather, not all my travels are to far away places. Some are simply "domestic". So this Intimate Asian Notebook turns everything in my house, my memories, my heart ... reminds me and attaches me to this continent I love so much.
​
In 2015, after the attacks, I founded a small group of four artist friends to go and draw on the streets of our beloved city and show that it is still beautiful and alive! We are called Les Croqueuses de Paris.
​
​The art of the sketchbook – like Mail Art for that matter – is an art form free of strict rules which allows us to combine texts and pictures. It allows us to escape: both the one who makes it and the one who reads it. It is a magical bond between the here-and-now and elsewhere, the present moment and the memory of the past, the intimate and the universal ... For all these reasons, I love it !
​
I regularly travel all around the world to meet readers in schools, colleges, libraries, book fairs, cultural centers ... and I do love it! Of course, my schedule fills up faster and faster each year. But if you are like me - patient and determined! - we will find a way to set up a project and work together. So, see you soon!
Translation: Jean Grogan. Thanks a lot to her!