Loïc Josse

Born in Saint-Malo, by the sea, he listened as his grandfather invented stories for him and as his grandmother read him Treasure Island. Fascinated by the intertwined destinies of his African neighbor Fatimata and the polar navigator Jean Charcot, he ran along the beaches and dreamed of distant voyages. He set off to wander across the Atlantic, then pursued his studies in Paris: first at Sciences Po, then history and geography at the Sorbonne, and finally ethnology and anthropology at Jussieu. He later returned to Brittany, where he held various positions, teacher, journalist, and commercial director in industry, which allowed him to travel widely across Europe. Passionate about literature, he founded a bookstore that he ran for nearly thirty years, while also becoming involved in the Étonnants Voyageurs festival, where he created and continues to oversee the Gens de Mer Prize, which is still awarded today. He has organized numerous exhibitions, taken part in several cultural associations, and given many lectures. He has always found ways to sail, on his own boat or aboard other vessels, to discover other cultures and to listen closely to the murmuring of the world.

The author of about a dozen books, most devoted to maritime history and ethnology, as well as to Polynesia, he has since passed on his bookstore and now divides his life between Brittany and the South Pacific.

Languages spoken: French, English

Photo credit: ARR