Katia Astafieff
Resident in 2026
An author and avid traveller, Katia Astafieff is also a science communicator, trained biologist and is passionate about the world of plants. She writes travelogues, documentaries, children's books and novels. She has travelled solo to some 60 countries.
She is the author of Comment voyager seule quand on est petite, blonde et aventureuse (How to Travel Alone When You're Small, Blonde and Adventurous) (Trésor 2016/Pocket 2018), L’aventure extraordinaire des plantes voyageuses (The Extraordinary Adventure of Travelling Plants) (Dunod 2018/Dunod poche2023), La fille qui voulait voir l’ours (Arthaud 2022/J’ai lu 2023) and Les plantes carnivores font mouche (Lucca, 2023, selected for the Ministry of Higher Education and Research's Le goût des Sciences 2024 prize). Her books on plants have been translated into five languages.
With Par les chemins des Indes (Paulsen, 2025), she travelled to India in the footsteps of naturalist Victor Jacquemont, two hundred years after his death. The book has been selected for the 2025 Pythéas Prize.
Author Katia Astafieff will be the artist in residence at Randell Cottage between February and June 2026.
