Written by Thomas Chauvineau & Drawings by Lionel Avignon
Co-published by Hoëbeke & Arte Éditions

Realise date : 2026 October 29th !

156x240mm / 312 pages / 25€

Have you heard of the aptly named ‘Jesus Christ lizard’, which can run on water? Did you know that a famous dictator loved – far too much – ice cream? Or have you ever wondered where the tie came from? Nearly 130 stories and curiosities – as erudite as they are zany – recounted with the utmost seriousness by Thomas Chauvineau, based on his famous ‘nuggets’ featured in the programme ‘Invitation au voyage’ on Arte.

A book to start in the middle, at the end or wherever on the way through; to read in one go or dip into at random, accompanied by Lionel Avignon’s wonderfully naïve and delightfully offbeat line drawings.

The texts are guaranteed 100 per cent AI-free and the drawings are all hand-drawn.
To leaf through, to give as a gift and, above all, to share.

THOMAS CHAUVINEAU – is a journalist and television and radio presenter, he worked for many years at France Inter, and has also worked for France 5 and Canal+. He is currently editor-in-chief of the programme *Invitation au voyage*, presented by Linda Lorin on ARTE, a magazine programme which, for the past ten years, has been inviting viewers to discover or revisit places that form part of our shared artistic and cultural heritage.

LIONEL AVIGNON – Co-founder of the visual design studio Hartland Villa, through which he creates the visual identities of numerous figures in the cultural world. Alongside this, he pursues a more personal creative practice centred on drawing, which can be viewed in galleries, on lionelavignon.fr and on Instagram.