Hello, I'm Irene Vasco, a Colombian writer and trainer of readers and writers.
I was born in Colombia and live there, but I feel like I'm from many places. If I go to Brazil, I feel at home because, thanks to my mother who was born there, I have Brazilian nationality. If I go to Venezuela, I also feel like I'm from that country, since it's where my daughter María del Sol was born and where my two oldest sons, Rafael and Santiago, grew up.
If I go to Russia, I look for my grandparents' birthplaces. And if I travel through Antioquia, Colombia, I say hello here and there, believing they're all my cousins, since my paternal family is part of the region's history.
My books have been published by Penguin Random House, Editorial Juventud (Barcelona), Fondo de Cultura Económica (Mexico), Norma, Panamericana, Alfaguara, among others.
On this website, you can learn more about the books I've written, the awards I've won, the translations I've done, the conferences, articles, and programs I've given, and what I offer to interested individuals and institutions.
I was trained as a reader and writer. During my childhood and adolescence, I was with my mother, Sylvia Moscovitz, a Brazilian artist who produced children's programs for the newly created National Television of Colombia. My mother asked me to write stories and song lyrics, as well as adaptations of traditional tales. I used to record character voices for National Radio, bringing to life the stories we wrote together. The program featured artists such as Fanny Buitrago, Manuel Zapata Olivella, Beatriz Caballero (writers), Jaime Manzur (puppets), Teresa Tejada (set design), Hilda Pace (choreography), Ignacio de Narváez (composition), Clarita Correa and Amparo Ángel (pianists), Esteban Cabezas, Leonor González Mina, and Francisco Zumaqué (music). I learned from them how to create for children.
Since the programs were live, only a few photographic records remain.
I have dedicated myself professionally to writing for children and young people since 1984. I have also directed and led reader and writer training programs throughout Colombia, touring libraries, communities, and schools as an author and reading promoter.
