Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), 1947

By Daniela Jinkings

Writer with the greatest public success in Brazil and one of the best-known abroad at the end of the 20th century, he is the author of mystical best-sellers published worldwide. By 2015, he had already sold more than 210 million copies of his books in 150 countries, translated into 69 languages. His popular success catapulted him to the Brazilian Academy of Letters and to the position of special advisor to UNESCO. Before dedicating himself exclusively to literature, he worked in theater and music. In the 1970s, his songs in partnership with the rock musician Raul Seixas became well-known and very successful in Brazil (such as “Eu nasci há dez mil anos atrás” and “Gita,” among others). In 1982, he self-published his first book, Arquivos do inferno. In 1985, he contributed to the book O manual prático de vampirismo (which he later had withdrawn), and in 1986, he made the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago in Spain, which became the book O diário de um mago. In 1988, he published O alquimista, which, after slow initial sales, became one of the best-selling Brazilian books of all time (and started a series of best-sellers).

In 1998, he was received by Pope John Paul II, and the following year, he won the Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum. He was honored with the titles of Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor and Officer of Arts and Letters in France (2000 and 2003, respectively). His best-known books include O diário de um mago (1986), O alquimista (1988), As Valkírias (1992), Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorei (1994), Maktub (1994), O Monte Cinco (1996), O manual do guerreiro da luz (1997), Veronika decide morrer (1998), O demônio e a srta. Prym (2000), and Onze minutos (2003). In 2014, he published Adultério.