Paulo Coelho, Author and Lyricist

The Brazilian author Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist.

Coelho wrote song lyrics for many famous performers in Brazilian music, such as Elis Regina and Rita Lee. Yet his most well known work has been done with Raul Seixas. Together they wrote such successes as Eu nasci h' dez mil anos atr's (I was born ten thousand years ago), Gita and Al Capone, amongst other 60 songs.

His fascination with the spiritual quest dates back to his hippie days, when he travelled the world learning about secret societies, oriental religions, etc.

In 1982 Coelho published his first book, Hell Archives, which failed to make any kind of impact. In 1985 he contributed to the Practical Manual of Vampirism, although he later tried to take it off the shelves, since he considered it 'of bad quality'. In 1986, PAULO COELHO did the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage.

In the following year, COELHO published The Alchemist. Slow initial sales convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of the best selling Brazilian books of all time.

To date, Coelho has sold a total of 100 million copies and, according to the magazine Publishing Trends; he was the most sold author in the world in 2003 with his book Eleven Minutes ' even though at the time it hadn't been released in the United States, Japan or 10 other countries!

Also according to Publishing Trends, The Alchemist was to be found in the 6th place of world sales in 2003. Eleven Minutes topped all lists in the world, except for England, where it was in second place. The Zahir, published in 2005, was in third place of bestsellers according to Publishing Trends, after Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons.

The Alchemist was one of the most important literary phenomena of the 20th century. It reaches the first place in bestselling lists in 74 countries, and so far has sold 35 million copies. This book also brought the author in 2008 the Guiness World Record for most translated book in the world (67 languages).

The book has been praised by different personalities ranging from the Nobel Prize Kenzaburo Oe to the singer Madonna, who considers it one of her favourite books. It has equally inspired many projects ' such as a musical in Japan, theatre plays in France, Belgium, USA, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland. It is also the theme of two symphonies (Italy and USA) and had its text illustrated by the famous French artist Moebius (author of the sceneries for he Fifth Element and Alien).

His work has been translated in 67 languages and edited in more than 150 countries.
(Bio. excerpted from the Offical Paulo Coelho website: http://www.paulocoelho.com.br/engl/)

Watch an hour long interview with Paulo Coelho talks in The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre

Paulo Coelho's Aleph Aleph
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Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (June 26, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307744574
ISBN-13: 978-0307744579
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8 inches

In his most personal novel to date, internationally bestselling author Paulo Coelho returns with a remarkable journey of self-discovery. Like the main character in his much-beloved The Alchemist, Paulo is facing a grave crisis of faith. As he seeks a path of spiritual renewal and growth, his only real option is to begin again—to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the landscapes around him.

Setting off to Africa, and then to Europe and Asia via the Trans-Siberian railroad, he initiates a journey to revitalize his energy and passion. Even so, he never expects to meet Hilal. A gifted young violinist, she is the woman Paulo loved five hundred years before—and the woman he betrayed in an act of cowardice so far-reaching that it prevents him from finding real happiness in this life. Together they will initiate a mystical voyage through time and space, traveling a path that teaches love, forgiveness, and the courage to overcome life’s inevitable challenges. Beautiful and inspiring, Aleph invites us to consider the meaning of our own personal journeys.

The Winner Stands Alone
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Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Harper (April 28, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061776335
ISBN-13: 978-0061776335

Read a sample chapter

Coelho's comments on the book:
FOLLOW MY DREAM ' BUT WHICH ONE?

One of the recurrent themes of my books is the importance of paying the price of your dreams. But to what extent can our dreams be manipulated? For the past decades, we lived in a culture that privileged fame, money, power ' and most of the people were led to believe that these were the real values that we should pursue.

We all should be a 'winner'. Not in the sense of someone who finally wins what is important to his/her life. Not in the sense that happiness is the most valuable gift on Earth ' and it can be attained here and now, when your work fulfills your heart. We should be a winner in the sense that the system portraits a successful person: celebrity, influence, photos in glossy magazines, behaving like the masters of the universe.

Yes, you may reach the goal society has fed you ' but will you be satisfied? Will you be whole? Will you be in peace? This cycle of possession never ends ' because the moment that you think that you have reached your goal another desire creeps in. And how can you find rest when it is the hunt that moves you?

While people are connected ' omniscient thanks to their mobile phones and GPS ' they all speak the same words, fight for the same goals, and crave the same things. How could it be otherwise? If fashion exists it is precisely because you can mold the desire of the masses ' or how else could a bag, a dress impose itself as necessary?

In a world of invisible yet unsurpassable 'diktats', where a few puppeteers pull the strings of the many, instill in other people's dreams the pursue of superficial things, there seems to be a rising feeling, a silent despair that creeps in.

Greed to have, greed to be seen, greed to prevail, even greed to kill, if you think it is for a good cause ' like love, for example.

What we don't know is that, behind the scenes, the real manipulators remain anonymous. They understand that the most effective power is the one that nobody can notice ' until it is too late, and you are trapped. This book is about this trap.

Soon after I finished writing 'The winner stands alone', the financial market collapsed. Will this lead us again to the real values? I really don't know. What I do know is that we cannot continue to allow our dreams to be manipulated like they are as for three of the four main characters in the book:

Igor, a Russian millionaire, who believes that you can kill if you have a good reason for that ' like avoiding human suffering, or bringing back the attention the woman he loves.
Hamid, a fashion magnate, who started with good intentions, till he got caught by the very system he was trying to use.

Gabriela, who ' like most of the people today ' is convinced that fame is an end by itself, the supreme reward in a world that praises celebrity as the supreme achievement in life.

The Alchemist
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Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (November 1, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060834838
ISBN-13: 978-0060834838

This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. What starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

Eleven Minutes: A Novel
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Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (March 29, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060589280
ISBN-13: 978-0060589288

Eleven Minutes is the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that "love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer. . . ." A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune. Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness -- sexual pleasure for its own sake -- or risking everything to find her own "inner light" and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Like a Flowing River
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Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins Publ. UK; New Ed edition (March 31, 2007)
ISBN-10: 000723581X
ISBN-13: 978-0007235810

The Witch of Portobello
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Paperback: 312 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (February 5, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061338818
ISBN-13: 978-0061338816

How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves'even if we are unsure of who we are?

That is the central question of international bestselling author Paulo Coelho's profound new work, The Witch of Portobello. It is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well'or hardly at all. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

The Zahir
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Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (July 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060832819
ISBN-13: 978-0060832810

The narrator of The Zahir is a bestselling novelist who lives in Paris and enjoys all the privileges money and celebrity bring. His wife of ten years, Esther, is a war correspondent who has disappeared along with a friend, Mikhail, who may or may not be her lover.

Was Esther kidnapped, murdered, or did she simply escape a marriage that left her unfulfilled? The narrator doesn't have any answers, but he has plenty of questions of his own. Then one day Mikhail finds the narrator and promises to reunite him with his wife. In his attempt to recapture a lost love, the narrator discovers something unexpected about himself.

Life: Selected Quotations
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Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Harper (October 23, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061374814
ISBN-13: 978-0061374814

This collection of selected quotes from Paulo Coelho's impressive body of work is a must'have item for fans of this celebrated and internationally bestselling author. A beautiful book with four'colour artwork by the renowned Norwegian artist Anne Kristin Hagesaether, it contains inspirational quotes from such beloved Coelho titles as Eleven Minutes, The Valkyries, The Devil And Miss Prym, The Zahir, and the mega bestseller The Alchemist. Whether read in one sitting or savoured gradually, this is a visually stunning and enlightening look into Coelho's extraordinary perspective on life 'one that has won over millions of readers worldwide and made Coelho one of the top'selling authors in the world.

The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation
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Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (April 10, 2007)
Language: English ISBN-10: 0060528001
ISBN-13: 978-0060528003

A stranger arrives at the remote village of Viscos, carrying with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. He comes searching for the answer to a question that torments him: Are human beings, in essence, good or evil? In welcoming the mysterious foreigner, the whole village becomes an accomplice to his sophisticated plot, which will forever mark their lives.

A novel of temptation by the internationally bestselling author Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym is a thought-provoking parable of a community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear'as it struggles with the choice between good and evil.

Veronika Decides to Die
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Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (May 23, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061124265
ISBN-13: 978-5955000831

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything -- youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning, she takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up. But she does -- at a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

Inspired by events in Coelho's own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Bold and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

Manual of a Warrior of Light
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Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (March 30, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060527986
ISBN-13: 978-0060527983

Warrior of the Light: A Manual is an inspirational companion to The Alchemist, an international bestseller that has beguiled millions of readers around the world. Every short passage invites us to live out our dreams, to embrace the uncertainty of life, and to rise to our own unique destiny. In his inimitable style, Paulo Coelho helps bring out the Warrior of the Light within each of us. He also shows readers how to embark upon the way of the Warrior: the one who appreciates the miracle of being alive, the one who accepts failure, and the one whose quest leads him to become the person he wants to be.

Paulo Coelho is one of the most beloved storytellers of our time. Now, in the long-awaited companion to his first novel, Coelho presents a collection of philosophical stories that will delight and guide seekers everywhere.

The Fifth Mountain
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Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (February 17, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060930136
ISBN-13: 978-0060930134

A Struggle of the Spirit and a Search for the Truth

Written with the same masterful prose and clarity of vision that made The Alchemist an international phenomenon, The Fifth Mountain is Paulo Coelho's inspiring story of the Biblical prophet Elijah. In the ninth century B.C., the Phoenician princess Jezebel orders the execution of all the prophets who refuse to seek safety in the land of Zarephath, where the unexpectedly finds true love with a young widow. But this newfound rapture is to be cut short, and Elijah sees all of his hopes and dreams irrevocably erased as he is swept into a whirlwind of events that threatens his very existence. In what is truly a literary milestone, Coelho gives a quietly moving account of a man touched by the hand of God who must triumph over his frustrations in a soul-shattering trail of faith.

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness
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Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Tra edition (May 23, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061122092
ISBN-13: 978-0061122095

From Paulo Coelho, author of the international bestseller The Alchemist, comes a poignant, richly poetic story that reflects the depth of love and life.

Rarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. She has learned well how to bury her feelings . . . and he has turned to religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts.

Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life's biggest questions.

The Valkyries
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Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: HarperOne (August 2, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062513346
ISBN-13: 978-0062513342

A Magical Tale About Forgiving Our Past and Believing in Our Future
The enchanting, true story of The Valkyries begins in Rio de Janeiro when author Paulo Coelho gives his mysterious master, J., the only manuscript for his book The Alchemist. Haunted by a devastating curse, Coelho confesses to J., "I've seen my dreams fall apart just when I seemed about to achieve them." In response, J. gives Coelho a daunting task: He must find and speak with his guardian angel. "The curse can be broken," he replies, "if you complete the task."

Rising to the challenge, Paulo and his wife, Cristina, drop everything, pack their bags, and take off on a forty day adventure into the starkly beautiful and sometimes dangerous Mojave Desert--where they encounter more than they bargained for. A masterful blend of the exotic locales, dramatic adventure, and magical storytelling for which Coelho's fictional works are renowned, this true-life account is at once a modern-day adventure and a metaphysical odyssey.

Brida
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Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (February 10, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061578959
ISBN-13: 978-0061578953

Brida, a young Irish girl, has long been interested in various aspects of magic but is searching for something more. Her search leads her to people of great wisdom. She meets a wise man who dwells in a forest, who teaches her to trust in the goodness of the world, and a woman who teaches her how to dance to the music of the world. As Brida seeks her destiny, she struggles to find a balance between her relationships and her desire to become a witch.

This enthralling novel incorporates themes that fans of Paulo Coelho will recognize and treasure. It is a tale of love, passion, mystery, and spirituality from the master storyteller.

Paulo Coelho talks in SECC in Glasgow (18.04.2007) - Part 1 of 11