Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist and one of the bestselling authors in the history of publishing. His masterpiece The Alchemist (1988) — the story of the Andalusian shepherd boy Santiago in search of his Personal Legend — has sold more than 150 million copies, been published in around 80 languages, and turned Coelho into a global voice for spirituality and the pursuit of destiny.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1947, Coelho lived a turbulent youth as songwriter, dropout and traveller before a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1986 reshaped his writing and his life. The Alchemist's philosophy of listening to the heart and following one's dream struck a chord with readers everywhere, and he followed it with globally beloved works such as Brida, Eleven Minutes and Veronika Decides to Die. A member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters and a UNESCO honour recipient, he remains among the most widely translated living authors.