Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He is considered one of the most influential authors of our times. Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1947 and as a teenager, Coelho wanted to become a writer. Upon telling his mother this, she responded with “My dear, your father is an engineer. He’s a logical, reasonable man with a very clear vision of the world. Do you actually know what it means to be a writer?”

After enrolling in law school, he dropped out to go traveling. He worked as a songwriter, and in 1974 was arrested for penning ‘subversive’ lyrics. In 1986, Coelho walked the 500-plus mile pilgrimage road to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, a turning point in his life. On the path, Coelho had a spiritual awakening. Coelho would leave his lucrative career as a songwriter and pursue writing full-time.

In 1982, he published his first book, Hell Archives. The Alchemist, his bestselling novel, was published in 1987. His books have sold over 165 million copies worldwide in more than 168 countries, touching the hearts of countless people.

Coelho has received numerous prestigious international awards and has been a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. In 2007, he was appointed to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace; in 2009 he received the 2009 Guinness World Record for the Most Translations (53) of a Single Title (The Alchemist). To learn more about him and his work, visit his blog (http://paulocoelhoblog.com) or follow him on Facebook and Twitter (@paulocoelho).