The most-read Latin American author after Marquez: Who is Paulo Coelho?

Portuguese writer whose real name is Paulo Coelho de Souza was born on August 24, 1947, in Brazil. The author, who was brought up in the Catholic traditions of his family at an early age, later opposed this order. As a result of these actions, which were found to be unconstitutional by his family, he was temporarily hospitalized in the Psychiatric Hospital.

Paulo Coelho de Souza (born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His novel The Alchemist became an international best-seller and he has published 30 more books since then.

At the age of 23, he left Law School and traveled to South America, Europe, and North Africa. After 2 years he returned home and became a well-known songwriter in his country. He was imprisoned for engaging in activist movements against the Brazilian government when he was just starting his career.

When he returned to his old life, that is, in 1986, he joined the Christian Pilgrimage, which started in Western Europe and ended in Spain. He created his book The Pilgrimage by taking advantage of this experience. However, he achieved great success and became well known, especially with his book The Alchemist, published in 1988. Becoming the most widely read contemporary author, Coelho became the most widely read Latin American author after Gabriel Garcia Marquez, with his book The Alchemist translated into 26 languages and published in 42 countries.

He later founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, which helps the elderly and poor children in need of care in his country. Among the awards received by the author, who was deemed worthy of many awards, are the Crystal Award and the French Legion d'Honneur medal.

After being accepted to the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 2002, he still lives as a writer in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Coelho, one of the most widely read authors today, wrote The Alchemist in just two weeks in 1987.