São Paulo’s Book Bienal started last friday (6) and is set to end this weekend (15). Besides buying your entire wishlist and receiving dozens of bookish souvenirs, Bienal is perfect to discover new authors, books and publishing houses. Follow my tips to live the best Bienal ever!
1- Lucas Rocha
Lucas Rocha is a LGBTQI+ author that wrote one of my most favorite books! Reading his books is like befriending his characters, as he writes so vividly and beautifully. Besides captivating protagonists, laugh out loud humor and easy reading, Lucas knows how to mix all that with important themes, like STDs awareness in Where We Go From Here.
His new book, A História Que Nunca Vivemos, is already available to buy and tells an extremely interesting story about Brazilian military dictatorship. You can meet and ask for Lucas’s autograph on September 12 and 15.
2- Carla Madeira
If you’re yet to know Carla Madeira, you’re living the wrong way! After reading just one of the first lines of her books, I bet you will be hooked and Carla will immediately turn into your autobuy author.
Madeira’s writing is raw and powerful, reaching into your deepest thoughts and translating them into a binge-reading-worthy book. Forgiveness, sexism, violence, love, friendship, motherhood, life in all its glory and tragedy, family, real relationships (so real that you don’t know how you feel about their complexity) are just some of the describable themes present in Carla’s books.
I promise you that getting to know her works is totally worth it, and an opportunity to get a glimpse of her brain is to attend A Mãe E A Mulher Na Literatura talk at Arena Cultural on September 14, where Carla, along with Camilla Dias and Eliana Alves Cruz lecture about the depiction of mothers and women in their works and brazilian literature in general.
3- Solaine Chioro
This recommendation is for the hopeless romantics who love heart-warming but powerful stories. Reticências, one of Solaine’s romance books, addresses two virtual friends that don’t even imagine that they actually know each other personally, and they hate one another…
“This seems like every other enemies to lovers books that I’ve read” Wrong! Chioro transforms a passionate love story into a powerful narrative that reflects racism and prejudice, along with black, fat and PWD (People With Disabilities) representation in captivating characters.
Besides being an author, Solaine is also a brazilian translator that worked with You Should See Me In a Crown and The Grimrose Girls and will be present at the book fair on September 12 and 13.
4- Raphael Montes
Bloody crimes, mysterious dinners, eerie deaths, lethal secrets. Are those dark elements familiar in your usual reads? Then, I shall recommend to you the Brazilian horror king: Raphael Montes.
Acclaimed around all Brazil, Raphael shocks all his readers with his unusual ideas. After all, how can a normal brain form such sinister narratives? At least, this extraordinary thinking can proportionate such entertainment for horror readers. I can assure you, with personal experience, that Jantar Secreto will leave you staring at the wall for 5 minutes.
If my words enticed you, I recommend you to be at the Amazon KDP booth to guarantee your autograph and meeting with Raphael!
5- Iris Figueiredo
Last, but not least, there’s Iris, a cute and super friendly author, who emotionally destroyed me as I read Céu Sem Estrelas… It may seem like a sweet romance but when you least expect it, you’re dehydrating in tears, rooting for the main character’s mental health and happiness.
With a lot of representation and sensible approach to delicate themes, Iris develops stories that reach her readers in a powerful way, sheltering who deeply needs that narrative and showing that the main character saves herself.
Both Céu Sem Estrelas and Um Passo de Cada Vez are being exposed by Seguinte with great pricing! To meet up with Iris, make sure to be at Bienal on September 12, 13 and 15.
See? Now you have a brand new bookish itinerary to make the most of this experience, filling your heart with experiences and emptying your pockets for newly discovered books! Enjoy!
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The article below was edited by Fernanda de Andrade Silva.
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