ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho was born August 24, 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Pedro Queima Coelho de Souza and his wife, Lygia. Coelho's parents did not share in their son's dream of becoming a writer, and even went so far as to have him twice institutionalized in a mental hospital for attempting to pursue his dream. The treatment in the hospital did nothing to make Coelho conform to his parents' wishes; in fact, he became rebellious. He got involved with the hippie movement in the 1960's as it spread through Brazil, embracing progressive politics and joining the peace and love generation. His creative explorations led him to the theatre, to journalism where he published an alternative magazine called 2001, and to the Brazilian rock scene where he wrote lyrics for famous Brazilian singers such as Raul Seixas, Elis Regina, and Rita Lee.

His involvement in the hippie movement led Coelho to explore various types of mysticism and spirituality. He was highly influenced by the works of Aleister Crowley, and even joined an organization known as the Alternative society, which defended the individual's right to free expression. After being detained, questioned and tortured by a group of paramilitaries, Coelho decided to tame his radical behaviors. A chance meeting with a stranger in Amsterdam led Coelho to turn his life toward Catholicism and to walk the medieval pilgrim's route, the road to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. This route across northern Spain is known as St. James's Way. This experience was recreated in his book The pilgrimage: Diary of Magus (1987).

In 1988, Coelho wrote The Alchemist, based on Tale of Two Dreamers by Jorge Luis Borges, which was originally based on a tale from The Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Coelho's novel did not receive much critical acclaim, however, and the first edition only sold about nine hundred copies. When the publishing company decided not to reprint, Coelho refused to give up on the work, and signed with another publishing company. The Alchemist has since sold more copies than any other novel in Brazilian literary history.

Paulo Coelho and his wife, Christina, live in Rio do Janeiro where he serves as a member of the Board of the Shimon Peres Institute for Peace, a special counselor for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for "Intercultural Dialogues and Spiritual Convergences," a board member of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.

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