The Life and Books of Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho, who is worldwide known for his book The Alchemist and one of the best-selling authors, was born on August 24, 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Setting his heart on the hippie philosophy and shaping his life accordingly when he was young, Coelho was a songwriter before pursuing his writing career.

The famous writer also worked as a journalist for a while, and took a long pilgrimage. Starting from Western Europe and ending at Santiago de Compostela, he completed the Christian Pilgrimage in 1986. His book Pilgrimage tells about this journey. Paulo Coelho has become really famous with his work The Alchemist. This was the work that has introduced him to the readers across the world. The Alchemist was published in 42 countries and was translated into 26 languages, becoming one of the cult works.

The books he wrote brought him considerable wealth. Having founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, bearing his name, in his country, the author also helps the poor and needy people and children through this institution. The author was committed to a mental institution three times by his family because he was suspected of suffering from a mental disorder, and wrote the book Veronika Decides to Die by being inspired of this period of his life.

Paulo Coelho, the best-selling Latin American author after Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who is one of the most prominent members of the Magical Realism movement, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and serves as a volunteer consultant to the UNESCO Programme on Intercultural Dialogues. The famous writer is also an active social media user, and is followed with admiration for his posts in this platform.

Works of Paulo Coelho

Coelho has managed to become one of the popular authors with his works including The Spy, Aleph, Adultery, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Pilgrimage, The Fifth Mountain, Veronika Decides to Die, The Devil and Miss Prym, Manual of The Warrior of Light, Eleven Minutes, The Zahir, The Witch of Portobello, The Winner Stands Alone, Brida and Manuscript Found in Accra, as well as The Alchemist, which are all selected works of literature.