We talked to Oakim, publisher of the Brazilian house Intrinseca, about his knack for finding bestsellers, the challenges facing publishers in his country, and some of the titles he's most excited about on his forthcoming list.
Intrínseca is known for publishing a huge number of bestsellers in the Brazilian market, including The Fault in Our Stars, Fifty Shades of Grey, Twilight and The Book Thief. Aside from blockbusters, what do you look for in the books you acquire?
We look for books that are excellently written, with a different voice, and that we think can attract a lot of readers.
What are some challenges facing the Brazilian market, and how is Intrinseca addressing them?
We face fierce competition, especially for shelf space in bookstores. At Intrínseca we try to show our authors and titles to the booksellers all over the country in the most amazing ways, so they can know our catalog and get excited about our titles. Another challenge we face is the price of books. Our intention is to have affordable prices for our general audience, so our readers may have the chance to read every type of story.
What about the digital market in Brazil? How are e-books, and retailers/device-makers like Amazon and Kobo, impacting things?
At the moment, it's still a small market, around 3%, but we expect it to grow more in the years to come.
Can you speak to some of your recent acquisitions, and what drew you to them?
We've acquired All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which was a National Book Awards finalist. It's a very emotional book, with an outstanding narrative. The Girls, by Emma Cline, is a debut novel with a powerful story and very delicate writing. We read Grit, by Professor Angela Duckworth, only as a proposal and it was so solid that you could see that it was going to be a book that everybody is going to talk about and feel inspired by its message. Pax by Sara Pennypacker is a middle grade book with all the elements to become a classic: a boy’s search for his best friend, a little fox named Pax, and Pax's discovery of its own nature. [The book distills] a compelling and beautiful adventure that the two [characters] face, which makes us think about our own life and choices.
