Most people identify Brazil with beautiful beaches, Carnival, soccer, the Amazon River and “The Girl from Ipanema.” Ask them to name a Brazilian author, and they may be hard-pressed; although one of the world’s bestselling authors, Paulo Coelho (he of the 11 million—copy selling The Alchemist), is from Rio de Janeiro, he doesn’t overtly identify himself as Brazilian, and most Brazilian publishers roll their eyes when Coelho’s name comes up, reluctantly acknowledging him as a rare breakthrough. Other Brazilian writers—Clarice Lispector, Jorge Amado, Machado de Assis—who are well-known in Brazil don’t get much recognition outside the country. And with more than 180 million inhabitants, Brazil has the largest population in South America but the second lowest literacy rate (Bolivia and Peru are tied for last place) at an estimated 88.6%.
Against this backdrop, there are glimmers of excitement in Brazil’s publishing industry, which reached R$3.3 billion (US$1.83 billion) in sales in 2008. Last month, the Bienal do Livro book fair in Rio de Janeiro drew throngs of screaming teenagers to appearances not only by Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot but also by Brazilian self-help author Thalita Rebouças, who writes relationship books for teens. Religious publisher Editora Cançao Nova has sold 400,000 copies since February of a memoir by a priest who also happens to be a singer and have a TV show. The Record Publishing Group, Brazil’s largest trade publishing conglomerate, just announced new investments that will double its production capacity over the next two years. And the Câmara Brasileira do Livro (CBL), which represents publishers and booksellers in Brazil, reports that the country published 13.3% more books in 2008 than it did in 2007.
Bienal do Livro
Although visiting a bookstore is usually a good way to get an overview of a country’s literary landscape, in Brazil the Bienal do Livro provides a better view. The 10-day fair is held every year, alternating between Rio and São Paulo and is open to the public. This year’s raucous, well-attended event (600,000) took place in Rio, September 10—20, and featured about 200 exhibitors—145 publishers and 55 stationers and companies involved in graphic design. As in previous years, most of the exhibitors were Brazilian or from other South American countries. The fair’s first day is unofficially for the trade, though there’s talk of making that formal next year. But for now, the Bienal is mainly an opportunity for publishers to sell directly to consumers. They often carry backlist titles that aren’t available in stores, and some offer discounts. Fair organizers say the average attendee buys six books for about R$22 (US$12) each.
Weekdays at the fair are largely ruled by schoolchildren, who are bused in from all over the state of Rio de Janeiro, home to some 15 million people. The government gives each child a voucher worth approximately US$7 to spend on books, although some say the kids often spend the vouchers on stationery instead. Still, it was hard to tune out the frenzied cheering coming from different parts of the 180,000-square-foot event hall. Brazilians may not be the most literary South Americans, but they may be the most passionate. On the list of American and British authors appearing at the fair, in addition to Cabot, were Chris Bohjalian, Bernard Cornwell, Robert and Kim Kiyosaki, Arthur Phillips and David Wroblewski. When a beloved author arrived at the fair, an orderly line of eager fairgoers was the last thing they’d see. Instead, enthusiastic teens stormed the booth, waving their arms, jumping up and down, snapping pictures and—in the case of some tiara-wearing Cabot fans—crying. Brazilian cartoonist Mauricio de Sousa, who has created over 200 characters for his popular series of children’s comic books, was also a big draw, as was children’s author Pedro Bandeira.
Government Support
It isn’t surprising that Brazil’s government gives children money to spend at the Bienal, considering Brazil’s publishing industry is largely dominated by the government, which is reportedly the world’s biggest book buyer. Many Brazilian publishers depend heavily on sales to the government, since it buys textbooks and other educational books and provides them to students via subsidies. A typical example is Cortez Editora, which publishes books in the humanities and sciences, and depends on the government for about 20% of its sales. According to CBL, Brazil’s government spent R$869.3 million (US$482 million) on books last year.
Of course, the government is also hard at work to boost Brazil’s literacy rate. It will undertake its biggest literary initiative ever next January, when it begins requiring publishers, distributors and booksellers to give .33% of their total revenue to a literacy fund. The government is still working out where the money will go; on the table are options ranging from building libraries in cities that have none and training teachers to motivate students to read more. Jose Castilho Marques Neto, of Brazil’s literacy campaign Plano Nacional do Livro e Leitura, said the country has “a very solid plan” to develop literacy, which, in addition to the fund, includes the implementation of PR campaigns for reading and increased support of the country’s publishing industry, which consists of 530 publishers. One way it’s doing that is to levy almost no tax on books. Could it be working? CBL said the number of books the average Brazilian reads in a year is up from 1.8 in 2000 to 3.7 in 2008.
The Brazilian Reader
Still, Brazil’s publishing industry has a ways to go. The average print run in Brazil is around 3,000 copies. Says Cassiano Elek Machado of publishing house Cosac Naify, “For a country of over 180 million, it’s ridiculous.”
One notable exception is religious publisher Editora Cançao Nova, one of Brazil’s most lucrative publishers. The house is aligned with a massive Catholic network that extends to Europe and the U.S. and includes TV, radio and Internet properties. Its 22,000 sales reps sell books door-to-door and are paid entirely on commission. Cançao Nova sells books through its own stores, too, and while mainstream bookstores also sell its books, they aren’t a major source of income for the house, since those stores don’t give Cançao Nova books good placement or promote them.
As Cançao Nova editor Cristiana Maria Negrão explains, Brazil has five social classes, which many people refer to by letter: A, B, C, D and E. Cançao Nova’s readers are in the C and D classes. Negrão readily admitted her books have simple themes and are easy to read, and that the recession—which actually hasn’t hit Brazil as hard as it has elsewhere—is good for business, since those who are struggling may find comfort in Cançao Nova’s self-help—heavy line of books.
Contrary to what one might think, Brazil’s A and B classes aren’t big readers, said Cosac Naify’s Machado, whose house is known for its high-end art books aimed, presumably, at that sector of Brazilian society. “There is no book culture here,” said Editora UNESP executive editor Jézio Hernani Bomfim Gutierre. His press, which is linked to the State University of São Paulo, publishes about 200 titles a year in the areas of human and social sciences, Brazilian history and Portuguese grammar and dictionaries. “The concentration of wealth [in Brazil] is not as tragic as the concentration of information,” Gutierre said.
Those who do read in Brazil are largely focused on titles that pertain to the country’s culture and history. That’s certainly the case with children’s books: Cortez Editora has a very successful series of children’s picture books about Brazil’s state capitals; so far it has done 23 books and the series has sold 230,000 copies. Children’s publisher Callis has published a popular series of books about Brazilian historical heroes. And Pallas Editora has sold 45,000 copies of Seis Pequenos Contos Africanos, a collection of traditional African short stories. Its book São Cipriano, a public domain story about a saint who becomes a witch, consistently sells 20,000 copies every year—a huge number, considering the book is a R$65 (about US$35) hardcover.
Aside from international bestsellers like The Da Vinci Code (and The Lost Symbol, out now in Brazil in English and coming in Portuguese in December), translations aren’t a big part of Brazil’s market. About 12% of titles published there are translations. The majority are translations from English, French, German and Italian (surprisingly, Spanish-language translations don’t appear high on the list). Most publishers in Brazil do not sell foreign rights, but that’s beginning to change. The government is stepping up its support for getting Brazilian books translated into other languages.
Cosac Naify is one house that is trying hard to raise its international profile. It recently published a book with the Museum of Modern Art in New York and another with the Chicago Museum of Modern Art. And about 70% of small publisher Estação Liberdade’s list consists of works in translation, from Japan, the U.K., France and elsewhere.
Where They Buy
The overwhelming majority of Brazil’s bookstores—Saraiva is the biggest chain—are in the south and southeast, where the cities of Rio and São Paulo are located. Almost 14% of all books in Brazil are sold door-to-door, mainly in the areas of reference and religion—and those sales often take place in Brazil’s rural interior. Doing business with small bookstores in Brazil’s rural, poorer areas is a risky proposition. Many of them operate on a consignment policy, only paying publishers when books sell—and Angel Bojadsen, who runs Estação Liberdade, estimates 30% of them don’t ever pay (he has lost 20,000 books to consignment).
Online bookselling is still a new business in Brazil but is increasing, says Cristina Lima, marketing and events manager for CBL. According to her organization, the large chains attribute 4% to 6% of their sales to their Web sites. Submarino is the current leader... that is, until Amazon.com makes its way to the Amazon.
