Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist born on august 24, 1947 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Paulo Coelho was the student of Jesuit School. At the very young age of 17, he was sent to the mental asylum from where he escaped three times. Because of his parent's wish, Paulo Coelho joined law school and give up his dream of becoming a writer. After a year, Paulo left law school and became a beatnik and went to discover North Africa, Mexico, Europe and South America. By 1960, he got addicted to drugs. Returning to Brazil, Coelho started working as lyric composer and song writer for Elis Regime, Rita Lee and Raul Seixas. In 1974, Paulo Coelho got arrested for some rebellious activities by the Ruling Military Government.

Before starting his writing career, Paulo Coelho had also worked as a journalist, actor, and the theater director. 1986, the year which Paulo Coelho himself declared as the turning point of his life, he walked the road of Santiago De Compostela, the 500 plus mile road which is situated in North Western Spain. On the way, he had a platonic provocation which he had described autobiographically in one of his greatest work, "The Pilgrimage". In 1982, Paulo Coelho introduced his first book named "Hell Achiever", which failed to show its remarkable impact among readers. In 1987, he wrote, "The Alchemist" which was published by the small publishing house which decided to print only 900 copies and refuses to reprint the particular novel. The biggest and the most famous publishing house named Harper Collins decided to publish the book in 1994.

The Alchemist became the best-selling book and was the part of those books which had left its outstanding impression among readers. The Alchemist was published in 81 different languages and was also honored by Guinness World Record for most translated book. Paul Coelho has published nearly 30 books. The majority of his books are said to be the fictional one. Three out of thirty books are autobiographical that is "The Pilgrimage", "Aleph" and the "Valkyries". Books like "Like the flowing river" and " The Manual Of The Warrior Of The Light" are the collection of newspaper columns, selected teaching and essays. According to June 2015 sales figure, Paulo Coelho has sold his 210 million books in over 170 countries globally. In 1980, Coelho got married to the artist, Christina Oiticica. In 1996, he builds up a Paulo Coelho Institute in the view to support people of every age group.