Paulo Coelho

Coelho grew up in a middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His
father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become an engineer,
but after stating his wish to be a writer Coelho was put in and out of
mental institutions for three years. He became a hippie traveler, joined a
cult in Italy for a while, and was held and tortured by the Brazilian
police after a stint writing "subversive" lyrics for a rock band.
Coelho is one of the world's bestselling authors. The Alchemist,
which was inspired by a tale in The Thousand and One Nights, has
sold 20 million copies (his first publisher dropped it after selling fewer
than 1,000 copies, but Coelho managed to find another one).
Coelho is a Catholic and has a particular interest in pilgrim routes.
Santiago de Compostela in Spain provides the setting for both The Pilgrimage
and Diary of a Magus. Other books include The Valkyries: An
Encounter with Angels, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, and
Veronica Decides to Die. He lives with his wife Christina, a painter, in
Rio de Janeiro.