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FICTION

Literary Fiction, Hélia Correia

A global literary sensibility. With acute historical and cultural awareness. Carries the ancient Greece tradition with her.

Hélia Correia (1949, Lisboa), a graduate in Romanic Philology,
is the 2015 recipient of the most important prize of the
Portuguese language literature, the Camões Prize. Correia is
considered a reference of the modern Portuguese fiction,
and is one of today's most prominent national writers.
Correia adopts a socially committed approach in her works,
usually showing great historical awareness of past world
conflicts or of intricate political and cultural tensions where
the poor, the refugees, and the oppressed are the main
characters of her stories.
In her playwriting works, Correia's love for ancient Greece
stands out as a major influence. Hélia Correia has also
written poetry, children literature, and was the translator of
Shakespeare, Adelaide Garcia Morales and Juan Carlos
Onetti.
She was awarded several times for her books, having won
the Pen Clube Prize (2001), the Máxima Prize of Literature
(2006), the Virgílio Ferreira Prize for her lifework (2013), The
Correntes d'Escritas / Casino da Povoa Prize (2013), the
Grand Prize Camilo Castelo Branco (2015), amongst others.

Lillias Fraser

Pages: 292
ISBN: 9789727086382

Lillias is a Scottish girl that came
from a clan decimated in the
Culloden battle during the fights
with the Englishmen. While fleeing
from the threat in her home town,
she ends up reaching Lisbon
where she takes shelter as an
illegal immigrant; firstly being
hosted in a monastery, and
afterwards with a local family.
When a catastrophic earthquake
hits Lisbon, Lillias is forced once
again to flee and moves to the
surroundings of the capital. But
the stream of events following
that episode leads her back to her
past, when she eventually meets
by surprise the commander of the
English troops in Culloden.

❝ The Plot of Lillias Fraser – which has a
fortunate ending – turns out as one well
developed shiver. It would make a period
film; an epic. All of the eventual script
can be found in this excellent novel. ❞

– Ernesto Rodrigues, Expresso (Portugal)

Sicken
Pages: 294
ISBN: 9789896411602

A biographical novel set in the XIX
century England, portraying the
vibrant love story between the
model Elizabeth Siddal and painter
and poet Dante Gabriel Rosseti.
Elizabeth Siddal (Lizzie) is universally
recognized as the Ophelia character
in the 1851 painting with the same
title, where a young and pure girl,
floating in a river right before
drowning, perfectly embodies the
feminine ideal for the pre-
Raphaelites romantics. But this
novel unveils a much dynamic and
free Lizzie that opposes all purity
and abandonment, one who looked
for the empowerment of women in
her idealistic and conservative times
and that can even be acknowledged
as a proto-feminist for her original
concepts on life and love.

*Literary Prize Inês de Castro Foundation (Portugal)

Bastardia

Pages: 82
ISBN: 9789727088348

Moisés was born in a poor village in
the rural interior of Portugal, and it
is only when he attends the funeral
of his grandmother, in the nearby
city of Leiria, that he gets to look at
the sea for the first time. From that
moment onwards it becomes an
obsession that “took over as if
someone had him abducted”, and
while Moisés longs for that “big blue
extending itself, similar to a
blooming meadow”, he starts
thinking of its magical properties
and how it could cure his infertile
wife.
But distrust and superstition from a
catholic community will bring fear to
Moisés, who have to face his own
people in the name of the illogical
passion for the sea.

Literary Fiction, Mário de Carvalho

Short fiction mastery with a dash of magic realism. Some call him the Portuguese Jorge Luis Borges.

Mário de Carvalho (1944, Lisboa) is, most probably, the best living short story writer of the Portuguese language. A graduate in Law, he had an intense political activity before dedicating his life to fiction writing: his departure to exile after the students fights against the dictatorship regime was one of the most important episodes in Mário de Carvalho's life, as well as the return to Portugal when the democratic Carnation Revolution of 1974 occurred.

Mário de Carvalho is currently published in 11 countries and
have works on different genres: novel, short story, children
writing and playwriting.

Owner of an impressive erudition and with a perfect command of the Portuguese language workings, he is the author of 25 books, nine of them having been multiple times awarded. His sophisticated irony, the universality of his themes and inventive abilities – sometimes reminding us of the fantastic atmospheres depicted by Jorge Luis Borges or inspired in the Portuguese literature classics – have resulted in translations of his books into the main market's languages: English, French, German, Italian, and others.

Amongst the most important prizes Mário de Carvalho won, it included: the Grand Prize of Short Story and Novel of the Portuguese Association of Authors, the Internazionalle Città di Cassino Prize (Italy), the Pegasus Prize for Literature, the Portuguese Pen Club Prize of Fiction, and the Vergílio Ferreira Prize for his lifetime written production. More recently, in 2014, he was distinguished with the Order of Saint James of the Sword for literary merit.

Mário de Carvalho coordinated post-graduate courses in
playwriting, as well as several workshops in fiction writing,
and was a university professor for several years.

A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening
Pages: 360
ISBN: 9789720044334

This is a sweeping, magical novel of
religious division, civil unrest, and
the consequences of hubris set
amid the pomp and decadence of
the late Roman Empire. Lucius, the
Magistrate of Tarcisis, receives
warning that invading Moors are
headed toward the city, but its
fathers refuse to take the danger
seriously. Meanwhile, within the
city walls, an outlaw sect has
appeared that signals its faith with
the sign of the fish, and Lucius
finds himself drawn to its beautiful,
charismatic leader. When the city is
besieged and its internal conflicts
nearly cripple its defenses, Lucius’s
heart is pitted against his civic
duty, and the outcome will change
forever his trust in Roman justice.

*Pegasus Prize for Literature (USA)
*Giuseppe Acerbi Literary Prize (Italy)
*Grand Prize APE/IPLB for Novel (Portugal)
*Fernando Namora Prize (Portugal)

Fantasy for Two Colonels and a Pool
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9789720047151

Two colonels discuss the westerner
European country at the edge of a
pool, and where no topic is out of
borders they bring up their
participation in the colonial wars and
how they fought for a grand Portugal
that now, in the XXI century, seems
doomed to its ridiculous
provincialism.
As they speak, a series of characters
will show up to prove the absurdity
and little lives of these Portuguese
people: the misogynous uncle who
gives wise advice to his nephew; the
lead popular singer Soraia Marina
who's fundamental to the country's
designs; or the football supporters
group who moves around Portugal as
a quadruped organism.

*Portuguese Pen Club Fiction Prize (Portugal)
*Grand Literature Prize ITF/DST (Portugal)

Vagabond Short Stories
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9789720046406

A mosaic of the small quotidian
episodes that we don't care to look
at, but which encloses all the
absurd and fantastic meanings we
carry with us in our day-to-day life.
From the conversation of two
friends who conclude that the
mystery of God can be found
inside a clam, to a municipality
idea of installing a ecological
semaphore that is man-powered
through uninterrupted cycling, all
our involuntary originalities are
shed a new light in here.

The Sub-lieutenants
Pages: 120
ISBN: 9789720044310

Thousands of young Portuguese
soldiers were forced to go into the
theatre of war in old African and
Asian colonies. This men-child are
portrayed in this book in a crude
but ironic way, showing their
dilemmas and hopes while
considering the absurdity of actively
participating in a bloodshed.
In a vicious Angola or a mythical
Timor, seductive betrayals and
death plots are planned, while the
deeds and sufferings of the
Portuguese superiority complex of
an empire saga resonates in every
bullet.
This are three stories where a string
of bitter humour is present in each
event, even in the most violent or
dim.

*Internazionalle Città di Cassino Prize (Italy)

The Unprecedented War of the Gago Coutinho Avenue
Pages: 88
ISBN: 9789720044358

A horde of Berber knights from the
XII century is suddenly transported
to the year 1984, for Clio goddess
carelessness who got
sleepy during her work with the
History tapestry and let both time
lines get mixed together. Over
10,000 Arabs, riding their horses
and fully armed, got so shocked
with the new urban landscapes that
they could only start praying to the
merciful Allah. It is only with the
help of a street policeman that
History starts sorting itself out
again: “Salam Aleikum”, he greets to
the Arab's commander.

Whoever Says The Opposite Is Right
Pages: 280
ISBN: 9789720046994

More than a manual on how to
write fiction, this book teaches how
to read as a professional writer
should and be aware of the fiction
devices in great literary pieces.
The only rule to be learned is that
“assertivism” is a charlatanism, and
that the literary waltz is not always
to be taken seriously: that writing
must accompany reading, author
shouldn't ignore the reader, and
character and action should walk
hand in hand, are all ideas easily
dismantled by historic evidence .
But the most practical issues of
creative writing are addressed as
well: How to begin a story, how to
keep it interesting for the reader, or
how to create a climax and develop
engaging and “real” characters.

*Portuguese Pen Club Prize: best Essay in 2015

(ESSAY / LITERARY FICTION)

Fiction, Rosa Lobato de Faria

The Historic, the Marvellous, and the Romantic mingles together to create easy-reading literature with a feminine touch.

Rosa Lobato de Faria (1932 – 2010, Lisboa) is represented in several short stories book's collections in Portugal and abroad, having become notorious amongst the Portuguese public as a songwriter, screenwriter and for her acting roles for television and cinema. The author has about 30 works published in the several genres: novel, short stories, poetry, children literature and playwriting, and her writing style stands out for giving predominance to the marvellous, the fantastic and the emotive themes. The author was translated into Spanish, French and German, and is already part of prestigious publisher's catalogues such as Éditions Métailié.

An obligatory reference of the new Portuguese fiction, Rosa Lobato de Faria won the Máxima Literary Prize, awarded to the most relevant works by women writers who proved to be an asset and enriching factor for the national culture. Faria's legitimation within the literature universe of Portuguese writers would lead her to the education field, where she was a university professor and taught Poetry.

The Time Corners
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9789720041814

Margarida is a young teacher of
Mathematics who, following an
invitation to give a lecture in Vila
Real, rents a room at a rural housing
where a particular century old
portrait of a beautiful young man is
hung on the wall. The thing is the
portrait resembles a lot to Miguel,
her recent passion.
It is through some inexplicable
mystery that the next morning
Margarida wakes up a hundred years
back in the past, living amongst her
ancestors. And even though, as days
go by, she begins getting accustomed
to the new time frame, Margarida
eventually meets the man of the oil
portrait and a strong desire to come
back to the XXI century and see
Miguel becomes a priority.

The Silk Birds

Pages: 208
ISBN: 9789724117584

Mario's memories, one of the main
characters of “The Silk Birds”, recalls
all events that opposes human
condition to the childhood
perennial values: where the
marvellous and love cohabit, the
precariousness of passions and
dreams of emancipation collapse.

The Salt Flower
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9789724142265

Afonso Sanches, a (real) XV century
Portuguese sailor, had extensive
training as fisherman and whaler
before heading on a fantastic
expedition to find India. Instead, by
miscalculation, he found the
coastline of America in 1481 (eleven
years before Columbus). The
fortunate event remained
nonetheless a secret, for the King of
Portugal, D. João II, was about to
sign the Tordesilhas treaty that
would distribute the new
conquered lands with the
Spaniards.
How did sailor Afonso Sanches deal
with such a secret that could
seriously break Iberia apart?

Fiction, Mário Zambujal

Fun & Wit in action-paced novels

Mário Zambujal (Moura, 1936) made a name for himself as the writer of the narrative books that contributed to the vanguard of the New Portuguese Cinema, a recognition that lead him to win, in 1984, the formal distinction of the Infante D. Henrique Order, for his “enriching contributions to the Portuguese culture”. His peculiar visual and humoristic style in writing has been accompanying Zambujal's work throughout his long career as a journalist and scriptwriter, and for television and radio.

Zambujal's most well-known work, The Good Rascals Chronicles, was a major moment of public attention for the author, in particular after its adaptation to cinema, which made the book sell over 30 editions. In 2011 there was also a theatre adaptation of this work.

Besides the dozen books Zambujal has published, he also engaged in several playwriting collaborations for the traditional Portuguese Revista Theatre, and was a success case as a scriptwriter for television, having written sitcoms that stayed on air for many years.

Talisman – The Natural
Disorder of Things
Pages: 152
ISBN: 9789897242694

Pablo Luis Martinez da Silva doesn't
believe in being lucky, and most of all
despises those who fall for it, letting
their lives be controlled by such
artificial force. That's why he wouldn't
make up excuses for almost losing
that birth at the maternity, that's why
he will make everything it takes to
reach out for that gorgeous blonde
who lost a shoe right in front of him,
and that's why he can't prevent a mad
gang of criminals from pursuing him.
The common denominator between
all these events: a Talisman that was
stolen by the women, not the amount
of bad luck it may carry.

Queen of Spades
Pages: 220
ISBN: 9789898452047

The eighteen years old boy Filipe is
dating the sister of Eva Teresa, with
only eleven years old.
There is great empathy between the
little girl and her future brother-inlaw,
but life separates them with the
family trip to Brazil. As time runs
through their fingers, they almost
forget each other; until an
unpredicted event joins them
together again, and a grown up adult
Eva becomes an unbearable passion
for Filipe, who ends up falling in love
with her.
In between improbable episodes
intertwined in mystery and complicity,
both finally get to meet in Sintra,
where a hectic romance begins.

Serpentine
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9789897241765

The small boy Bruno Barcelim
sees his routines change after his
family emigration to Canada, but
it's when he grows older, and
following a traffic accident in
which he is involved, that life
really takes a radical turn for him.
Not so much for the crash, but
after suddenly bumping on a girl
he suddenly meets.
Bruno's destiny may be
unpredictable but it's the absurd
incidents crossing his path that
turns everything into a comedy.

Fiction, Inês Botelho

A young Portuguese writer starting a surprising career with the biggest Portuguese publishing house – the Porto Editora Group.

Inês Botelho (1986, Vila Nova de Gaia – Portugal) is one of the promising young authors of the contemporary Portuguese fiction. She has been publishing since she was 16 years old, at the moment her book trilogy of the epic fantasy genre entered the market. Alongside her intense writing routines Botelho was a regular collaborator of the Bang! Magazine, contributing with chronicles that addressed the fantasy, sci-fi and horror literature.

With five books currently on the market, Botelho have been more recently exploring the literary novel with remarkable success; her last book, “The Past That We Will Become”, has been published by one of the biggest editorial groups in Portugal – the Porto Editora group.

The Past We Will
Become
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9789720040855

Elisa and Alexandre met each
other during a weekend in
Caramulo. They belong to
different social contexts, see the
world through almost opposite
perspectives, and yet are unable
to escape the attraction that
slowly takes over their bodies.
With advances and retreats, they
enter a impulsive relationship full
of challenges. Elisa is too cerebral
and wishes to be able to explain
the world in it's multiple aspects.
Alexandre, on the contrary, acts
without thinking and is only
concerned with getting the most
out of each moment. The intense
life they start experimenting in
company of each other will carry
tensions that may change them.

NON-FICTION

Non-fiction, Fernando Dacosta

An award winning historian focusing on the migrations issues in Portugal and abroad.

Fernando Dacosta (1945, Caxito – Angola) is a respected Portuguese historian with extensive work in fiction writing, playwriting, and journalism. The beginning of his career as a reporter of Europa Presse allowed him to move inside the political atmosphere of the pre-revolutionary Portuguese dictatorship regime and meet the most important figures of that time, amongst them the autocratic president Salazar. This atmosphere was largely depicted and was a central
theme to Dacosta books, some of which won important literary prizes in Portugal: “A Second Hand Jeep” (won the RTP Theatre Prize; was celebrated by the Portuguese Critics Association and the Press House), “The Widower” (Grand Prize Círculo de Leitores / LER), “The Retornados Changed Portugal” (Portuguese Press Club Prize).

In total the author won ten prizes, but it was his distinction with the Order of Prince Henry for promoting the culture and history of Portugal, as well as with the formal invitation for joining the Lisbon Sciences Academy, that Dacosta became legitimated amongst his peers. Despite his academic and written activities, Dacosta had a television programme about literature on the public Portuguese channel RTP1, and was co-editor of the prestigious national publisher Relógio D'água.

The Returnees
Changed Portugal
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9789899833326

This critical work brings back to our
contemporary public sphere the
tragic exodus of 1974-75, when
millions of African Portuguese were
forced to look for refuge in Portugal
during an abrupt process of
decolonization.
The traumatic episode still
resonates today, four decades after,
in large numbers of Portuguese
people carrying this amputation
feeling of having been rejected by
their original land in Africa. How
were they able to surpass
adversities and be fully integrated in
a society that looked at them with
hostility? This is the question that
Fernando Dacosta poses, and that
photographer Alfredo Cunha
illustrates.

Pagan Journeys
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9789898760104

Fernando Dacosta guides us
through some of the most
compelling places he has visited:
The remote island in Azores where
Marshall Carmona was received
with a warm welcome in the
region's cemetery; the
Mozambique paths where Samora
Machel would walk by while
performing his ravishing and
creative speeches; the Rio de
Janeiro travels in a Volkswagen
Beetle car in company of the
writer Agustina Bessa-Luís, with
whom they remember the last
days of the autocrat president
Marcello Caetano.
This journeys are an authentic
portrayal of recent Portugal during
war-time and the dictatorship era.

Non-fiction, Júlio Machado Vaz

A scholar and communicator of Sexualities' and Sex themes.

Júlio Machado Vaz (1949, Porto), a psychiatrist and recognized scholar from the sexology field, is a well known Portuguese author of a dozen sexual education books. He became particularly famous for his participation and public debates on the radio, television and the newspapers, where he defends an understanding of sex as a “privileged vehicle of communication” while opposing the common belief that looks at it as a mere “physiology necessity”. He is currently one of the co-directors of the masters degree in Sexology of the Lusófona University in Lisbon.

Júlio Machado Vaz's intense activity as a doctor and sexuality communicator has been recognized with the Rainbow Prize of the ILGA Portugal Association, which awards good practices in fighting discrimination and homophobia. In parallel to sexuality education, the author coordinates initiatives of social integration and citizenship, namely: as part of the Teaching Commission of the Portuguese Society of Clinical Sexology, as member of the Commission for the Fight against Drug Abuse, as the Clinical Director of the Therapeutic Community for Recovering Drug Dependants, and as the President of the Welcoming and Nourishing Association for Citizenship.

He has been coordinating for several years the radio
programme Love is…, still airing in the Portuguese public
radio Antena 1.

By the Riverside –
Letters to Maria
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9789896414733

An old love is recalled through 82
letters, showing that this spiritual
connection between two
individuals is only made possible
where body and mind are ever
present and mutually explored.
The setting of this reflection and
intimate approach to one's
emotional life is Barcelona, the city
where the borders between the
real and the imaginary often
mingle.

Non-fiction, Leonor Xavier

A key travel writer that reflects on the Portuguese influence in Brazil and the Middle East.

A journalist and novelist, Leonor Xavier (1943, Lisboa) started her writing career in Brazil, having published non-fiction books that reflect on the diaspora movement from Portugal to Brazil as well as in the socio-political realities in both countries. The acclamation by the specialized Brazilian critique brought the author to the Portuguese books' market in a later moment.

Leonor Xavier works were considered to improve and strengthen relations between Portugal and Brazil, for which she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Portuguese State.

Amongst the literary prizes, Leonor Xavier has also received the Máxima Prize of Literature, which distinguishes notable Portuguese female writers. And was the recipient of the Best Journalist Prize in the Portuguese Community category, awarded at Rio de Janeiro.

Besides her books on Brazil and Portugal, Leonor Xavier is the biographer of some of the most relevant Portuguese culture figures and politicians; and produces essays, chronicles and fiction.

Some of her travels undertook around the world were put into books and supported by the Portuguese National Center of Culture support.

An Arab Journey
Pages: 180
ISBN: 9789898452252

This travel book is a journey circuit
through the pre-Arab Spring
revolution in Middle East, with texts
that work as chronicles of the sociopolitical
contexts in each country, and
accompanied by illustrations of the
urban sketcher João Queiroz.
We get a picture of the Persian Gulf
and the Ormuz Strait, where the
predominance of old Eastern trading
routes is still part of the regional
economies. In Jordan and Egypt we
observe how the history of ancient
civilizations still live under the skin of
regular people. And in the Arab
Emirates and Bahrein it's the skyrocketing
material progress and the
growing of cities that catches our eyes,
especially after knowing that that kind
of progress doesn't accompany
fundamental individual rights.

Clandestine Passenger
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9789898452252

The writer, the woman and the
everyday human who finds herself
being the carrier of a clandestine
disease: cancer.
In an honest and inspiring way, full of
beautiful passages of literary merit
and sensibility, Leonor Xavier tells
her personal history of fight against a
colon cancer.
If anything happened in her
perception of life and death, it
happened after an intense search for
not forgetting and for finding hints
on how to give value to her present
precarious life. And by the end, as
surprising as it may seem, she will
feel at peace and greater harmony
no matter what happens. Cancer
turned out as a win-win situation to
Leonor Xavier, and above all a
journey of self-discovery.

Non-fiction, Manuel António Pina

The interpreter of Portuguese sensibility in poetry and image.

Manuel António Pina (1943-2013, Sabugal) was one of the few Portuguese writers to win the most important distinction within the Portuguese speaking countries literature, the Camões Prize. He graduated in Law, was an influential journalist and Editor-in-Chief of a national newspaper, but it was as a poet and children's books writer that he won unprecedented prestige amongst the national literary scene.

Pina was translated into Danish, French, Galician and English. During his career he collaborated with the British Film Institute; was the Portuguese translator and editor of fundamental authors like Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot and Paul Éluard; and won several prizes of the children's literature genre, namely: the Grand Gulbenkian Prize for Children and Youth Literature (1988), the Jury’s Mention of the Pier Paolo Vergerio European Prize (1988), and the Portuguese Centre of Theatre Prize for the Children and Youth (1988). In Portugal, he won in 2001 the Merit Golden Medal of the Porto Municipality. Pina was also part of the official authors' committee representing Portuguese literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair (1997), at the Paris Book Fair (2000) and the Gèneve Book Fair (2001).

Pina's children's literature production is characterized by a singular poetic sensibility that was strongly influenced by the British Nonsense literary style, in particular that of Lewis Carrol.

Pina was a regular collaborator in mediums like the television, for which he wrote scripts for children series; the theatre, having written more than twenty plays; or the education field, with his texts being part of manuals and anthologies in Portugal and Spain.

Aniki-Bóbó
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9789723716597

Manuel António Pina was
commissioned by the British Film
Institute to write this essay on an
absolute classic of the Portuguese
cinema – “Aniki-Bóbó”, by Manoel de
Oliveira.
The first feature film of the multiawarded
director Manoel de Oliveira,
Aniki-Bóbó, produced in 1942,
became a singular work on childhood
within the world cinematography.
Played exclusively by children, it is a
profoundly poetic film that takes a
stance by itself, surpassing the
aesthetics affinity that sometimes the
critique offers it (for instance, the
neo-realism contributions it may have
made). In Manuel António Pina, a
recognized author of children's books,
the sensibility of this work is now
completely analysed and understood.

CHILDREN'S BOOKS

Children's Books, Manuel António Pina

A poet for children. A rich imagination that addresses big themes with nonsense and word play. A writer who believes that having fun is the most serious thing in life.

Pina's children's literature production is characterized by a singular poetic sensibility that was strongly influenced by the British Nonsense literary style, in particular that of Lewis Carrol.

The Country of the
Upside-down People
Pages: 36

ISBN: 9789899702912

Using humour and nonsense,
this book brings together four
daring stories that pioneered
Portuguese children's literature:
The daily life in a country where
people live upside-down; a
goldfish who wrote a book too
hard to be read by his human
owner; a Baby Jesus who refused
to be God, because that would
prevent him from playing like
any regular kid; a delicious cake
who fights against the sin of
gluttony, which prevents people
from even touching him.

The Bird of the
Head and Other
Verses for Children
Pages: 80

ISBN: 9789720726797

The Bird of the Head gathers
several poems for children
which are easy to read, but
musical and meaningful
enough to be remembered.
Expressive paintings by the
renowned artist Ilda David
accompany the texts.

The Tinsteadqwuh
and Other Stories

Pages: 96

ISBN: 9789720786616

Since they were little the letters
have been taught the alphabetical
order. When they asked the big
letters why As had always to be the
first and Zs always the last, the big
letters answered that there isn't
really a reason for that. But how
come the order must always stay
the same, why can't letters decide
differently now and then?
This is a book where linguistic
games and imagination plays along
to tell fantastical stories of our
language and the weird beings
inhabiting it.

Children's Books, José Jorge Letria

200 books + 40 years career + extensive collaborations with
promising new illustrators.

José Jorge Letria (1951, Cascais), a prolific author with more than 200 books and 40 years of literary activity, is better known for his poetry and vast children and youth books writing production. The author has books translated into more than a dozen languages and was published by such distinguished publishers as Albin Michel.

A coordinator of radio and television programmes, Letria has been part of the developing team behind the Portuguese Sesame Street. His notoriety within the big audiences were accompanied by dozens of national and international prizes, namely the Unesco International Prize, having also been invited to be part of the European jury of the European Union Literary Prize.

Letria is a member of the World Literary Academy and has participated in the Editorial Commission of the Blank Book on European Cultural Politics. He is the president of the Portuguese Society of Authors and of the CISAC European Committee, and a member of the European Group Direction of Societies of Authors and of the Executive Committee of the Writers and Directors Worldwide.

He was awarded in Portugal and France with the Order of
Freedom and the Internationale des Arts et des Lettres
medal.

Weirdlings
Pages: 36

ISBN: 9789899671744

Sixteen Weirdlings that divide in
three and combine as they will.
They are sixteen Weirdlings to the
cube, which makes for 4096
Weirdlings to be discovered in
different combinations as pages
are turned forth and back.

Grandpa, Read It
Again
Pages: 40

ISBN: 9789897241604

In this book lives a poem that a
tender grandfather have
dedicated to his grandson. As
the little boy grows up with
“stars in the eyes and swallows
in the smile”, listening to the
many new words of his
grandfather's text, they start
developing a special bound that
will last forever.

The Man Who Had a
Tree in His Head
Pages: 36

ISBN: 9789720718945

Imagine a man called Streeve to
whom, one day, a tree began
growing on top of his head.
This unusual phenomenon
happens in a world that needs
more and more its scientific
culture in order to understand
all natural events that may
seem odd to us, and while
preparing for what the future
may unfold.

Mouschi, Anne
Frank's Cat
Pages: 38

ISBN: 9789724128221

Mouschi was a real cat that was
brought as company to Anne
Frank's captivity by her young
companion Peter vans Pels.
The day-to-day life in a small
refuge, the routine of a group
of people hiding from the Nazi
terror and the hope for the
freedom that never came, are
told by the voice of a pet that
has become the singular
witness of a human tragedy.

If I Were a Book
Pages: 64

ISBN: 9789899671768

This sweet celebration of the
magic and wonder of reading
portrays books as kites, tents,
and ships. A book becomes a
mountaintop with a spectacular
vista ("If I were a book, I'd be
full of new horizons"), and an
endless staircase of
imagination ("If I were a book, I
would not want to know at the
beginning how my story ends").
Seamlessly weaving together
art and prose, this petite tribute
to a reader's best friend makes
a timeless addition to every
bookshelf.

Children's Books, Álvaro Magalhães

Fun & daring. For angry kids, creative kids, and everyone else
who thinks no one can possibly understand their souls.

Álvaro Magalhães (1951, Porto) is particularly well known in Portugal for the youth book series Jay Triangle, which has reached a million readers and been adapted for the Portuguese public television RTP in 2012. With a 30 years career and almost 80 books written, the author has been getting increasing international attention and is already published in Spain, France, Brazil and South Korea.

Able of a great flexibility in his writing, which in some youth books results in a fast paced and action-centred story telling and in some children books it's the poetic sensibility that predominates, Álvaro Magalhães got recognized in 2002 by the Hans Christian Anderson Prize of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) while entering their Honour List. In Portugal, the author was awarded with several literary prizes by the Portuguese Writers Association, the Cultural Ministry and, more recently, by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, having been the recipient of the Grand Prize of Children and Youth Literature.

His books are authentic works of language, where the playfulness of words, concepts and sounds are always part of a thrilling narrative that catches young readers senses. Álvaro Magalhães has books in the short-story, poetry, narrative stories and theatre plays genres.

The Strangeton
Pages: 192

ISBN: 9789720727817

Fred, the Strangeton, is a 11 years
old boy with a high IQ who is
committed to tell his strange life
story with words and drawings,
while reflecting in a perhaps too
scientific manner on the meaning
of it all.
His major aim is to lead a normal
life, without turnovers, and while
his quest for understanding all the
peculiarities of his lifestyle takes
place, his friends will learn on the
way that to be different is actualy
a sign of originality rather than of
being weird.

The Master of His
Nose and other
stories
Pages: 60

ISBN: 9789892309927

A boy carries a nose the size of a
huge sausage, but that which
seemed initially bad luck or a
curse ends up revealing itself as
a blessing. This book addresses
how we can turn our faults into
advantages, always with a fun
and imaginative approach that is
stressed by the colourful
drawings of João Fazenda.

The Boy of the Silver
Sneakers
Pages: 208

ISBN: 9789892324562

A boy feels too special and intelligent
to even be the child of his parents,
who obliges him to do all the useless
and annoying things in life: going to
school, their obsession with his
personal hygiene, caring about some
odd future for him without even
asking if he actually believes in
growing up and becoming an adult.
While he can't do a DNA test to prove
they aren't his real parents and finally
live an independent life, the boy will
try to contradict anyone imposing
responsibilities and burdens on him.

Children's Books, Álvaro Magalhães

Pedagogy combined with the pleasures of early reading.

Luísa Ducla Soares (1939, Lisboa), a graduate of Germanic Philology, is one of the head figures of the Portuguese children's books literature, having now more than ahundred published titles. Her books usually get re-printed in numerous editions and are translated in several languages, with the French, Catalan, Basque and Galician being the most representative.

Ducla Soares has been developing crucial work in promoting reading amongst young people, namely through collaborations with the Education Ministry cabinets of consecutive Portuguese governments and by coordinating different projects for the Portuguese National Library where she worked from 1979 to 2009. Luísa Ducla Soares is also the founder of the Institute for Children Support and collaborated with several children's books for the Portuguese Institute of the Books and Libraries and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Grand Prize for the Work of a Lifetime (1996), or the Portuguese Society of Authors' Honour Prize (2009), are amongst the most prestigious distinctions Ducla Soares won.

The regular visits to schools and libraries, the participation in musical initiatives or in publications like the Sesame Street magazine (from 1990-5), and the highlighted place of some of her books within the National Reading Plan list have contributed for making Luísa Ducla Soares a reference author amongst young readers.

A Fingers' Story
Pages: 32

ISBN: 9789720728524

Fingers should be treated
like real people, as all of
them have specific
functions and strong
personalities. They are:
Tommy Thumb, Peter
Pointer, Toby Tall, Ruby
Ring, and Baby Small. This
book presents each one of
them, showing how
characteristic they are
alone, and how useful they
can be when living and
working together.

A Cow Pet
Pages: 32

ISBN: 9789720728586

Pets are the perfect animals for
company, but how would it go if
we tried having a cow hanging in
the living room? An old professor
tried exctaly this when he
brought one to his apartment
stuffed with books.
Daily life then becomes a series
of incidents where tripping in a
book and making the house
shake like a earthquake has just
passed becomes a normal event.

The Soldier João
Pages: 32

ISBN: 9789720728562

This is not a story about a brave
and invincible warrior who
dreams to fight for glory. The
soldier João was a simple boy
who liked everyone and wished
only to live in peace. He has
now to learn how to escape the
orders from the sergeant, the
captain, and the general who
demands him to go fight in the
war. In a time when João was all
about solidarity, happiness and
humour how much will he be
able to resist?

Glasses for Rita
Pages: 32

ISBN: 9789720728555

There are kids who resist using
glasses because they think it
will make them look silly. What
they don't realise is that glasses
make their eyes stand out and
gain new abilities. With them
the world suddenly becomes
richer, sharper and much
colourful. They are then able to
see the ant's fuss during its
work, the shirt's button which
fell in the carpet without notice,
and the invisible round hat of
the letter i.
From little kids unaware of the
secret things the world contains
they become better observers,
almost like they have earned a
superpower.

Crazy ABC
Pages: 32

ISBN: 9789720728494

Words are just as good fun
as toys can be. The crazy
letters in this book were
drawn as if they got bored
from sitting in grammars and
dictionaries, brought now to
life in the shape of animals,
making funny sounds and
trying to catch children's
attention to their infinite
possibilities and playfulness.

Children's Books, Mário de Carvalho

Magic realism meets children literature. By the Portuguese Borges.

Mário de Carvalho (1944, Lisboa) is, most probably, the best living short story writer of the Portuguese language. A graduate in Law, the author had an intense political activity before dedicating his life to fiction writing, with his departure to exile after the students fights against the dictatorship regime being one of the most important episodes in his life, as well as the return to Portugal when the democratic Carnation Revolution of 1974 occurred.

Mário de Carvalho is currently published in 11 countries with works on different genres: novel, short story, children writing and playwriting (his plays have been put on stage in Portugal and abroad).

Mário de Carvalho coordinated post-graduate courses in playwriting, as well as several workshops in fiction writing, and was a university professor for several years.

The Man who
swallowed the
Moon
Pages: 32

ISBN: 9789720709493

At the Sardinyard alley the
universal physical laws
seem a little bit more
flexible than anywhere else,
which means that the man
who by chance opened his
mouth in a slightly wider
yawn than expected got to
swallow by accident the
whole moon.

Children's Books, Hélia Correia

A global literary sensibility. With acute historical and cultural
awareness. Carries the ancient Greece tradition with her.

Correia adopts a socially committed approach in her works, usually showing great historical awareness of past world conflicts and of intricate political and cultural tensions where the poor, the refugees, and the opressed are the main characters of her stories.

In her playwriting works, Correia's love for ancient Greece stands out as a major influence. Hélia Correia has also written poetry, children literature, and was the translator of Shakespeare, Adelaide Garcia Morales and Juan Carlos Onetti.

She was awarded several times for her books, having won the Pen Clube Prize (2001), the Máxima Prize of Literature (2006), the Virgílio Ferreira Prize for her lifework (2013), The Correntes d'Escritas / Casino da Povoa Prize (2013), the Grand Prize Camilo Castelo Branco (2015), amongst others.

Mopsos, The Little
Greek: The Delfos Gold
Pages: 140

ISBN: 9789727088188

The Delfos Gold is the first volume
of a collection of books inspired in
the ancient Greece literary
tradition and it's mythological
characters, intended for young
readers and those interested in
new fictional universes which
recovers this heritage.
Mopsos, who comes from a family
of fortune tellers, decides to go on
his first trip to Tebas when he is 8
years old. Accompanied by his
blind grandfather Tiresias, the
most important of all Greek tellers,
they eventually reach the Apolo
sanctuary in Delfos where an
unpredicted adventure will
challenge young Mopsos'
maturity .

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