Meire Marion's Corner...: Charlie Goes to the “Bienal do Livro” in São Paulo

Every two years in São Paulo during the first week of August, the Bienal do Livro is held. This year, Charlie and I, went to the 25^th São Paulo International Book Fair. According to their website they state that:

” The 25th São Paulo International Book Fair took place from August 03 to 12, 2018 at the Anhembi Exhibition Pavilion.The event is the venue for the meeting of the main publishers, bookstores and distributors in the country, presenting their most important launches to approximately 600 thousand visitors in a total space of 75 thousand m². Besides the great offer of books, the Book Fair still has a comprehensive cultural program, mixing literature, gastronomy, culture, business and lots of fun.” [i]

My editor asked whether I wanted to relaunch Charlie the Fish there in an afternoon of book signing. I agreed to go. When the day finally arrived and I decided to arrive early so as not to get caught in traffic or any other mishap.

It was a cold but sunny Wednesday afternoon, August 8, 2018. I arrived before lunch time and with my name tag and AUTHOR written in big bold letters, at the entrance I was welcomed with a huge “Welcome and have a successful afternoon”.

My eyes welled up as I walked into this huge pavilion filled with stands and thousands of people selling and buying books. The smell was amazing. I just love the smell that books let out, especially new ones right off the press.

Since I had arrived early, I decided to walk around and check out some of the books that were on display. As I was walking people would nudge each other and whisper “look at the author”. I also looked around to see who it was and it only dawned on me after a few seconds that it was I. Yes, there were actually talking about me. The feeling that took over me cannot be explained in words. I grew proud. I was reminded at every stand that I stopped at that I was an author.

As I got to my stand, my hands started to sweat and my heart started to beat a bit faster. It was a special feeling to sit there, have my picture taken and talk to the readers as they stopped in front of my stand, asked to take a look and then asked some questions about it.

Most of the questions were many about the price and why I had written it in English.

There was a group of children from a public school visiting the stand on that day and the little ones were disappointed that the story was in English, although they did speak the language according to them because they could count to 20 and say some colors. One specific little girl really wanted a copy but could not afford to buy it because her mother had only given her 10 reais. This really touched me and I was tempted to give her one, but it would be breaking the contract that I had signed.

A couple of friends and family members attended the event, but they had already been to the official launching, nonetheless, I was grateful for their presence.

At the end of the day, I sold two books and went home feeling grateful for this new experience.

Written: December 10, 2018

[i] http://www.bienaldolivrosp.com.br/