Ten years ago, the Brazilian YA market consisted mainly of translated titles and, with only a few exceptions, was dominated by American and British writers. But Brazilian publishers have become eager to foster more careers and publish more Brazilian YA authors, transforming the market from one focused primarily on buying rights to one now looking to sell rights abroad—which is why there’s so much Brazilian YA on offer here in Bologna.

The reason for this change is simple: with the appetite for YA growing, Brazilian readers want to see themselves represented in the books and, as a consequence, are demanding more titles by homegrown authors. The Brazilian YA audience treats their favorite authors like rock stars, and top writers have huge followings. When YA bestseller Cassandra Clare’s readers arrived at the 2014 Bienal do Livro, Brazil’s annual book fair, fans broke the glass door of the venue, desperate to get spots in her signing line.

The massive crowds of YA readers can be credited as the force behind the recent rapid rise of book festivals in Brazil. In 2017, Diana Passy of the publishing house Companhia das Letras, PRH’s arm in Brazil, developed Flipop (Pop Literature Festival). Inspired by Yallfest and LeakyCon, among others, she brought together the YA community and put readers in direct contact with Brazilian and international YA authors. Authors featured at the event have included Alwyn Hamilton, Morgan Rhodes, Benjamin Alire Saénz, and Jeff Zentner, as well as book-

tubers and other publishing professionals. The event has a format more like a convention than a traditional bookselling event, and readers can watch and interact with panel discussions.

The 2018 Flipop was held prior to the annual Bienal do Livro, which itself alternates between São Paulo and Rio de Janiero; Flipop’s proximity to this annual professional fair strengthened the bond between readers and authors and showcased the strength of the market for Brazilian authors.

Companhia das Letras’s bestselling author, Iris Figueiredo, a 26-year-old, was at the event. During the 10 days of the show, she was on the floor talking with readers about Céu sem estrelas (Starless sky), the book she released at Flipop. Another Brazilian YA author, Roberta Spindler, was among Companhia’s top 10 bestsellers last year. Other top Brazilian publishers reported similar results: Globo Livros, Grupo Record, and V&R all had Brazilian YA authors on their 2018 bestseller lists.

These new Brazilian stars emerged from a variety of different platforms—including blogs, Wattpad, and self-publishing—and have benefited from the evolution of the Brazilian market with the creation of new editorial literary agencies and imprints dedicated to YA.

Brazilians are seeing that they can have a much closer relationship with authors who live and write in their reality. Far from rejecting international titles, Brazilians readers are seeing that all these books can coexist on their shelves as equals. With high-quality writing and up-to-date themes that relate to international conversations on diversity, Brazilian YA titles are not only gathering attention in our market but are ready to go global.