Luciany Aparecida

(Brazil, 1982)

She was born in Bahia, in Vale do Jiquiriçá. She is a professor, researcher, writer of novels, short stories, dramatizations and poems, as well as a doctor of literature from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB). In the field of literary criticism, the author's studies deal with literary theory, contemporary literature, the interface between history, memory, ancestry, afro-diaspora, immigration, nation and performances.
She is the author of Mata Doce, winning novel of the São Paulo Literature Prize 2024, finalist of the Jabuti Prize and semifinalist of the Oceans Prize 2024. She also wrote Macala and Joanna Mina. She has published short stories and novellas under the pseudonym Ruth Ducaso.

Other activities involving the participant:

São Paulo Prize for Literature
Latin America Viva

Vitor Martins

(Brazil, 1991)

Writer and translator. He is the author of the book Here the Whole Time (2017), whose rights have been sold to several countries, such as the United States, Russia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Conspiração Filmes will soon publish an audiovisual adaptation of this book in cinema. He also wrote Um milhão de finais felizes (2018) and Se home 8 falasse (2021), finalist of the 2022 Jabuti Prize. 
He believes that diversity in young adult literature is a powerful weapon, and his main goal as a writer is to tell stories about people who have never been able to see themselves reflected in a book. His most recent book, Mais ou menos 9 horas (2024), addresses the metaphorical and literal journey of a protagonist forced to deal with grief, the past and his own feelings.

Other activities involving the participant:

Connecting Talents: Collaborative Experiences in Illustrated Books

Valéria Valls

I hold a PhD and a master's degree in Communication Sciences, as well as a bachelor's degree in Library and Information Science from the School of Communications and Arts at the University of São Paulo (ECA/USP). My academic training is complemented by university extension studies in teaching from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), and with specializations in educational technology, hybrid teaching, and pedagogical innovation from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC).
I currently hold the presidency of the Board of Directors of SP Leituras - Paulista Association of Libraries and Reading.

Other activities involving the participant:

São Paulo Prize for Literature

Monique Malcher

(Brazil, 1988)

Monique Malcher is a writer, journalist and visual artist, born in Santarém, west of Pará. She has a master's degree in anthropology and an interdisciplinary doctorate in human sciences, with a specialization in gender studies. Her first book, Flor de gume (Editorial Moinhos), won the 2021 Jabuti Prize for Literature in the short story category. 

She is the second woman from the north of Brazil to win a Jabuti Prize for literature. Flor de gume will also be published soon under the title Flor de filo by the Fondo de Cultura Económica, in Mexico. His first novel, Degola (2025), will be published by the Companhia das Letras.

Other activities involving the participant:

Annual International Storytellers Conference

Eliane Marques

(Brazil, 1970)

Eliane Marques, born on the border between Brazil and Uruguay, is a novelist, poet, translator and psychoanalyst. She has published Louças de familia, her first novel (Autêntica Contemporânea), São Paulo Literature Prize 2023; or poço das marianas (2022 Minuano Prize for Literature); and se alguém o pano  (Açorians Prize for Literature 2016), Relicário, and the translations Pregão de Marimorena and Cabeças de Ifé (2022 AGES Award).  In March 2025 she released the poetry book Sílex by the Editorial Fósforo - Círculo de Poemas. She is currently working on her new novel, Guanxuma, to be released in 2026 by the publishing house Autêntica Contemporânea. For many years he coordinated the Publishing house Escola de Poesia Amefricana and the Orisun Oro label, aimed at the translation and publication of books by Amefrican poets. She has poems published in American magazines The Common (No. 20) and Prairie Schooner (volume 95), in the Cuban magazine Casa de las Américas and in the Brazilian magazines Cult and Piauí, among others. She was a columnist for the newspaper Zero Hora, an important information vehicle of the south of Brazil. She graduated in pedagogy and law and holds a master's degree in public law, specializing in “Constitution, Politics and Economics”, in addition to working as an External Control Auditor of the Court of Auditors of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. 

Other activities involving the participant:

São Paulo Prize for Literature
The Poetry Room

Micheliny Verunschk

Nació en 1972 en Recife, en el estado brasileño de Pernambuco. Escritora e historiadora, es autora de libros de cuentos, poesía y novelas, entre ellos Nossa Teresa: vida e morte de uma santa suicida (Patuá, 2014), ganador del Premio São Paulo de Literatura; O som do rugido da onça (Companhia das Letras, 2021; trad.:  El sonido del rugido de la onza, Elefanta, 2025), que obtuvo el Premio Jabuti a la mejor novela literaria y el tercer lugar en el Premio Oceanos; Caminhando com os mortos (Companhia das Letras, 2023), ganador del Premio Oceanos; y Depois do trovão (Companhia das Letras, 2025).

Brenda Ríos

 Writer. She teaches creative writing workshops in different spaces of the country. 
She is a member of the National System of Creators 2024-2027. 
Among her most recent books is Ensayo 4, compilation and prologue, Direction of Literature, UNAM, 2024 (dissemination). She has been published in Brazil, Colombia, Spain. Cubo de Rubik (Camelot America, 2018) and Olvidar a nadie (Ediciones Periféricas, 2022) together with Mercedes Álvarez, are her chronicle books. Her essay books: Hombres de verdad and Raras ensayos sobre el amor, lo femenino, la voluntad creadora, were included in various lists of the best books in their respective years of appearance in different national media. She was ed for the writing residency at Casa Estudio Cien Años de Soledad, in 2023.

Other activities involving the participant:

The Poetry Room
Southern literature
The other side of the essay