Published books:
- 1974 O Manifesto de Krig-há The Manifest of Krig-ha
- 1974 Teatro da Educação Theater For Education
- 1982 Arquivos do Inferno Hell Archives
- 1986 O Manual Prático do Vampirismo Practical Manual of Vampirism
- 1988 O Diário de Um Mago The Pilgrimage
- 1988 O Alquimista The Alchemist
- 1990 Brida Brida
- 1991 O Dom Supremo The Greatest Gift
- 1992 As Valkírias The Valkyries
- 1994 Maktub Maktub
- Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorei By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
- 1996 O Monte Cinco The Fifth Mountain
- 1997 Letras do amor de um profeta Love Letters from a Prophet
- Manual do guerreiro da luz Manual of the Warrior of Light
- 1998 Veronika decide morrer Veronika Decides to Die
- Palavras essenciais Essential Words
- 2000 O Demônio e a srta Prym The Devil and Miss Prym
- 2001 Histórias para pais, filhos e netos Fathers, Sons and Grandsons
- 2003 Onze Minutos Eleven Minutes
- 2004 E no sétimo dia And on the Seventh Day (collection of the novels By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, Veronika Decides to Die and The Deviland Miss Prym)
- O Gênio e as Rosas The Genie and the Roses
- Viagens Journeys
- 2005 O Zahir The Zahir
- Caminhos Recolhidos Revived Paths
- 2006 Ser como um rio que flui Like the Flowing River
- A bruxa de Portobello The Witch of Portobello
- 2007 Vida: Citações selecionadas Life: Selected Quotations
- 2008 O Vencedor está Só The Winner Stands Alone
- 2010 O Aleph Aleph
- 2012 Manuscrito Encontrado em Accra Manuscript Found in Accra
- 2014 Adultério Adultery
Pilgrimage
After drifting among several professions, Coelho changed his life's course while on a visit to Spain in 1986 at the age of 36. Coelho walked more than 500 miles along the Road to Santiago de Compostela, a site of Catholic pilgrimage. The walk and the spiritual awakening he experienced en route inspired him to write The Pilgrimage, an autobiographical account of the trek, in his native Portuguese. He quit his other jobs and devoted himself full-time to the craft of writing.
The Alchemist
In 1987, Coelho wrote a new book, The Alchemist, over the course of one two-week spurt of creativity. The allegorical novel was about an Andalusian shepherd boy who follows a mystical trek in which he learns to speak the "Language of the World" and thus receives his heart's desire. The book attracted little attention at first, until a French-language translation suddenly leapt onto bestseller lists in France in the early 1990s. New translations followed, and soon The Alchemist became a worldwide phenomenon. The book has sold, by Coelho's count, roughly 35 million copies, and is now the most translated book in the world by any living author.
Since the publication of The Alchemist, Coelho has produced a new book at a rate of about one every two years. In a somewhat unusual scheduling ritual, he allows himself to begin the writing process for a new book only after he has found a white feather in the January of an odd year. As odd as that may sound, it seems to be working. His 26 books have sold more than 65 million copies in at least 59 languages.
Since the publication of The Alchemist, Coelho has produced a new book at a rate of about one every two years. In a somewhat unusual scheduling ritual, he allows himself to begin the writing process for a new book only after he has found a white feather in the January of an odd year. As odd as that may sound, it seems to be working. His 26 books have sold more than 65 million copies in at least 59 languages.