In an initiative to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the publication of The Alchemist, Correios, the national postal service in Brazil, has launched a stamp dedicated to the novel. It can be purchased internationally here.
The Alchemist is the book pick in the movie Book Club 2: The Next Chapter, with Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen. It will be in theatres in the US in May 2023. Watch the movie trailer here.
The Alchemist appears in the drama television series Bel-Air, which premiered on Peacock in the United States. It is an updated dramatic reinvention of the 1990s TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air starring Will Smith. In Bel-Air, uncle Phil, played by Adrian Holmes, hands a copy of The Alchemist, which changed his life, to his nephew Will, played by Jabari Banks, and both characters discuss what the book is about in several episodes.
The booming Chinese TV series A Romance of the Little Forest directed by Cai Cong has The Alchemist as a leading book, as it is read by its main character, played by Vin Zhang. The last six digits of the ISBN of the Chinese edition (217054) is the code used to open not only a door but also the protagonists’ hearts. It became a hit in China. Watch the scene here.
HarperCollins Español, an imprint of HarperCollins, is launching the new collection of Paulo Coelho’s novels in Spanish with covers illustrated by Jim Tierney.
Paulo Coelho contributed with an interview to Captains, a docuseries that follows six football captains and their teams–Gabon, Croatia, Brazil, Lebanon, Vanuatu, and Jamaica–to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He appears in episodes 2, 5 and 8. Available on Netflix and on FIFA’s website for free.
Based on Paulo Coelho’s novel with illustrations by the team DreamMaker No.9 led by illustrator Liu Xiaoying. The Chinese publishing house Thinkingdom will launch the first comic adaptation of the novel on November 11th, which is consistent with a comic book’s narrative style and rhythm to amuse comic book readers. Liu Xiaoying has won numerous international prizes, among them awards at the 3×3 International Illustration Awards and the Hiii Illustration International Competition.
One of the most famous libraries in Seoul, Korea, Namsan Public Library, turns 100 this year. To commemorate this landmark, they are hosting a milestone event in which a selection of fragments from the 100 best books according to their readers, including The Alchemist, will be read to Seoul citizens.
Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan athlete who won the Berlin Marathon and broke his own world record at 2:01:09, is a Paulo Coelho fan, as we can see from the inspirational quote written by the author hanging on the wall of his room at the training camp in Kaptagat, “If you want to be successful, respect one rule: Never lie to yourself.” Paulo dedicated the first edition of The Alchemist in Kiswahili, Mualkemia, to Eliud Kipchoge. Check out this video to see it: https://twitter.com/paulocoelho/status/1575593072771051525?t=4Ekzt25BrXpn4CrEXzkHmA&s=19
Now in its fifth edition, Paulo Coelho participates in this project by designing his own Menina, which will be displayed on a Madrid street between November 1st and December 15th 2022. Once its design is ready, we will share it on this section of our website. https://meninasmadridgallery.com/