Poços de Caldas, Brazil

Nélida Piñon, born in Rio de Janeiro, is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. She made her debut in 1961, and is now considered one of Latin America’s most renowned writers. Piñon has received numerous literary prizes such as Golfinho de Ouro, Mário de Andrade and Jabuti. Internationally, Piñon has been awarded, among others Juan Rulfo/FIL (Mexico) and Príncipe of Asturias prize for the entirety of her work (Spain). She was the first woman to be elected president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters. She has taught writing in workshops and at institutions including Columbia University, John Hopkins and the University of Miami.

Milton Hatoum, of Lebanese descent and born in Manaus, studied Literature in Paris and has worked as professor of Literature at the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) and at the University of California, Berkeley. He is written several award winning novels such as Tale of a Certain Orient, Two Brothers and Ashes of the Amazon. His works has been adapted for both cinema and television. In 2017, Hatoum received the title Officier de L’Ordre des Arts et de Lettres from the French government.

Ailton Krenak is an indigenous Krenak activist. In 1988, he founded the Union of the Indigenous Nations and in 1989 the Alliance of the People of the Forest. He is now the director of the Indigenous Culture Nucleus. Krenak teaches at the University of Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais) and is a guest researcher at the Federal University of Minar Gerais’ Catedra Calas. He is also a writer, journalist, screenwriter and presenter in television, and his books have been translated into several languages.

Nara Vidal was born in Guarani, Minas Gerais. She studied literature at the University of Rio de Janeiro and Arts and Culture at London Met University. She has published  several award winning children’s books and novels, including Sorte (Luck), which was awarded the Prêmio Oceanos in 2019, and her most recent Mapas para desaparecer. She is a columnist for Caderno Dois de Cultura, coordinates the Brazilian Translation Club and manages the online bookshop Capitolina Books. In 2021, Vidal was the guest writer at Fundação Dom Luís I literary residency in Portugal.

Paulo Scott, born in Porto Alegre, is an author, playwright, screenwriter and translator. He studied Law at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul. Scott has received awards such as Prêmio Fundação Biblioteca Nacional and been shortlisted for Prêmio Jabuti and Prêmio São Paulo de Literatura. The adaption of his short story collection Still Orangutans won Best Film Award at the Milano Film Festival in 2008. His works are published in Portugal, England, United States, Alemanha, Croácia, Mexico, China, Chile, Spain, France and Argentina.

Kátia Bandeira de Mello Gerlach, is an award winning poet, writer and visual artist. She holds LLM degrees in International Private Law from the University of London and the New York University School of Law and is a member of the New York State Bar. Her first short stories were published by the art collective Projeto Dulcinéia Catadora, part of the cartonera movement. She has been guest writer at West Point Academy and Colombia University, and in 2020 she was Special Guest writer at UMass Boston/Instituto Camões IX Portuguese Language Literature Conference. She writes for La Cause Litéraire, Curious Fiction, Revista Philos and Words without Borders. In 2018, Bandeira organized an anthology in honour of children killed by stray bullets in the poorer parts of Rio de Janeiro.

Gisele Corrêa Ferreira is the founder of Flipoços, the international Literary Festival of Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais, one of Latin America’s largest. Ferreira has over thirty years of experience in organizing cultural and scientific projects through her company, GSC Special Events. GSC organizes a wide portfolio of events in Literature, Music, Environment and Education.

Ferreira is a Public Relations graduate of the Catholic University of Campinas (SP) and awarded with a Business Management post graduate degree from the University of São Paulo (USP).

For the past decade, Ferreira has participated as curator, mediator and speaker in lusophone and Iberian festivals in Europe and Africa and collaborates in the promotion, diffusion and cultural exchanges between Portuguese speaking countries as well as Latin America nations. Ferreira is a member of the “Poços Literária” Committee, a project to support the city of Poços de Caldas application to integrate UNESCO’s international circuit of creative cities around the world. Ferreira belongs to the “Academia Poços Caldense de Letras" and "ASMILACC - Academia de Letras, Artes, Cultura e Ciências”, both academies of letters in Poços de Caldas. In 2021, Ferreira worked as a member of São Paulo’s PROAC, the Commission for the Evaluation of Cultural Projects.

Decio Zylbersztajn, a writer and professor born in São Paulo in 1953. He is an agronomist with a PhD in Economics, and he holds diplomas from the University of São Paulo, North Carolina and Berkeley. Zylbersztajn has published short story books Como são cativantes os Jardins de Berlim and Acerba Dor, and the novel O Filho de Osum. He is active in cultural movements, member of corporate boards and social organizations.