An ongoing crisis in the Brazilian publishing market "that combined steady declines in the price of books with rising inflation" is raising concerns about the future of the book trade in the country, the Guardian reported. Book chain Saraiva, which had announced the closure of 20 stores in October, said late last month that it was filing for bankruptcy protection. Rival chain Cultura has also filed a reorganization plan to avoid bankruptcy. Brazil is in the midst of its worst recession in decades, and the recent election of far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro as the country's next president is "sending ripples of fear through the country's cultural community."
"These are dark days for the book in Brazil," Luiz Schwarcz, co-founder of Companhia das Letras (which was recently acquired by Penguin Random House), wrote in a "love letter to books," calling on other publishers, booksellers and authors to join him in "the search for creative and idealistic solutions.... For those of you who, like me, nurture a love of books as your very reason for being, I ask you to spread this call, urge others to buy books this holiday season; books by your favorite authors and by new authors you've been meaning to explore. Buy them at those bookstores that are heroically riding this crisis out, honoring their commitments, but also at those that have fallen on hard times, and who need our help to muddle through. Most of all, promote books by the smaller publishing houses that need to sell today to continue to exist tomorrow."
Noting that the crisis had had an enormous impact on writers' lives, Brazilian author Paolo Scott told the Guardian: "Their book releases are being postponed, their book sales are not being passed on to them, publishers have been much more cautious about what they are going to publish.... Small publishers and small bookstores continue to emerge. Captained by young idealists, they renew the close bond between those who offer great readings and those who are always passionate about reading. The future of the book in Brazil will depend very much on those who have never ceased to regard reading as a passion. The crisis is there to teach, some have already learned, others, at a very high price, will still learn."
And Other Stories publisher Stefan Tobler, who is part Brazilian, commented: "I follow what's going on in Brazil with a lot of sadness these days. It's been all the harder, as five years ago there was a sense that Brazil had turned a corner. Millions of people were leaving poverty behind. Brazilian writers had suddenly found there was a future in a full-time writing career. But though times are terribly hard right now in Brazil there's such creativity... that I'm hopeful. The way Brazilians have embraced Luiz Schwarcz's love letter to books shows a collective will to turn a corner, again."