ARTICLE
Cubatense
Writer contracted by Australian Publisher
[Translated
from Portuguese]
Due to the popularity of the Internet, the difficulty in accessing
Brazil's literary market is no longer an obstacle to writers
who intend to divulge their works. This is the case with Cubatense
writer and cartoonist of Povo de Cubatão, Alfredo Karras,
who has signed a contract with virtual Australian publisher
Smink Works Books. The result of this 'on-line' association
will be the publication of the book Be (Ser)
- released towards the end of October and the first release
of the company.
Karras says the work is a fable with the principal theme of
spiritual evolution. "It is a story of very cruel and greedy
night who serves an equally cruel and greedy king. The character
is betrayed by the king and as a result discovers the moral
values he previously disdained," explains the author.
According to Karras, the publication of the books on the Internet
is very advantageous to authors, because it eliminates the
expenses of paper and distribution and the profits are larger,
proportionally. "In average, in Brazil, with a big publisher,
you can't get more than 5% and the payment is biannual or
annual. With Smink Works, I will receive 30% and the payment
will be quarterly," he says. Before making contact with the
Australian publisher, Karras placed an advertisement on the
site www.freelancewriting.com." On December 31, I received
an email from journalist Suzanne Male. She had created a virtual
publisher and asked me if I would like to send a synopsis.
The kind of literaure she was looking for was exactly what
I created", says the author, whose main influences are the
writers Richard Bach and Saint Exupéry.
Tributes - In an exclusive interview with Povo de Cubatão,
by mail, Suzanne said she decided to publish Be because
the book is philosophicaly inspiring. "It has some excellent
life advice and considers some of the big questions that we
all face," emphasizes the journalist. She didn't economize
on tributes to Karras, who is also the author of The Falcon
and the Wind, published in 1995. Be has obviously
come from the hand of a very thoughtful man who has spent
much time musing on life. The beautiful illustrations are
just a bonus really. I wish every illustrator was a good creative
writer!"
The electronic publisher's address is www.sminkworks.com/br.
Text and photo by Dojival Filho
This article appears courtesy of Povo
de Cubatão |
