The traditional Christmas Tale for the year 2006 has been published in 117 newspapers or magazines worldwide.
December 2006

As a novelty, this year more than 85,000 readers will receive in their mailbox Paulo Coelho's Christmas tale. The tale will be sent out between the 22nd and 25th of December, 2006. With this, the author wishes to wish a Merry Christmas to his readers, to thank them for their constant support, and to reinforce his presence in the Internet.

The tale is available in English, Spanish, Portugues and French
 

Paulo Coelho receives the Las Pergolas Prize 2006, which recognizes the author's path and sales in Mexican bookstores. The prize has been awarded to him by the Association of Mexican booksellers, the ALMAC, and was announced on November 27th at the Guadalajara Book Fair.
November 27^th, 2006

 On November 27 the Association of Mexican Booksellers (ALMAC) presented during the International Book Fair the Las Pergolas Prize and announced Paulo Coelho as the unquestionable winner of 2006. This prize will be awarded annually starting this year to writers from any nationality who have been published in Spanish, and preferably of Latin American origin. They will be chosen according to their literary path and sales level in Mexican bookstores.

Read more: Available in English and Spanish
 

Paulo Coelho meets Russian President Vladimir Putin
June 1^st, 2006

Paulo Coelho met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the leader's residence outside Moscow on June 1^st after a his two-week tour around Russia. The Russian leader said his writing was more than just understandable for readers in his country.

Read more: Available in English and Spanish
 

Paulo Coelho arrived to Vladivostok on May 31st, after travelling 9,288 kilometres on the Trans-Siberian train
May 31^st, 2006

Paulo Coelho arrived to Vladivostok on May 31^st, after travelling 9,288 kilometres on the Trans-Siberian train, a long voyage that began last May 15^th in Moscow. The author, who was greeted by a crowd of admirers when he stepped off the train, dedicated his trip to Russian dissident Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Nobel Literature Prize laureate in 1970, and to his acclaimed work The Gulag Archipielago. "Thanks to his talent, Solzhenitsyn was able to show the world the horrors and misfortunes in the lives of the prisoners of Soviet work camps", declared Coelho, who at the same time noted that this journey coincided with the anniversary of his release from prison in 1974 during Brazil's military dictatorship.

Read more: Available in English and Spanish.
 

Paulo Coelho has been received by Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov during his second visit to Bulgaria
May 9^th, 2006

Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov welcomed world-renowned author Paulo Coelho, who arrived Monday on his second visit to Bulgaria. "I truly hope that you will continue delighting us with you books", Parvanov told to his guest, who presented him with a copy of his book "The Alchemist."

"This is a book about the road each person must walk to reach himself," the president said after receiving the present. Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov presented Coelho with a book about Bulgarian icons, and a golden rhyton.
 

I Premio Álava en el Corazón
April 4^th, 2006

Paulo Coelho received the Award "I Premio Álava en el Corazón" by the local council of Alava's government, in appreciation for naming the city in his book "The Zahir", and this way help promoting their city.

Kiklop Literary Award

The Zahir by Paulo Coelho has ben awarded in Croatia the Kiklop Literary Award in the category "Hit of the Year", which reflects the opinion of readers, libraries and bookshops all over the country. VBZ, Coelho's publishing house in Croatia, won in the category "Editor of the year".
 

Chocolate Chaud du Bristol

Paulo Coelho has now his own drink: chocolate chaud with orange. It is a special homage payed to him by the Hotel Le Bristol's bar in Paris, which is a setting for some of the passages of his most recent novel The Zahir.

835,000 copies sold of the “Biblioteca Paulo Coelho” in Argentina, through newspaper La Nación
February 3^rd, 2006

In Argentina, the new collection “Biblioteca Paulo Coelho” published weekly through the newspaper La Nación, has sold 835,000 copies. The first issue sold-out at news-stands in just three hours. It has been the most important literary event in Argentina in many years.