Winner of the Jabuti Prize, Raphael Montes didn’t like reading and discovered his passion in literature through suspense | Mato Grosso do Sul

“Reading is fun, reading is pleasure, it is entertainment. In addition to entertainment, it is much more”, said Rio de Janeiro writer Raphael Montes in an interview with g1, on the afternoon of this Friday (26), in Campo Grande. The author will speak during the Youth Festival event this weekend.

Raphael was the winner of the Jabuti Prize in 2020, and is the writer of the work “Bom Dia, Verônica”, which has had more than 100 thousand copies sold since its publication in 2016. The book was adapted into a streaming series, with three seasons.

For the first time in Mato Grosso do Sul, before arriving in Campo Grande, Raphael took the opportunity to get to know the rivers and lands of Bonito. The writer stated that they were incredible days and that the region is “beautiful”.

In Campo Grande, Raphael arrived a few hours ago and is already looking forward to the festival. In a chat with g1, the writer recalled when he received the invitation to speak in the capital. The confirmation was almost instantaneous.

“I just arrived to participate in the event and I’m very excited and anxious because since I announced that I was coming here, I received a lot of messages on Instagram from readers here saying they were excited for tonight”, says the author.

Raphael states that the conversation with young people will be surrounded by suspense, crimes and mysteries in literature and audiovisual, between readers and writers who wish to exchange experiences.

To bring literature to young people, Raphael says the challenge is enormous. “I can say, because when I was young, I didn’t like reading. I come from a home where there were no books, my parents didn’t like and didn’t like reading. I thought reading was a bit boring”, recalls the author.

Raphael mentions that when he started reading crime thriller books, such as Agatha Christie, Árthur Conan Doyle, Pedro Bandeira’s Droga da Obediência, and youth mystery books, he became interested in the world of literature.

“Reading can be as cool, and has to be as cool, as playing video games, playing football, playing with dolls, watching series, and gossiping”, explains the writer.

Having enjoyed reading, he also started writing., tell stories so that people have fun, and spend the night reading. The writer also said that he maintains contact with readers through social media, through messages from people who spend the night turning over the pages of his works.

“We unfortunately have a habit of putting literature on a pedestal, as if literature were for a few, when good literature is for many”, says the writer.

For those who want to start writing a book, the writer gives a tip: “I started several books and couldn’t finish them. When I finally managed to finish a book, for me the biggest tip for finishing a book is to focus on making this one book. The tip is to search with a lot of patience”, points out Raphael.

Raphael Montes, 33 years old, is a Brazilian writer and screenwriterborn in the capital of Rio de Janeiro on September 22, 1990. Winner of the Jabuti Award for Entertainment Romancethe author writes books in the crime thriller and romance genres.

Between genres of suspense novels and mysteries, Raphael Montes wrote works such as Dinner Secreto, Dias Perfeitos, Bom Dia Verônica, Uma Família Feliz, Suicidas and among others.

The book “Dias Perfeitos”, a novel published in 2014, has been translated in 25 countries and is being rewritten to become a series on Globoplay, in 2025.

In schools, the novel “The Deadly Magic” wins over young people: “a young man said this…ah, I don’t like reading, but your book was the first one I read because I liked it”.

Suspense on the pages and on the screens, the talk with Raphael Montes will be, this Friday (26), at Teatro Glauce Rocha, in Campo Grande. The event will start at 7:30 pm and the theater box office will open at 5:30 pm.

*Intern under the supervision of José Câmara.