Luiz Ruffato

Luiz Fernando Ruffato de Souza (Cataguases, Brazil, February 1961) is a contemporary Brazilian writer. An alumnus of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Ruffato worked as a journalist in São Paulo and published several fiction books, including ''História dos Remorsos e Rancores'' (1998) and ''Eles Eram Muitos Cavalos'' (''They were Many Horses'') (2001). The latter garnered the APCA literary prize.

Born into an immigrant and working-class family in Cataguazes, Luiz Ruffato had an early inclination toward literature. Nonetheless, following the request of his mother – who was a Portuguese washerwoman, and his father, who was an Italian popcorn salesman – Ruffato had an apprenticeship as a salesman in Cataguases before moving to Juiz de Fora and studying journalism. In Juiz de Fora, Ruffato worked as a mechanic during the day and studied journalism during the night. His working class and immigrant inheritance are reflected in his work. His cycle of five novels, entitled "Inferno Provisório" (Temporary Hell), portrays the story of Brazilian industrialization from the 1950s on. Once he graduated as a journalist, Ruffato moved to São Paulo to work in his new profession. São Paulo also became the stage, along with Minas Gerais, for Ruffato's short stories and novels. "Eles Eram Muitos Cavalos," tells, in 69 fragments, the daily life and contradictions of São Paulo, Brazil's biggest metropolis.

Ruffato is also one of the founders of the Church of the Book as Transformation (Igreja do Livro Transformador), a secular movement that encourages reading in Brazil. The movement believes that books can change people's lives in subtle and radical ways.

In 2012 Luiz Ruffato was distinguished as a Brazilian Writer in Residence at the Center for Latin American Studies at UC Berkeley. In 2013, his novel "Domingos Sem Deus" was awarded the Casa de las Américas Prize. Provided by Wikipedia