Interview with publisher João Varella: "Brazilian book chambers and guilds underestimated Amazon: Now they're all hostages to Jeff Bezos."

João Varella, founder of the publishing house Lote 42, unfolds one of the poems by Brazilian writer Augusto de Campos , co-authored by Julio Plaza. Poemóbiles contains, in a white box, 12 object-poems about the central figure of Concrete poetry, which began in the mid-1950s in São Paulo, created from cuts, folds, and primary colors. Each of the 12 booklets hides a pop-up that comes to life when opened, with a poem that transforms and acquires new meanings depending on how the reader reads it and appropriates each poem. “Producing this book was a great technical challenge because each poem required complex, manual assembly,” he explains. The current edition not only recovers a classic of Concrete poetry, but also reaffirms the publisher's approach to exploring the book as an object, combining graphic arts, paper engineering, and contemporary design. This gem of modern Brazilian literature was present at the 49th Buenos Aires International Book Fair.

Among its nearly 60 book-works, it engages in a dialogue with stories, drawings, and writers. Another work, "I Wish I Had Stayed Longer," brings together 12 chronicles by writers and journalists who recount their experiences in cities like Buenos Aires and Tokyo. "Each of them is printed on folded sheets and stored in envelopes illustrated with watercolors by Eva Uviedo, an Argentine illustrator who has lived in Brazil since her childhood," adds Cecilia Arbolave, who also directs the publishing house.

Lote 42 is the first Latin American publishing house to receive the 2024 Victor Otto Stomps Award, which recognizes independent publishing projects in Germany for their originality, commitment, and creativity, as well as celebrating the innovative spirit of those who reinvent the book as a cultural object.

For over a decade, the publishing house, along with its newspaper stand-turned- independent bookstore, Banca Tatuí in the Vila Buarque neighborhood of São Paulo, has established itself as one of the most innovative offerings in the Brazilian publishing market, not only for its focus on graphic design but also for its critical perspective on traditional forms of production and distribution. João Varella, a trained journalist, writer, and editor, is familiar with the Brazilian publishing market and maintains active contact with independent publishers from other countries, especially Argentina. In this interview with Revista Ñ, he shares his observations on the Brazilian publishing market, sales flows, and differences with the Argentine market, highlighting the practices of distributors and the work of cooperative publishers.

–What does winning the Otto Stomps Award mean to you, and what does it represent not only for Brazil but for the entire Latin American region?

–Winning the Victor Otto Stomps Prize represents for Lote 42 a worldwide recognition of the quality and commitment of small-scale independent publishers, endorsing the promotion of the book as an object and strengthening the publisher's international reach. This award brings visibility to Latin American publishers, inspiring new alliances that go beyond simple translation. I see possibilities for co-publishing and joint publishing projects. The Victor Otto Stomps Prize ceremony takes place at the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, which adds an important symbolic element.

–How was the production process for Poemóbiles ?

Poemóbiles was co-published with the Demônio Negro publishing house , so in addition to Cecilia Arbolave , the Lote 42 team and I, we also worked alongside Vanderley Mendonça, a poet and expert in graphic production. It was a significant graphic challenge. You can't change the typography or the color, because the "concrete poets" thought about that; they used the materiality of the book as a means of expression. In other words, unlike most books, remaining faithful to the original project by Julio Plaza and Augusto de Campos was key. We studied, for example, the effect of stacking the copies on each type of paper available. Poemóbiles was created more than 50 years ago, and yet, few publishers dare to reproduce it.

–What did you observe about the audience profile at the 49th Buenos Aires International Book Fair, and how might it differ from, for example, the Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo Book Biennials?

The Buenos Aires Fair draws a massive and diverse audience—families, book professionals, and readers of all ages—attracted by its extensive cultural programming and literary tradition. The Rio and São Paulo Biennials are increasingly geared toward a younger audience, increasingly incorporating "Instagrammable experiences" and all sorts of fairground attractions. At Rio 2025, the big new development will be a Ferris wheel within the event. Spectacle and visual interaction are prioritized over book displays.

–How does the Argentine market look from the perspective of small Brazilian publishers? Is it a potential buyer and consumer compared to Brazil and other experiences they have in the region?

Small Brazilian publishing houses see the Argentine market as a culturally related destination and a potential buyer, thanks to its linguistic proximity. In addition to books by Cecilia Arbolave ​​herself, we publish books by María Luque ( The Painter's Hand ) and Kioskerman ( Gates of Eden ). Gabriela Cabezón Cámara was published by Moinhos publishing house, Sara Gallardo by Relicário , etc. The Brazilian market is characterized by a massive openness to translations—most bestseller lists are dominated by international works. Brazilian authors rarely appear in publishing houses in Argentina or anywhere else in the world. We export pulp, we import content. It's a legacy of our colonization, still very present in our culture.

–Looking at the Brazilian publishing market, according to reports from Nielsen and the Brazilian Book Chamber, publishers recorded a 0.8% decline in sales, while the sector also saw an 8% reduction in the number of copies sold. Based on your experience as a publisher, what do you attribute this decline to?

–What we observe in monetary terms is that studies divide Brazilian sector sales into two: market and government—understood as federal, state, or municipal. While the market sector shows a turnover of more than R$4 billion in the book market, the government, through its purchases for educational and social programs, accounts for, as it were, a third, about R$2.2 billion. And in terms of copies, it's very important to note that while market turnover was 172 million copies, the government's circulation was 155 million. What's happening? The government buys the same number of copies, but pays with a significant discount for the quantities purchased.

–And in terms of the production of new titles, what is being observed?

–For books known as trade books, there is a 3.5% increase in the number of titles compared to 2022 and 2023, a total of 21,607 titles. However, there is a decrease in the number of copies produced (-5% between 2023 and 2022). What does this mean in practical terms? The average print run of books in Brazil is falling. The number of titles is increasing, while the number of copies is decreasing: there is a decrease in the average print run. This is due to a new publishing context, primarily driven by digital printing.

On the other hand, in terms of revenue, due to inflation, we have been observing a drop of approximately 6.8% in bookstore sales. Therefore, what we can conclude is that the growth of the Brazilian book market is being sustained thanks to sales made to various governments for educational, training, and development purposes—if we relied on sales in bookstores or events, we would be seeing numbers worthy of a severe crisis. Finally, if we look at total sales, when market and government are combined, a slight increase of 0.4% is observed between 2022 and 2023. New reports, updated for 2024, are expected to be released in May.

–So there's a kind of carelessness and even risk in the Brazilian publishing market? What do you imagine will happen in the coming years?

–There's a fundamental element to consider, and that's how the Brazilian book market behaves, which doesn't have a book protection law like Argentina does. Law 25,542 for the Defense of Bookselling establishes a single price for books, without any differences. What we call the cover price in Brazil, and what we call the retail price here in Argentina. This is fantastic because a bookstore can't sell a title for less. There's a single price, something that doesn't work that way in Brazil. The Brazilian book chambers and guilds underestimated Amazon's arrival. Now they're all hostages to Jeff Bezos; if he decides to stop selling more books, he'll kill dozens of Brazilian publishing houses the next day.

–What criteria do bookstores in Brazil use to set prices? How does it work without a law?

In Brazil, there is no law setting the price of books: the "cover price" is a publishing convention, not a legal obligation. This lack of regulation leads to a "discount war," where large chains and online platforms apply unviable discounts to small businesses, eroding margins and causing the closure of independent outlets. To do this, publishers begin to consider the discounts of larger retailers when deciding the RRP. The result is more expensive books for everyone. In response to this diffuse context, many publishers are developing direct sales channels and their own commercial structures to support their catalogs—after sales to online bookstores, physical bookstores, and distributors, direct sales are now the most important sales channel for a publisher.

–According to reports, there's been an increase in book sales in Brazil through Amazon, the main sales channel. What's happening then with brick-and-mortar bookstores and publishers?

–Yes, in fact, 55% of book consumers in Brazil prefer to buy books online rather than in physical bookstores. But something curious stands out. Those interviewed, book consumers, stated in a survey that if books cost the same online as in virtual bookstores, they would prefer to go to physical bookstores. So, this indicates that people in Brazil buy books online because they're cheaper, because there's no fixed price rule. And so Amazon has brought the Brazilian publishing market to its knees.

–Is there a bill in Brazil regarding book prices? To protect and regulate them?

–There's a bill introduced by former senator Fátima Bezerra, now governor of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, that has been pending in Brazil for over ten years. I find it very interesting to compare Argentina and Brazil, because while Argentina has the Law for the Defense of Bookselling, Brazil is trying to move forward with its own legislation. The so-called Brazilian "Book Law," from 2003, seeks to establish what is considered a book in the eyes of the State: a publication with an ISBN, with a catalog entry. It's a kind of official definition accompanied by a series of intentions—almost like a letter of good intentions—which includes, for example, the promise that the government will encourage reading. In short, in Brazil, a bill on books hasn't made progress for over a decade, in contrast to the momentum enjoyed by the Law for the Defense of Bookselling in Argentina.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian proposal seeks to formally define what a book is for the State, but remains, for now, a series of intentions. Data show a decline in the share of traditional bookstores, which fell from 30.3% to 27.1% in just one year, while Amazon continues to expand its dominance and already doubles the volume of bookstores. Thus, Brazil is likely headed toward becoming a country without bookstores. Amazon is eroding the Brazilian market. This is an important context to keep in mind when observing the publishing market in Brazil. What's more, in Brazil, Amazon also functions as a giant window: readers think they're buying from Amazon, but in reality, they're doing so through third parties, such as bookstores or distributors who appear very discreetly on the product listing.

–In this context of sustained decline, how do you envision viable strategies for independent bookstores in Brazil?

–In a “Wild West” scenario, with a disorganized ecosystem, the most viable strategies involve strengthening the connection with readers. I spoke with Ezequiel Martínez, CEO of the El Libro Foundation, about this challenge, and he was emphatic: the key is taking care of readers.

–What differences do you see in the bookstore landscape in Buenos Aires, especially in terms of the movements and presence of distributors?

–Something very notable in Buenos Aires is the strong growth of distributors, something clearly perceived at this fair. I think this is due, in large part, to the fact that distributors pay over time. In a country with annual inflation of over 55%, if you pay within 100 or 120 days, you already obtain a profit margin just from the inflationary effect. Dividing that annual inflation by 12, you get a monthly profit of 4 or 5%, so paying within 90 days implies a “profit” of around 12%. There are many new distributors emerging, and I think they benefit from this context: there are many bookstores that need to be supplied, and the logic of deferred payments in a high-inflation scenario ends up favoring transactions. In contrast, in Brazil, if you pay within 90 days, the inflationary profit is barely 1%. To obtain 16%, you only have to make risky investments.

–Regarding the work of small publishers, what aspects of Argentine publishers' cooperative approach do you plan to bring to the Rio de Janeiro Biennial as a novelty for the Brazilian market?

–I hope we do something unprecedented at the Rio Biennial. Rio has become the world's book capital, right? It has. We're going to set up a collective stand with 20 publishers, something that's very common for you. In Argentina, this is the most usual; you do it naturally. In Brazil, it's not so common. So, we're going to have a 200-square-meter stand with 20 independent publishers, for the first time at the Rio Biennial. And I'm going to bring many of the things I'm seeing in Buenos Aires to the group in Brazil. You protest as if it were a party, and you celebrate as if it were a protest, right? It's impressive how easy it is to join together. That's the result I see. And it's very good that it's happening, and I'm bringing many of the things I heard here to the Rio Biennial and to my publishing life. I think the situation of bookstores and libraries here, where they buy, where they have specific hours at the event and professional conferences, is an incentive we should bring to Brazil.