Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 49

The importance of harnessing the narrative power of new media cannot be
underestimated for the future of literature in Brazil. Readers and writers
in this country are challenged by the cost of publishing, as printed books
are priced as luxury items. A study released by Brazil’s Instituto Pró-Livro
(����) estimates that while �� percent of the country’s ��� million people
have never bought a book, �� percent do not read. Arguably, this second
statistic ignores the concurrent fact that cellphones in Brazil number over
��� million (Teleco ����). This creative instrument provides access to content
and the power to produce it in the hands of so many.
FLUP has created an innovative model able to be adapted and implemented
in other countries. With our increasingly metropolitan-focused, socially
divided world, this model could offer a powerful inclusive force.
References
(����). Retratos de Literatura (Reading Profiles Study).
(����). Teleco: Inteligência em Telecomunicações (Teleco: Intelligence in
Telecommunications).
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