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As much as it appeared to be a typically corrupt
Brazilian approach it was not in any way, and she
was a delightful woman with a distinguished
husband and as things turned out a very good
infantile literature writer. I promised her to have her
work reviewed when I returned to São Paulo as I
had done with all the other authors and if she was
selected, I would see to it that her name and
position were disguised.
On my return to Sao Paulo with this pile of
manuscripts, that I could not read, I was faced with
the task of shortlisting suitable stories for the
project. The leading light in the Brazilian system of
infantile literature was a woman called Nellie
Coelho . By that time, she was at the end of her
career but still working inside the white ivory tower
of USP: the University of São Paulo. She was very
well-known in her field and when I contacted her,
she was very negative because she had so much
work and speaking engagements. After our initial
meeting and the fee, I offered for her to read the
83 manuscripts and shortlist suitable candidates
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