Jabuti, Oceanos finalists and November releases: what to read now

This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).

November arrives with Brazil’s literary award season in full swing and a wave of releases for all tastes. The Jabuti Prize has already announced its winners, the Oceanos Prize has released its finalists, and bookstores are stocking everything from regionalist novels to fantasy sagas. Below, what is in the spotlight this week, including some titles also getting film and streaming adaptations.

The Jabuti Prize winners

The winners of the 68th Jabuti Prize were announced on October 27 at a ceremony organized by the Brazilian Book Chamber (Câmara Brasileira do Livro) at Sala São Paulo, with 23 categories, according to the magazine Quatro Cinco Um.

Trincheira tropical: a Segunda Guerra Mundial no Rio, by Ruy Castro (Companhia das Letras). The book, which revisits the war years in Rio de Janeiro, was named Book of the Year and also won in the Biography and Reportage categories. According to the newspaper Correio Braziliense, it is the second consecutive year the author, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (Academia Brasileira de Letras), has taken the top prize.

Meridiana, by Eliana Alves Cruz. The winner in Literary Novel, it deals with identity, memory and Black ancestry, focusing on the marks left by racism, according to Correio Braziliense. Competing titles included Milton Hatoum’s Dança de enganos and Itamar Vieira Junior’s Coração sem medo, according to the magazine Exame.

Pitangas verdes, by Mariana Lobato Botter (Labrador). It won in the Debut Author – Novel category, which, according to Exame, this year began competing for Book of the Year.

História a que ninguém deu nome, by Juliana Cajives (Mormaço Editorial). It won in the Debut Author – Poetry category, reported the news channel CNN Brasil.

Massaranduba, by Abáz (Senac Rio). It took the Short Story category.

Boris e Marina, by Alberto Martins. Also among the winners cited by Correio Braziliense, it collects letters exchanged by the Russian writers Boris Pasternak and Marina Tsvetaeva and the Austrian Rainer Maria Rilke.

Abdias, intérprete do Brasil: textos sobre raça e cultura brasileira de 1940 a 1990, edited by Tulio Custódio (Todavia). The anthology, which spans five decades of reflection on race and culture in the country, won in the Arts category.

Não se esqueça!, by Mario Sergio Cortella (Record). A collection of 50 memos on management and leadership, it won in the Business category.

In the running for the Oceanos Prize

The Oceanos Prize announced its 12 finalists at the end of October, chosen from 3,086 submitted books. The winners will be revealed on December 11 at Itaú Cultural in São Paulo, and each receives R$ 150 thousand, according to the website Painel Político.

Caderno de ossos, by Julia Codo (Companhia das Letras). A finalist in Prose, it marks the author’s debut in the novel form and weaves family memory together with Brazilian history, according to the website PublishNews.

Depois do trovão, by Micheliny Verunschk (Companhia das Letras). Also a finalist in Prose. The author took part in the announcement event in a debate on literature as a way of excavating the country’s memory and history, reported the newspaper Rascunho.

O jardim das oliveiras, by Adélia Prado (Record). The poet from Minas Gerais, who is 90 years old, is among the finalists in Poetry, highlighted the newspaper O Tempo.

Antes de dar nomes ao mundo, by Adriana Lisboa (Relicário), Diáspora não é lar, by Nina Rizzi (Pallas), and Porte Étoile, by Edimilson de Almeida Pereira (Cobalto Livros), complete the list of Brazilian contenders in Poetry.

Tudo sobre Deus, by the Angolan writer José Eduardo Agualusa (Quetzal/Tusquets). A finalist in Prose, it follows a geologist and poet near death who buys an abandoned church in the desert of Namibe to spend his final months there, according to the website Writing Africa.

Releases by Brazilian authors

Mira – Nobre Sertaneja, by Suzana França (Clube dos Autores). The author’s literary debut, the novel is set in the backlands of Pernambuco, in the fictional town of Lima do Norte, and follows Palmira, the author’s grandmother, amid the machismo and coronelismo of the Northeast in the 1940s, according to the website Expresso Carioca.

21 Escritores Brasileiros, by Suênio Lucena (Arribaçã Editora). In its third edition, it gathers interviews by the journalist and professor with major names in Brazilian literature, accompanied by photos from the meetings. The launch is this Monday (9), at 6 p.m., at the Academia de Letras da Bahia, as part of the Livros na Mesa project, reported the website Doris Pinheiro.

É que li brio, by Márcio Castilho. The poetry collection, which moves through haiku and sonnets, was launched on November 6 at the Raul de Leoni Municipal Library in Volta Redonda (RJ), closing the sixth season of the Noites de Autógrafos project, according to the newspaper Diário do Vale. The author says the work opens a new phase compared with his earlier trilogy.

O segredo de Marrocos: a última carta do bibliotecário real de Dom João VI, by Deborah Trois (Appris). A historical novel built from letters and archival documents, it was already published in Portugal. Appris also launches this month Depois da chuva: 108 haicais, by Dilomar Bender, under the Artêra imprint; Verdades proibidas vol. 2, by Rosângela Silva Schiabel; and Guerreiros Elementais – Livro I, by Estêvão Aleksandravicius, according to the website Manual Geek.

Translations

O Último Rei das Fadas, by Cassandra Clare (Galera). Released on November 1, it opens The Wicked Powers, the final trilogy in the Shadowhunter universe (Mundo das Sombras), according to the website Idris.

A bruxa, by Freida McFadden (Record). Reaches bookstores on November 30. The same list includes Mentiras perfeitas, by Monica Murphy (Plataforma 21), O príncipe da noite, by Lauren Palphreyman (Bloom Brasil), and Uma conspiração de monstros sedutores, by Holly Black, all dated November 3.

Derrube os muros, by Frank Miller (Intrínseca). Gathers 16 lessons on how to tell stories. The publisher also launches this month a collector’s edition of Melhor do que nos filmes, by Lynn Painter, with an exclusive chapter, and O último beijo do verão, by Jessica M. Felleman, according to the Intrínseca blog.

From page to screen

Amanhecer na Colheita, by Suzanne Collins. The book in the Hunger Games series that follows young Haymitch in the 50th Hunger Games gets a film with cinema release in November, according to the websites Legião dos Heróis and TecMundo.

A Maldição do Titã, by Rick Riordan. The third volume of Percy Jackson is the basis for the third season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, on Disney+ starting November 20, reported the website Recorte Lírico.

A Cabeça do Santo, by Socorro Acioli. The novel by the Brazilian author is becoming a film directed by Joana Mariani, according to the newspaper Folha BV, with no release date yet.

Véspera, by Carla Madeira (Record). It is becoming an HBO Max series, with production already completed. Another national classic heading to the screen is the first book of Os Karas, by Pedro Bandeira, which will be adapted for cinema, according to the newsletter of Carolina Matos.

Reporting from Quatro Cinco Um (Os vencedores do Prêmio Jabuti 2026), Correio Braziliense (Diversão e Arte – ganhadores do 68º Prêmio Jabuti), Exame (Casual – finalistas do Prêmio Jabuti 2026), CNN Brasil (Pop – lista completa de vencedores do Jabuti 2026), Painel Político (Prêmio Oceanos 2026 – valor do prêmio), PublishNews (Finalistas do Prêmio Oceanos 2026), Rascunho (Prêmio Oceanos anuncia os 12 finalistas de 2026), O Tempo (Entretenimento – Adélia Prado finalista do Oceanos (Belo Horizonte)), SouBH (Cultura – Adélia Prado finalista do Oceanos (Belo Horizonte)), A Gazeta News (Finalistas do Prêmio Oceanos 2026), Writing Africa (Prêmio Oceanos 2026 finalists announced), Expresso Carioca (Suzana França lança romance regionalista do Nordeste), Povo na Rua (Romance regionalista do Nordeste), Doris Pinheiro (Suênio Lucena lança na ALB o livro 21 Escritores Brasileiros (Salvador)), Diário do Vale (Cidade – Márcio Castilho lança novo livro (Volta Redonda)), Manual Geek (Lançamentos da Appris em novembro de 2026), Idris (Lançamentos literários de novembro de 2026), Intrínseca (Blog – lançamentos de novembro), Legião dos Heróis (Adaptações literárias que serão lançadas em 2026), TecMundo (Minha Série – filmes inspirados em livros em 2026), Recorte Lírico (Livros que viraram filmes e séries em 2026), Folha BV (Cotidiano – livros que vão virar filmes (Boa Vista)), Carolina Matos (Substack) (Livros que estreiam nos cinemas).