Reading · Gui Karsten's backstage

Some days ago I got a message on Instagram: an invitation to take part in the Bahia Biennial book fair, in Salvador. Wow! I had never been to Bahia — and this was the perfect excuse.

I’ll tell you something, but just between us: biennial book fairs are, by far, some of the “worst” events I usually attend. “Worst” in the sense of being the most challenging. Picture a huge pavilion where everything happens at once: crowded booths, noise everywhere, talks, author meet-and-greets, school groups running around with vouchers in hand (and using them to buy books by Brawl Stars coloring books, stickers, World Cup albums… you get the idea 😅), while the poor author is stuck in the middle of it all trying to grab the attention of kids and families.

Compared to that, visiting schools — with scheduled times and controlled environments — feels like a perfect day. But to be fair, a biennial is an incredible showcase for an artist. It’s where many people discover you for the first time.

For those who aren’t familiar with the behind-the-scenes: these invitations usually come through publishers. In my case, I was invited by ‘Companhia das Letrinhas’ (my publisher) — which meant I already knew I’d be presenting one of the books I published with them.

The chosen one was THE RIDE (CARONA here in Brazil), my first book as an author. I’ve told this story many times, and I love how it engages the audience — especially when kids join in and start remembering the growing list of characters. (This could easily turn into a whole newsletter about which books work — or don’t — for live storytelling.)

But then comes the challenge: at a biennial, if your presentation isn’t engaging, that’s it — people drift away in seconds. And that frustrates me a lot. So… what to do?

That’s when Bea, my amazing wife, stepped in with a brilliant idea:
“Why don’t you turn the story into a play? Let the kids be the characters!”

My mind just exploded with possibilities.

The plan was simple: I got a small prop for each character. Simple things that could fit in my suitcase. And I’ll be honest… I was REALLY afraid it would flop.

But it worked!!!

I’ll try to explain the experience better in this video( ok, that’s not my voice, just an AI help):

At the end of the day, as an author who visits schools and events, I feel that this moment with the audience needs to be special. More than just reading a book, my mission is to create connection, spark curiosity, and make kids leave thinking:
“Books are really cool!”