If you have ever looked for children’s books written in Brazilian Portuguese, there is a good chance you have come across the name Dubolsinho. It is a small but meaningful publishing house based in Brazil, known for its strong commitment to quality children’s and young adult literature. But Dubolsinho is more than just a book publisher. It is a cultural project that believes in the power of stories to change young lives.
The Origins of Dubolsinho
The headquarters of Dubolsinho is located in a warehouse in the center of Sabará, a historic city in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais. In 2000, Sebastião Nunes founded the publisher together with a group of around 40 other authors, illustrators, and cultural collaborators, launching initially with six titles, four of which were his own.
The name “Dubolsinho” has interesting roots. It connects to an earlier venture Nunes started in 1980, called Edições Dubolso, where he handled all design and graphic work at no cost to the authors, who only needed to pay for the printing themselves. “Dubolsinho” is an affectionate, smaller version of “Dubolso” carrying the same spirit of independent, community driven publishing.
Who Is Sebastião Nunes?
Sebastião Nunes is a poet, writer, graphic artist, and editor born in Bocaiúva, northern Minas Gerais. At the age of 80, the writer had already published numerous books of poetry, essays, and fiction, and was a columnist for the newspaper O Tempo.
As Sebastião Nuvens, a playful pen name, he began publishing texts for young readers in 1996, inspired by his daughters Teresa and Alice, then aged 10 and 5 years old.
In 2018, as he approached the age of 80, Nunes received the Prêmio Governo de Minas Gerais de Literatura for his lifetime body of work, and also marked 50 years of active contribution to Brazilian arts and culture.
What Does Dubolsinho Publish?
Dubolsinho is dedicated to literatura infantojuvenil, children’s and young adult literature. The publisher focuses on books that are both aesthetically beautiful and literarily strong, caring not just about what a story says, but how it looks and feels in a child’s hands.
By the time the publisher reached its 15th anniversary, it had around 100 titles published in children’s and young adult literature. These books are in Brazilian Portuguese, targeted mainly at readers in Brazil.
Sebastião Nunes has always enjoyed design and illustration, and his books for adults are often collages of text and image. He simply brought that same creative sensibility to children’s literature, which allows for even more variation, including rich use of color and inventive typography.
One well known title in the catalog is Porquinho da Índia, listed under the DUBOLSINHO publisher name with a Brazilian Portuguese edition. Such titles reflect the playful, accessible quality of the catalog.
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A Community Rooted Project
Until around 2012, the publishing activities were carried out from Sebastião Nunes’ own home, which was located close to the current headquarters in Sabará. The move to a dedicated space consolidated the physical dimension of the project.
This shift also marked a new era of community engagement. Dubolsinho began investing in social projects to stimulate reading, including the Lerês project, which covered public schools in the municipality and reached approximately 1,700 students.
The Lerês project, Ler e Escrever por Prazer, Reading and Writing for Pleasure, was an annual initiative that started in 2009, working through the Instituto Cultural Dubolsinho in partnership with local public schools. It distributed monetary prizes for the best student works and became a success in the municipal school network of Sabará.
Growth, Government Support, and Financial Challenges
During the early 2000s and into the 2010s, Dubolsinho grew steadily. A major source of income came from government book procurement programs, especially the Plano Nacional Biblioteca da Escola, a federal program that purchased books for public school libraries across Brazil.
In 2012 alone, Dubolsinho sold more than 100,000 copies through government programs, including federal, state, and Belo Horizonte city purchases. However, from 2013 onwards, this income dropped sharply. Nunes described the situation as the publisher having been flying like an airplane, then suddenly being forced to stop.
To deal with this challenge, Nunes launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Kickante platform, with a goal of R$65,000 to fund 20 books that were ready but waiting for resources to be completed.
Throughout all of this, Nunes emphasized that Dubolsinho has a history of valuing literary quality, that it has never charged authors to publish, and that it only publishes works it truly believes in.
Expanding the Family: Aaatchim! and Dubolso Digital
In 2012, Sebastião Nunes founded Aaatchim! Editorial, a sister label with the same mission as Dubolsinho, launching good and beautiful books for children and young people.
While Dubolsinho could submit up to 10 or 15 titles per government call, Aaatchim! allowed them to double that to 20 or 30. There was also a need to diversify the catalog with new formats and editorial standards.
In 2014, Nunes relaunched the old Edições Dubolso as Dubolso Digital in e book format. The Instituto Cultural Dubolsinho was also established in 2013 to coordinate sociocultural activities, but was deactivated in early 2019 due to the difficult cultural climate in Brazil after 2016.
Recognition and Legacy
Despite being a small, independent publisher from a mid sized Brazilian city, Dubolsinho earned real national recognition. Its books were selected for major federal programs and its social projects influenced thousands of children.
The book Hortência das Tranças by Marcelo Lelis won a national prize in the children’s and young adult category in 2015, showing that small publishers can compete at the highest levels.
Sebastião Nunes moved to Coimbra, Portugal in 2019, but continued to express his intention to keep Dubolsinho and Aaatchim! alive, and to continue his cultural work from abroad.
The story of Dubolsinho is, in a broader sense, the story of independent publishing in Brazil, the challenges of competing with large publishing groups, the reliance on government funding for cultural projects, and the passion of people who believe books can truly change a child’s life.
Why Dubolsinho Still Matters
In a world where publishing is increasingly dominated by large corporations and digital platforms, a small house like Dubolsinho represents something important. It shows that it is possible to build a meaningful catalog of children’s literature without ever compromising on quality, even when resources are limited.
Its legacy lives on in the hundreds of books it brought to life, in the thousands of children who learned to love reading through the Lerês project, and in the cultural life of Sabará and Minas Gerais. For anyone interested in Brazilian children’s literature, independent publishing, or the connection between art and education, Dubolsinho is a name worth knowing.
10 Frequently Asked Questions About Dubolsinho
1. What is Dubolsinho?
Dubolsinho is a Brazilian independent publishing house founded in 2000, based in Sabará, Minas Gerais. It specializes in children’s and young adult literature in Brazilian Portuguese.
2. Who founded Dubolsinho?
Sebastião Nunes, a Brazilian writer, poet, and graphic artist born in 1938, co founded it with around 40 authors, illustrators, and cultural collaborators.
3. Where is Dubolsinho located?
In Sabará, a historic city in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
4. What kind of books does Dubolsinho publish?
Children’s and young adult books in Brazilian Portuguese, covering fiction, poetry, and illustrated stories with a focus on literary and visual quality.
5. How many books has Dubolsinho published?
Around 100 titles in children’s and young adult literature over its history.
6. Does Dubolsinho charge authors to publish?
No. The publisher has never charged authors to publish. Every book is chosen based on quality, not payment.
7. What is the Lerês project?
It stands for Ler e Escrever por Prazer, Reading and Writing for Pleasure, a social initiative started in 2009 that reached around 1,700 children in Sabará’s public schools.
8. Is Dubolsinho connected to any other labels?
Yes. Aaatchim! Editorial, founded 2012, Dubolso Digital, founded 2014, and the Instituto Cultural Dubolsinho, founded 2013, are all related ventures created by Sebastião Nunes.
9. Why did Dubolsinho face financial difficulties?
It relied heavily on government book buying programs like PNBE. When those purchases dropped sharply after 2013, the publisher lost its main funding source.
10. Can I find Dubolsinho books outside Brazil?
Yes, some titles are available on Amazon under the DUBOLSINHO publisher name. Brazilian book distributors and digital platforms may also carry their works.
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