Jabuti Prize finalist Mariana Brecht imagines a climate-changed São Paulo in her new children’s book, with a free launch event on March 28.
Brazilian author Mariana Brecht (@mariana.brecht), a finalist for both the Jabuti Prize and the São Paulo Literature Prize, is launching her new middle-grade book “Cyber PANC e Só Zé: O resgate de um poder pifado e outras caraminholas” in her hometown of São Roque, São Paulo state. The event takes place on March 28, 2026, Saturday, at 8 PM, at Casa Rosa Manjericão, with free admission.
Published under the Escarlate imprint of Companhia das Letras, the book hits stores on March 24, 2026. Illustrations are by Lumina Pirilampus (@lumina.pirilampus), marking the duo’s second collaboration after “A Menina com os Pés no Chão,” which was also a Jabuti finalist.
A Near-Future São Paulo Shaped by Climate Crisis
Across 216 pages, the novel builds a São Paulo transformed by climate emergency. In this world, everyone must grow their own food, the city has been reorganized, and solutions rely less on sweeping technological promises and more on land stewardship, waste management, and community support.
Cyber PANC is an outgoing girl with an extraordinary gift: plants sprout from her hands at the touch of soil. Grieving and at odds with how her parents handled her aunt’s death, she runs away and meets Só Zé, a shy, anxious boy who lives in the urban community of Minhoquinha and always finds something new to worry about.
Together, they journey through different city territories — from the Composto das Yata’is, home to jataí bees and people who are part-human, part-bee, to the Povo da Laje, a group living atop a building too afraid to come down — in search of a way to restore Cyber’s power, which stopped working after her grief took hold.
Superpowers only hold up within a community, and friendship can also be a way to build other possible worlds.
A Call to Action, Not Just a Story
“Cyber PANC e Só Zé” goes beyond storytelling. Its companion workbooks offer readers tools to move past passive contemplation of the climate crisis: recipes, games, booklets, and an immersive glossary featuring thinkers who inspire new ways of living.
The launch is part of the National Aldir Blanc Culture Promotion Policy (PNAB/2024), a Brazilian federal initiative supporting cultural circulation in smaller cities. The program includes a conversation with the author and a playful activity for children, young people, and adults.
About the Author
Mariana Brecht was born in São Roque (SP), at the edge of the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado. She is a writer, screenwriter, narrative designer for digital games, and researcher. Her previous books include “Brazza” (São Paulo Literature Prize finalist), “Labirinto,” “A Menina com os Pés no Chão” (Jabuti Prize finalist), and the novel “Foi acabar bem na nossa vez” (Rocco, 2025). She co-wrote “A Linha,” a virtual reality game that won an Emmy Award. As a composer, she is part of the musical project Intraterrestres.
Event Info
- Book: “Cyber PANC e Só Zé: O resgate de um poder pifado e outras caraminholas,” by Mariana Brecht, illustrated by Lumina Pirilampus
- Date: March 28, 2026 (Saturday)
- Time: 8 PM
- Venue: Casa Rosa Manjericão
- Address: Rua Antônio Cavaglieri, 15 – Centro, São Roque, SP, Brazil
- Activities: Author talk and playful activity for all ages
- Admission: Free
- Purchase the book: https://bit.ly/4rc76AV
Photo: Press Release
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