Alexandre Vidal Porto was born in São Paulo. A career diplomat, a Harvard-trained lawyer, and a human rights activist, he writes a regular column for Folha de S. Paulo. His fiction has appeared in some of the most respected literary publications in Brazil and also abroad. Sergio Y. was the winner of the Paraná Literary Prize for best novel. Alex Ladd’s translations include The Mystery of Rio, by Alberto Mussa (Europa Editions), Life As It Is by Nelson Rodrigues (Host Publications, 2009), The Asphalt Kiss by Nelson Rodrigues (Nova Fronteira, 2007), and Nestor Capoeira’s The Little Capoeira Book (North Atlantic Books). He lives in New York.