This idyllic, sleepy village, better known for its restaurants and guest houses than for its great literature, is one of the last places on Earth one would expect to meet up with the legendary historian Eric Hobsbawm, or the British writer Julian Barnes. But for three days next month, Parati promises to be the centre of the literary universe. Both Barnes and Hobsbawm, along with Don DeLillo and British writer Hanif Kureishi, author of My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia, will be holding court in the village at the launch of the Parati International Literary Festival, known here by its Portuguese acronym, FLIP.