Heloisa Braz de Oliveira Prieto (born August 26, 1954) is a Brazilian writer, cultural researcher and translator with a master's degree in communication and semiotics, and a PhD in Literary Theory.

[1][2] Heloisa began her writing career when she was a still a young kindergarten teacher at the Escola da Vila, in São Paulo.

[3] Her published work, of 94[4] books in both short story and novel form, embraces fairy tales, fantasy fiction and the retelling of indigenous myths and legends.

[8] Her series "Mano", co-written with journalist Gilberto Dimenstein, inspired the movie The Best Things in The World, (Warner Brothers - dir: Laís Bodanzky)[9] which won Best Film for Children and Young People at the 2011 International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults (FICI), in Madrid, Spain.

She mentors many young talents and places particular emphasis on supporting and facilitating the artistic and literary aspirations of indigenous people.