Where Miamians introduce literature to a younger generation
The 20th-anniversary edition of Rolling Stone magazine dated 1987, the album 'Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective,' several vintage issues of LIFE magazine, the massive book about the history of American entrepreneurship. The Miami Book Fair will happen on November 22-24 in Downtown Miami. Take a big bag.
The street festival will bring together hundreds of national and international sellers, antique dealers, and thousands of readers - students, kids, and their parents. Watching how young people go through the booths (in a very low-tech way) to find a book, this scene might be scarce in Miami, where books and bookstores, like gems, are hidden in secret locations.
The Miami Book Fair began its history over 30 years ago when Mitchell Kaplan, a former law student and high-school teacher, decided to open Books&Books store in Miami. A year later, Mr. Kaplan, a genuine booklover, launched “The Coral Gables Festival of Books & Writers” - a mini book fair.
“I had been to book fairs in New York and Boston, and I always wanted to have a festival in Miami,” told Mitchell Kaplan in his interview to Inspicio. "Thanks to Dr. Padrón, then president of the downtown campus of Miami-Dade College, and his vision to enliven downtown Miami, we were able to organize a much larger book fair."
The first book fair lasted for two days, brought in seventy authors, and it was a smashing success. Today, the Miami Book Fair is eight days long and brings thousands of visitors.
The Miami Book Fair promises a highly curated literary experience. Besides the street fair, it will start on Sunday, Nov. 17, with exciting programs featuring Pulitzer Prize winning author and diplomat Samantha Power who will discuss her memoir, The Education of an Idealist with journalist and author, Ana Menendez.
Topping the marquee of 450-plus authors at the 36th annual bash will be Debbie Harry of new wave pioneers Blondie. After 50 years in the music business, Harry has countless stories to tell. Face It, her new memoir, will bring the legendary blonde — along with Blondie cofounder Chris Stein and the book's creative director, Rob Roth — to the Miami Book Fair Wednesday, November 20.
Learn more: www.miamibookfair.com