From Nov. 17-24, the annual Miami Book Fair returns to downtown Miami at the Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus. Over 500 authors and presenters were present during those eight days to talk about their latest work and inspirations.
Originally, the fair began in 1984 as a two-day event, after a small group of literary fans founded Miami Book Fair International. Since then, it has grown into one of the largest literary festivals in the country and gathers over 200,000 attendees annually.
In addition to the numerous authors and presenters, the Miami Book Fair features live music and performances from artists and bands, including the Fabi World Music Trio and The Jazz Collective.
The fair’s programming reflects a strong focus on the local South Florida community.
“The fair belongs to the community. We have a program called ReadCaribbean, and it features authors from all over the Caribbean. You know, whether it’s Haiti, the Dominican Republic, or Trinidad and Tobago because that’s who lives here. We have a program that’s in Spanish. So it’s not one ethnicity or group that defines the fair. The fair is defined by the people who live in Miami,” Miami Book Fair Media Specialist and owner of Palley Promotes Lisa Palley said.
Every year, the fair selects authors of the time and often switches them to keep up with the currently published works. This allows attendees to learn more about authors they are not familiar with.
“The specifics change: we invite authors with books that are out in the year of the fair. So for example, last year, we had two big, big, popular superstars that opened the fair. So, every year we have authors, but every year the lineup of authors changes,” Palley said. “So, for example, if you’re going to a session and three authors are going to be appearing at that session, and you’re familiar with one and you love that author, but you don’t know the other two, you’re going to go to that session because you want to hear the author that you know. But while you’re there, you’re going to be introduced to other authors.”
To purchase tickets to attend the fair, click here.
