Miami Book Fair Returns Live and Online

Last year, like most everything else that required dense crowds to gather, Book Fair canceled all live events and went completely virtual.

"Miami Book Fair online was very successful last year, and we were very happy with what happened and how it rolled out – the mix of authors, the conversations, the feedback. And we knew that having had the experience of how to produce a fully online book fair and be successful at it, we could come back and do the same thing all over again," said Lissette Mendez, director of programs for the Miami Book Fair at Miami Dade College. “We had that in our back pocket.”

In the end, organizers decided that what would work best in a year not fully past a pandemic was a hybrid event.

“We have 63 in-person author presentations on campus," Mendez said.

Fair staff has scaled down the amount of venues this year in proportion to what’s been done in the past, instead utilizing mostly larger space and outdoor areas to keep everything as safe as possible, she added.

“The live events may be fewer than in years past and things may be a little smaller, but this will still be the Miami Book Fair that people have grown to love," Mendez said.

Almost 100 virtual programs will be presented online in what Mendez calls a “comprehensive online book fair happening as well as what we're doing this year in person.”

In-person and livestreaming events are happening Nov. 14-21; the ever-popular Street Fair weekend happens Nov. 19-21. The extensive number of on-demand digital presentation produced for the fair will drop on specific dates throughout the week and remain available for viewing online indefinitely.

While Mendez said she finds it difficult to recommend can’t-miss author programs “because reading is so personal,” she did have a few suggestions.

Up Close & Personal

Amor Towles kicks off the fair’s popular Evenings With series – intimate conversations between a select group of authors and relevant moderators – on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., with a discussion of his latest book, “The Lincoln Highway: A Novel.” Best known for his novels “Rules of Civility: A Novel” and “A Gentleman in Moscow,” Towles, a New York Times bestselling author, has been called a consummate storyteller. In “The Lincoln Highway,” he follows three teenage boys and an 8-year-old as they travel along the Lincoln Highway from Morgen, Neb., to Manhattan in 1954. “His work fascinates me,” said Mendez. Chapman Conference Center, Building 3, Floor 2

Sarah Schulman appears in conversation with Jackson Howard, associate editor at Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, the publisher of her book “Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993” on Monday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. “She's one of the smartest people I have ever read,” Mendez said, adding that she first started reading Schulman’s work in the 1990s. “I think her book, which really talks about the history of an organization that changed the way we as a nation cared for people with HIV and AIDS, is really relevant always, but especially in an epidemic year.” Chapman Conference Center, Building 3, Floor 2

Sandra Cisneros, who Mendez dubbed the “Grand Dame of Latina literature,” is at the fair on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. She'll be in conversation with friend and fellow author Jan Beatty. Building 1, Fourth Floor Terrace

On Thursday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m., Mendez said the conversation with author Mark Oppenheimer is sure to be insightful. His new book, “Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood,” dives deep into the deadliest antisemitic attack on American soil – the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooting in Pittsburgh. Chapman Conference Center, Building 3, Floor 2

Saturday, Nov. 20, is an especially big day for some recognizable names. Former MSNBC “Hardball” host Chris Matthews talks about his sweeping memoir “This Country: My Life in Politics and History” at 10 a.m.; Tuesdays With Morrie author Mitch Albom follows at noon to discuss his latest, “The Stranger in the Lifeboat: A Novel”; and at 6 p.m. actor Alan Cumming showcases what’s been called his “seriously funny” memoir, “Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life.” Chapman Conference Center, Building 3, Floor 2

Florida History: Who Was Mary Brickell?

On Sunday, Nov. 21 at 5 p.m., Miami historian and author Cesar A. Becerra will be discussing his latest book on South Florida’s past, “Orange Blossom 2.0,” an exploration of pioneer Mary Brickell’s influence on the establishment of the Magic City. Becerra is carrying the torch for a woman whose historical importance he concludes has been sadly left out Miami’s backstory.

"This is a story that becomes bigger and bigger each day – that Mary Brickell very well could have been one of the most marginalized people, not just women, but people in the state of Florida history," Becerra said.

“Orange Blossom 2.0” was purposely released as Miami celebrates its 125th anniversary in July, and where much of the hoopla surrounded Julia Tuttle, long considered the “Mother of Miami.” The title references the story that Tuttle lured railroad magnate Henry Flagler to Florida by sending him a box of orange blossoms to renew her proposition that she’d give the developer land if he’d bring his railroad to Miami.

In his book, Becerra has gathered the “story behind the story of the stories uncovered” about Mary Bulmer Brickell, and he makes the case for her recognition and Miami's reckoning about the important co-founder.

“It’s a complicated story,” admitted Becerra, who added that he believes there are reasons Brickell wasn’t given her due. “Some are quite understandable while others are quite political.”

The book itself is remarkably approachable. Not the size of a hardcover, but a 9-by-12-inch softcover. The font on the pages, Times Roman, appears as if it came from Becerra's typewriter and hot off the press from a vintage Remington. Each chapter begins with pages of history that appear to be redacted with the cover introducing that theme as well.

“Her contribution to the city of Miami has been wholly, wholly simplified, where it’s almost been wiped out, which is why the cover of the book is presented as a redaction of our history," Becerra said.

At his Book Fair presentation, the author will be joined by a very special guest: Brickell’s great-granddaughter, Bea Brickell, who has also been a relentless champion for her great-grandmother, and wrote a forward for the author's book.

Eight Days of Literary Arts for All

The fair runs for eight straight days, with each providing options across genres that children, teens, adults and families can all enjoy. Also being presented are Spanish-language and Spanish-English bilingual programs through the fair’s IberoAmerican series, and Haitian/Caribbean-centric content via Book Fair’s ReadCaribbean initiative.

And celeb authors aren’t the only boldface names appearing this year. Other presenters and moderators include Bravo’s Andy Cohen, rock legend Stevie Van Zandt, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Jenna Bush Hager in separate programs, prolific character actor Danny Trejo, Sen. Elizabeth Warren in conversation with actor and activist Busy Philipps, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson discussing the late Congressman John Lewis and his role in the civil rights movement, actor Channing Tatum and Pulitzer Prize winners Carlos Lozada, Rita Dove and Leonard Pitts Jr., among other recipients of that award. And with so many on-demand programs on offer – both during the event and available indefinitely afterward – the greater Miami community can count on enjoying the fair’s fare – and finding new fave authors – far beyond Nov. 21.

“I’ve been a part of Miami Book Fair since I was 16 – first as a fairgoer, then as staff,” said Mendez, “so I’m arguably biased in my love for the event, but it really is something special.”