Calling all literary lovers: the Miami Book Fair is once again taking over Downtown Miami! For the past 38 years, the Miami Dade College fair has brought in over hundreds of renowned authors from all over the world together. This year is no different — from Kevin Nealon to Azar Nafisi! Events for the 39th iteration kick off Sunday, November 13 and run all the way through Sunday, November 20.
It’ll be both in-person and virtual, so you can connect with the fair no matter where you are, with more than 400 participating authors.
The big weekend will feature the festival’s Street Fair, taking place Nov. 18 – 20, where you can browse through thousands of books in all the colorful tents lined down the streets. Vendors will sell everything from new and old books, stationaries, pencils, pens and anything else that will inspire you to write and read.
Bring the kids because the Children’s Alley will also be back with storytelling, music-making, theatre games, dancing, free books and hands-on art, tech and science activities.
You can also take a seat in the Off The Shelf performance space (previously known as The Porch) for a bit of live music and DJs, located on the corner of NE 2nd Avenue and 3rd Street. Check out large-scale art exhibitions and games, as well as the Top Shelf bar and food court to re-energize.
Art lovers would be excited to know that a new piece of artwork will be inaugurated at this year’s fair by Cuban-American artist Rafael Domenech. Commissioned by MDC’s Museum of Art + Design, Estuary will be installed at the Wolfs Campus’ Kyrikides Plaza and will remain on view until January 2023. It is made from everyday construction materials, like aluminum framing, and can mutate into a variety of distinct spatial configurations.
For talks and book signings, here’s a taste of the Miami Book Fair’s “Evenings With…” schedule, and you can see the full one on their website here!
Sunday, Nov. 13
- 5 p.m. – Live from Miami Book Fair, It’s Opening Night! An Evening With Kevin Nealon on I Exaggerate: My Brushes with Fame, and Alan Zweibel, author of Laugh Lines: My Life Helping Funny People Be Funnier: A Conversation
- 7 p.m. – John Waters on Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance, and Paul W. Morris, House of Speakeasy Executive Director: A Conversation
Monday, Nov. 14
- 8 p.m. – An Evening With Michael Pollan on This Is Your Mind on Plants
Tuesday, Nov. 15
- 8 p.m. – An Evening With Charlayne Hunter-Gault on My People: Five Decades of Writing About Black Lives
Wednesday, Nov. 16
- 8 p.m. – An Evening With Harvey Fierstein on I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir, and Editor Peter Gethers: A Conversation
Thursday, Nov. 17
- 7 p.m. (online) – A LIVE Virtual Evening With Art Spiegelman and Hillary Chute on Maus Now. Visit the Miami Book Fair website for the registration link after October 15.
- 8 p.m. – An Evening With Jimmy Johnson on Swagger: Super Bowls, Brass Balls, and Footballs: A Memoir, and journalist David Hyde: A Conversation
Friday, Nov. 18
- 8 p.m. – Patti Smith: Songs and Stories from A Book of Days. With guest appearance by musician and author Lenny Kaye
Location: Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Avenue