MIAMI BOOK FAIR: NOVEMBER 12-19, 2023
STREET FAIR: NOVEMBER 17-19, 2023
MIAMI DADE COLLEGE WOLFSON CAMPUS | DOWNTOWN MIAMI
MIAMIBOOKFAIR.COM
Part of a vanguard collective of stakeholders determined to transform downtown Miami – and really, the entire Magic City – into a genuine arts and culture destination, Miami Book Fair (MBF) began with a commitment to support writers, champion inclusion and provide a platform where a technicolor-dreamcoat concert of diverse voices would be amplified. They’ve kept that promise.
They’ve grown with the city – expanding from a two-day little book festival that could into the largest, longest-running book fair in the country – and have welcomed the marginalized and the othered from the start. Forty years in, they’re still encouraging and promoting those diverse voices and experiences, and celebrating the community they’ve helped to build.
This year’s fair will again present hundreds of authors, a wide-ranging group that reflects winners of every kind of literary prize, debuts in every genre, pop culture bestsellers, celebrity tell-alls, and thought leaders and other figures at the forefront of the fast-moving cultural zeitgeist.
The eight-day festival kicks off Sunday, November 12, with an opening night block party and and three of the week’s headline authors and their conversation partners from the Evenings With series: Kerry Washington with Eva Longoria, Jada Pinkett Smith with Lena Waithe, and Joan Baez with Broken Record podcaster Justin Richmond. Other names in this year’s iteration of the series include David Brooks, Abraham Verghese, Walter Mosley and Henry Winkler. (Depending on whether you immediately thought “Gene from Barry or The Fonz, we know what dating pool you’re in.) The rooftop Lost Chapter Lounge is open before, during and after every Evenings With session; it is a chill place to relax, grab a drink and listen to the nightly house DJ.
Hundreds more authors will hit downtown Miami to share their latest books and offer a glimpse into their work, minds and lives, among them a solid list of LGBTQ+ writers that includes Elyssa Goodman, Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City; Curtis Chin, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant; Priscilla Gilman, The Critic’s Daughter: A Memoir; Will Schwalbe, We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship; and Amelia Possanza, Lesbian Love Story, to name just a handful. In addition to author conversations there are readings and panels on the schedule, as well as some special, 40th anniversary happenings.
Everything converges during the fair’s final three days, November 17-19, when if you’re not trying to make a Sophie’s choice between two amazing authors speaking at the same time (with so many great ones, it’s inevitable), you’ll be lulled by the siren call of Street Fair, featuring colorful booths housing booksellers, small-print publishers and local artisans; the family-friendly Children’s Alley; and the Off the Shelf stage, MBF’s self-proclaimed “mini music festival” that this year will feature live performances from acts that include Afrobeta, Kulcha Shok Muzik and The French Horn Collective. And if you run yourself tagged, Smorgasburg Miami will be on hand so you can refuel from your pick of curated culinary vendors.
With the exception of the Evenings With series programs and admission to Street Fair, all MBF programs are free. Visit MiamiBookFair.com for event information, programming schedule and tickets.
