By Rachel Galvin
This year, the Miami Book Fair is accessible right from your living room no matter where you live… and almost everything is free to watch! The fair will include plenty of book talks, Q&As and more, and even a virtual book marketplace. The events run Nov. 15 to 22 and will kickoff with Maragret Atwood, author of the well-known “Handmaids tale,” which has become a popular show on Hulu. This time she is focusing on a new book, this one is of poetry. Called “Dearly,” In Dearly, it is her first collection of poetry in over a decade, Atwood addresses themes such as love, loss, the passage of time, the nature of nature and – zombies.
The format for this year’s event was talked about during a special Zoom happy hour on Oct. 8 in which Lisette Mendez, director of programs, and co-founder Mitchell Kaplan hosted the event and other staff members chimed in, sharing their favorite books and authors. That event also included a musical interlude by Richie Hell with art by his wife Francisca Oyhanarte. They also unveiled this year’s whimsical poster created bt Dan Santat, who is an award-winning children’s book author, illustrator and creator of Disney’s animated series “The Replacements.” The poster image is also available on cups, shirts and more on the Miami Book Fair website.
Although the site does not really come alive until Nov. 15, starting Nov. 1, people will be able to go on the website and create their own personal watchlist and complete their profiles based on their interests, so they can be sent reccomendations, and they can begin browsing. But you can go ahead and register for free now.
There will be a lot of great authors in attendance, including Dean Koontz, Chuck Flink, Lenny Kravitz, Jodi Picoult, Carl Hiaasen, Peter Wartman, Richard Blanco, Roxane Gay, Lee Child, Chuck Palahniuk, Dr. Peniel Joseph, Nikky Finney, Sarah Frey, Bari Weiss, James McBride, Emma Straub, poet Laureate Joy Harjo, Kalynn Bayron, Justin Reynolds, Walter Mosley, Rev. Barber, Fatima Mirza, Claudia Rankine, Chip Kidd, Bill Nye The Science Guy and Erin Brokovitch. Even Natalie Portman will be there with her new book “Natalie Portman’s Fables”.
Visit www.miamibookfair.com or email wbookfair@mdc.edu.
Pictured below: Authors Maragaret Atwood, Dave Barry & Car Hiaasen… just a few of the many great authors involved in this year’s Miami Book Fair.
