The Miami Book Fair International at the Wolfson Campus of Miami-Dade College in Downtown Miami kicked off on Nov. 11 but the big events for children happen during the Street Fair which runs Nov. 16-18.
Marci Cancio-Bello, the program coordinator for Miami-Book Fair who oversees the children’s book area and the poetry coordination, said they have approximately 60 children’s book authors from picture books to young adult.
Although it’s not an official anniversary celebration, this year the book fair is celebrating 35 years of bringing literature to Miami.
The street fair events include a teen press conference and the Porch area for live performances.
“Last year we did a couple events for teens,’ she said. “This year, the entire day is programed for teens. We do have a teen poetry showcase open mic, after they go see published authors.”
One of the young adult authors is Kiersten White, author of many favorite YA books, starting with her Paranormalcy series. This year, she is promoting her latest book, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.
She wanted to do the retelling to give a new perspective to the the original book.
“I wanted to revisit the story from Elizabeth’s point of view and why she appeared that way and what she was really like,” White said. “The original question is what makes a monster. In mine, who makes a monster. I wanted to write from Elizabeth’s point of view.”
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein hit the New York Times bestseller list the week it was released.
“The timing was perfect,” she said. “It’s the 200th anniversary of the original.”
Coming up, White has a Buffy The Vampire Slayer spinoff. Her book was announced at the 20th anniversary celebration of the original series.
There will be plenty of great picture book authors, some local and others with local ties. Margaret Cardillo will talk about her picture book about how Jackie Onassis became such a style icon. Cancio-Bello is excited to see Ava Chen, the vice president for fashion at Instagram, present her book, Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes.
“The premise is a little girl finds a secret closet of shoes and when she puts on the shoes, she can walk in the shoes of heroes,” Cancio-Bello said.”
Middle grade authors include Meg Cabot (Middle School Princess series), Megan McDonald (Judy Moody series). Also featured will be Florida middle grade author James Ponti.
Ponti has six middle grade books out. He doesn’t count the many novelizations he has done over the years while working at Nickelodeon and Disney. He started writing 10-12 years ago but really started focusing on writing seven years ago.
Ponti’s latest book is Trapped, the third book in the Framed series. The series, the third book in his series about Florian Bates and his friend Margaret who advise the FBI on crime cases.
“They consult with the FBI like Sherlock Holmes consulted with Scotland Yard but Sherlock never had to do homework,” Ponti said.
“I like friend and group dynamics a lot,” he said.
He worked on the Nickelodeon show The Missing Files of Shelby Woo. The other writer was Suzanne Collins who went on to write The Hunger Games.
The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jacqueline Woodson will present with Newbery winner Kwame Alexander.
“They are great together; I think that particular event is going to be fun,” she said.
Also featured is Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor with her picture book, Turning Pages.
Go to MiamiBookFair.com for more information and schedules.
