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The Miami-Dade Public Library system hosted its 2024 Local Author Book Fair on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Main Library in Downtown Miami. More than 50 area authors came together with artists and others in the publishing business to celebrate the craft and artistry of writing novels, poetry, non-fiction and discuss other book-related topics.
The event was well attended by readers, library fans and those interested in writing and being published. There were book readings and signings plus a chance to meet local authors and chat with them and buy their books.
Special presentations included a talk by New York Times best-selling author Heather Graham about the changing world of publishing; a poetry reading and discussion panel with Richard Blanco, Campbell McGrath and Nicole Tallman, who read some of their own work and answered questions from the audience; a panel on writing for children and teens with moderator Ana Veciana-Suarez and authors Alex Flinn, Chantel Acevedo and Natalia Sylvester, and, finally, a talk by Rochelle B. Weinstein on the business of agents and publishing.
There were also three favorite children’s storybook characters — Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Really Hungry Caterpillar and Lily the Mouse — present in costume for photo ops.
Author Michelle Hood-Julien, who wrote an illustrated children’s book, In Grenada, What Do You See?, had a personal family reason for writing it.
“The book is in honor of my grandfather, who died six months before the children were born,” she said. “The book tells the story of a granddad giving a tour of his home in Grenada to his grandkids.” The book is in both English and Spanish.
Kat Magnoli, author of The Adventures of KatGirl and other books, has a mission to promote inclusion for all children, whether they are experiencing disability, bullying, deafness, blindness or racism. She was pleased to participate again at the fair. Her new book, Pete the Private Eye, tells the story of Pete who is blind and solves mysteries.
“I believe last year’s event was busier, but this year’s event had more authors present,” she said.
Karen Flowers, a grandmother attending the book fair with her grandchildren, Harley Neely and Taylor Anderson, was impressed with the fair.
“This was my first event,” Flowers said. “It was spectacular. I usually do movies but today I wanted to view some culture. I was excited to get them their library cards. My friend is an author. She told me about this.”
On the poetry panel, Richard Blanco read three of his poems, one of them a touching and evocative poem about returning home and finding that everything had changed. Blanco, who teaches at FIU, was Poet Laureate at the first inauguration of President Barack Obama. Blanco described how his first teacher there, Campbell McGrath, who also was on the panel, helped him develop his first collection of poetry.
Nicole Tallman, who read three of her poems, serves as Poetry Ambassador for Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, and is an editor for two poetry journals.
The panel on writing for children and teens gave the writers a chance to discuss their motivations for writing and answer questions from the audience.
Alex Flinn, author of more than a dozen books, said, “I like writing young adult novels because I think that’s the age when books have more impact on people…when books can be life-changing.”
She also commented on how an experience with a “bad teacher” in school had motivated her to overcome criticism and prevail.
Ralph Cabrera, a Marvel and DC Comics artist, gave several illustration workshops for people of all ages to learn how to draw their favorite superheroes.
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