Thousands of book lovers, sellers and creators descended on Downtown Miami, Nov. 11-18, for the Miami Book Fair International.
The book fair, now in its 35th year, offered a rich variety of work by book creators from throughout the United States and around the world.
Although the event stretched out for more than a week, the popular street fair took place on the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the fair. During this street fair, most of the authors and creators were available to meet and greet their fans, and answer questions. Not only were authors featured, but also book illustrators and designers. Authors from the Caribbean, Central and South America shared stories about their own home countries’ battles with oppression and tyranny. Sandra Cisneros, a Mexican-American author, was among those who presented her works. Edwidge Danticat from Haiti was there showing her book The Art of Death.
Hernan Diaz, nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, was interviewed by Jim Shepherd about Diaz’s book, In the Distance. The book grapples with the theme of exile as he tells the tale of a Swedish boy who embarks on a journey across the country with not a penny to his name. He can never go back, only forward.
When asked about the character, he talked about how the story engaged his emotions. He said that he had to write about it because it was the subject of his obsession. Diaz, who teaches at Columbia University now, left Argentina when he was a little boy, traveled to Sweden and then to the United States.
Local authors also graced the stage. Tim Dorsey and James Grippando were present to present their new novels, The Pope of Palm Beach and A Death in Live Oak, respectively.
Grippando’s book tells the story of racial struggle on campus when a young man is found murdered. Dorsey weaves a tale around his Serge character.
Some 800 authors attended and shared their work with the fair’s estimated 200,000 attendees.
C-Span’s Book TV was taping continuously and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Maria Sotomayor was on hand to answer questions from the interviewer about her children’s book.
