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Surrounded by authors, business and civic leaders, Books & Books opened a new chapter on Small Business Saturday – by launching a nonprofit that will bring the power of books to more kids and families across South Florida.
“We do 400 events a year and we work with just about every community organization you can imagine. We bring authors into schools and we just celebrated the 40th Miami Book Fair,” Store Founder Mitchell Kaplan told the crowd gathered at a launch event at the Coral Gables store. “It taught me that with a little bit of help, we can not only continue what we’re doing. We can also expand that exponentially with all the ideas we have, and have a greater impact in the community.”
Surrounded by authors who debuted books at the store – including Humorist Dave Barry and Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco – Kaplan spoke about the fountain of ideas he has for the nonprofit to nurture readers, build community and advocate for free expression.
The Books & Books Literary Foundation, for example, will partner with the non-profit Exchange for Change, to create prison libraries for the incarcerated. The foundation is working on additional ways to put books in the hands of more kids who can’t afford them, to bring author events to schools, and to create a dinner series where people can talk about literature and pressing issues of the day, and to find common ground.
“Books are empathy machines,” Kaplan said. “They help us to really see each other, to understand one another, which is something we need now more than ever.”
During Miami Art Week, the foundation has partnered with Design Miami to bring attention to book bans in the United States. Together, they are presenting “The Book of Love,” a set of limited-edition prints where esteemed design creatives from around the globe created works on paper that celebrate the most besieged titles. The prints are being sold at Design Miami and online, with funds benefiting the Books & Books Literary Foundation.
As the retail market has changed, particularly for books, independent book stores across the country have adopted non-profit or hybrid models to support their community-based work. Kaplan sees the foundation as a way to ensure the community programming the store is known for continues for generations.
The Books & Books Literary Foundation is hosted by the Coral Gables Community Foundation, its fiscal sponsor. To learn more and donate, visit
booksandbooks.com/foundation.
About the Books & Books Literary Foundation
The Books & Books Literary Foundation will use the power of literary culture to cultivate and nurture new readers, build a thriving and diverse community, and advocate for writers, books and the freedom to read.
