Allegedly, digital media has done printed media in; a narrative suggests that people do not read as much as they once did. Borders is a thing of the past. Barnes & Noble hangs on in limited locations, but barely. (Books & Books is a different story, but more on that later.) Magazine subscriptions have never been thinner – Look, Life, People, Newsweek, Time, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Better Homes and Gardens, etc. Where are you? Libraries are often empty. Job security for your paperboy is better than for pumping gas, but may soon equal the milkman. One might be tempted to think that reading is dead, and that Fahrenheit 451 has arrived in different form. They would be mistaken.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the first half of last year saw book sales grow nearly 2 percent, and through the first six months of 2016, bookstore sales have jumped more than 6 percent, even after bookstore sales through the first half of each year from 2009-2014 fell more than 28 percent in the U.S. What has resurrected a patient that had seemed to be on life support?
Below this year’s Miami Book Fair logo are these dates: November 13-20, 2016 and all year long. Whether this is the reason why books have made a comeback cannot be determined. However, there is a book scene in Miami that is alive and hanging in there, and a book fair scene in Miami that is plainly restorative. Props go as always to a hundred people, but bottom line, failing to mention Mitch Kaplan, Books & Books, Dr. Eduardo Padrón, and Miami Dade College for all they have done for Miami literacy would be unforgivably remiss.
The good news is that Bernie Sanders is speaking for free on November 19; the bad news is that you will not be able to get in because it sold out in about 30 seconds. Other events also require tickets and small fees. One special event includes Trevor Noah who has found solid footing as Jon Stewart’s successor on The Daily Show. A few years ago at the fair, I was pallin’ around with Bill Ayers, the “terrorist” Barack Obama had been said to have been pallin’ around with by a Sarah Palin who now seems somewhat quaint compared to he who shall not be named. In this vein, evenings with James Carville, Maureen Dowd, Tavis Smiley, and Jeffrey Toobin will provide a quartet of journalist/pundits who will either gloat over or mourn the results of the strangest American election anyone living in the USA has ever experienced. Thank goodness we now get a break.
The Miami Dade College press release says this: Widely recognized as the largest and finest literary gathering in the U.S., the Miami Book Fair’s eight-day festival features readings and conversation with the world’s most renowned authors and more than 200 booksellers and exhibitors across various genres and interests. That’s about the size of it. It’s the biggest and the best. I cannot scratch the surface of all the names of all the fine participants who will be present for the Fair.
A series of new events will begin this year. You know, this is Miami — speak Spanish! Consequently, more than 80 Spanish speakers will participate in the Fair’s IberoAmerican Program, among them poets, short-story writers, visual artists, photographers, essayists, mystery writers, and novelists. Cookbook authors will appear in their own Kitchen Stadium, Miami style. Since we are the bullseye of the Caribbean, the Fair has established ReadCaribbean, a program featuring extensive Caribbean-specific events, which will continue as always to include prominent writers from the region. Cartoonists will battle it out in an event. Local talent will perform at The Porch. Lip Service features storytellers. Back again is #6words miami: six word South Florida stories written by us. The number of things happening is overwhelming.
From November 18-20, Street Fair Weekend does what street fairs do. It’s free on Friday the 18th. You can get to the fair by car and park for free at MDC’s garage if you can find a space, or arrive via our beloved transportation system. For all the details you need to know, check here: www.miamibookfair.com/downloadable-guide.
