Miami, Nov. 12, 2024 – Come celebrate Miami Dade College’s (MDC) 41st Miami Book Fair (MBF) opening on Sunday, Nov. 17, featuring top authors, filmmakers and a free community Block Party with music by legendary DJs, bites and refreshments. Headlines will include journalists Don Lemon, Jim Defede and Gina Montaner, Oct. 7 massacre survivor Amir Tibon and National Book Award winner Alice McDermott, among others. Activities begin at 3 p.m. at MDC Wolfson Campus, 300 N.E. 2nd Ave. in the heart of downtown Miami.
Opening Day events:
Sunday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. | Free
An Afternoon with Jim Defede, Billy Corben & Alfred Spellman on The Chronicles of Willy & Sal
Join veteran Miami journalist Jim Defede and filmmakers Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman as they share memories of Miami’s drug-smuggling kingpins and their hijinks, as written by Defede and published by The New Times in The Chronicles of Willy & Sal . Moderated by Tom Finkel, Miami New Times editor-in-chief.
Sunday, Nov. 17 at 3 p.m. | Free
An Afternoon with Gina Montaner in Conversation with Gloria Ordaz (in Spanish)
An intimate and moving account chronicles the journey of her father, journalist Carlos Alberto Montaner.
Opening Day Block Party | Free
Sunday, Nov. 17, 4 – 9 p.m.
Wolfson Campus Plaza (between Bldg. 1 & 2)
Old-school street party sponsored by The Miami Foundation featuring legendary New York City DJs Tedd Patterson, Hector Romero and Tony Touch spinning house, dance and hip-hop jams. Special live performance by singer/songwriter Joi Cardwell. Food and refreshments curated by Smorgasburg Miami.
Sunday, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m. | Tickets $35 (includes copy of the book)
An Evening with Don Lemon
Renowned broadcast commentator Don Lemon discusses his new book I Once Was Lost: My Search for God in America. Lemon explores his complex relationship with faith and his journey to find grace amidst personal and professional upheaval.
Sunday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m. | Free
An Afternoon with Mayra Santos Febres in Conversation with Anjanette Delgado (in Spanish)
Puerto Rican author, professor and poet Mayra Santos presents her new work, The Other Julia, where the short and intense life of Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos is narrated by an author dealing with her own conflicts and difficulties.
Sunday, Nov. 17, at 5:30 p.m. | Tickets $35 (includes copy of the book)
An Evening with Amir Tibon
Veteran journalist for Israel-based international news outlet, Haaretz, Amir Tibon presents his harrowing memoir The Gates of Gaza: A Story of Betrayal, Survival, and Hope in Israel’s Borderlands. Tibon recounts his family’s terrifying ordeal during the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on their kibbutz near Gaza, interweaving personal experience with historical context of conflict in the region.
Sunday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. | Free
An Evening with Alice McDermott
Award-winning author Alice McDermott, one of the most important and lauded storytellers of our time, presents “Absolution,” a novel which offers a fresh perspective on the Vietnam War through the eyes of American women in 1963 Saigon. McDermott examines the unintended consequences of America’s involvement in Southeast Asia through the lens of women’s experiences.
About Miami Book Fair
Founded in 1984 by Miami Dade College and partners, Miami Book Fair engages the community through inclusive, accessible programs that promote reading and support writers year-round. The annual eight-day festival has grown into the largest and most comprehensive community-rooted literary gathering in the United States, generating discourse on contemporary literature and current issues of international importance. Throughout the rest of the year, Miami Book Fair hosts an ongoing schedule of activities, including The Little Haiti Book Festival; creative writing and publishing workshops; author presentations; reading campaigns; and Books for Free, a partnership with The Children’s Trust that distributes more than 150,000 free books a year to children in Miami-Dade County. Miami Book Fair programming is made possible through generous support from the State of Florida and the National Endowment for the Arts; City of Miami; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; Miami-Dade County Public Schools; Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau; Miami Downtown Development Authority; and Friends of the Fair; as well as many corporate partners. Miami Book Fair: Building community, one reader at a time. Follow the Miami Book Fair on social media @miamibookfair #miamireads.
Miami Book Fair contact: Lisa B. Palley, Palley Promotes, 305-761-1339, lpalley@bellsouth.net.