2015-16 miami book fair annual report

I N N O V E M B E R , A N D A L L Y E A R R O U N D During 8 days each November, hundreds of authors and thousands of readers

converge on downtown Miami for the nation’s premier literary festival.

AND WHEN THAT’S OVER, WE KEEP IT GOING, MONTH IN, MONTH OUT.

2015-16 annual report

Vanessa GarciaSeptember 9

Miami Book Fair is more than a great festival, or year-round program of literary events, it’s a community brought together by shared passions – a passion for books and reading, and for making Miami a great place to live.

The Fair has been making culture happen in Miami since 1983, always true to its founding principles of inclusion, constantly striving so that anyone, from anywhere, can participate in the culture of ideas.

Miami’s cultural landscape has changed tremendously since planning for the first Fair started. Many long-time Miami residents and culture makers agree that the Fair’s viability served to inspire, to build confidence, and that cultural leaders felt more sure with each successful Fair that their own endeavors — Miami City Ballet, HistoryMiami, Miami Art Museum — would thrive also. The Fair proved to all that Miami had readers, and by extension, theater and dance and art enthusiasts.

“The Fair is committed to promoting reading

and to creating a space in Miami where

everyone can come together. We want

everyone in Miami to find their Miami Book

Fair, and to know that when they attend

Miami Book Fair events, they are culture

makers too, no matter their day jobs. Making

the Fair the vibrant, interesting, cool event

that it is, is a collaborative effort. We are all

in it. This is our community, and all Miami is

coming together to build it – one reader at

a time.”

Lissette Mendez and Delia Lopez, co-directors, Miami Book Fair

Fair founders and staff feel great pride in the Fair’s role as cultural and civic standard-bearer, but even more pride in the Fair’s role in uniting community. And there’s no mystery why. As part of Miami Dade College, known colloquially as “Democracy’s College,” the Fair reflects the values of its home institution, and MDC’s mission to serve as a “cultural and civic beacon in our community.”

Over the past year, we’ve offered our community more than 100 programs and events with the goals of celebrating stories and the people who live them, imagine them, write them, tell them. Because when we celebrate stories, we celebrate life. We hope this report allows a glimpse of our passion for our community and its stories. As we move into the future we daily renew our commitment to Miami and its people, creating, in partnership with as many as want to join us, a place were mutual understanding of each other’s stories leads to greater peace and love.

building community one reader at a time

our story, and we’re sticking to it

CONTACT US! Delia LopezDIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS(305) 237-7832 / [email protected]

Lissette MendezDIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS(305) 237-7899 / [email protected]

Corey LewisMANAGER CORPORATE RELATIONS(305) 237-7847 / [email protected]

/miamibookfair miamibookfair.com

Surya: Indian Dance/Afro-Caribbean Poetics

Kunal Nayyar & Jesse Eisenberg

Beyond Margins, Within Intersections: A Caribbean LGBTQ Reading Street Fair

Rosemary Parkinson in The Kitchen

Read to Learn Books for Free

Tomaté una copa y escribe mejor

Read to Learn Books for FreePaul Giamatti & David Strathairn

MIAMI BOOK FAIR YEAR ROUND

At a Glance ............................................................... 6

By the Numbers ....................................................... 8

Reading Programs:Visiting Authors / Writers ........................................ 11

Read to Learn Books for Free ................................... 11

The Big Read ........................................................... 12

National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 .................... 12

The Working Poet Radio ........................................... 13

Lip Service / StoryPalooza ......................................... 13

Writing Programs: Writers Institute ...................................................... 15

Creative Writing Programs ........................................ 15

First Draft (English and Spanish) ............................. 16

Paz Poetry Prize ..................................................... 16

Interdisciplinary Programs: Haiti and Cuba: Twin Heartbeats or Miami ................. 18

Surya: Indian Dance / Afro Caribbean Poetic .............. 18

Haitian Caribbean Book Fair .................................... 19

African American Read-In ....................................... 19

En Español: Spanish Programs .................................................. 21

Brunch Literario .................................................... 21

MIAMI BOOK FAIR (NOVEMBER 15-22, 2015)

The Authors ........................................................... 23

The Street Fair, Porch, and Swamp ........................... 24

Generation Genius Children’s Programs .................... 25

Partnerships and Collaborations ............................... 25

table of contents

National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35

Generation Genius Children’s Alley

Tomaté una copa y escribe mejor

MDC students at Chelsea Clinton’s Book Presentation

2015-16 annual report / page 6

The Big ReadA month-long reading campaign to engage reluctant

readers. Powered by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In Spring 2016, we read Brother,

I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. Programs in Spanish, English, and Creole took place throughout the city.

Reading

Read to Learn Books For Free A literacy program, in partnership with The Children’s

Trust, that encourages children to read by making free books available in Miami-Dade County’s most

under-resourced neighborhoods. Shelves are located in public health clinics, neighborhood assistance

centers, public housing and elsewhere. More than 5,000 books are given away monthly.

Visit miamibookfair.com to donate money or books.

Multidisciplinary EventsReadings, lectures, and signings open to the public, plus so

much more! In English and Spanish.

NEW: A reading and conversation with the winners of The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program, which honors young fiction writers at the beginning of their careers. The Working Poet Radio Show (WPRS) a late-night, talk show-style event dedicated to exploring

the working lives of creative people. Guests run the gamut, from poets and novelists to graphic designers to

nanotechnologists. Lip Service: Eight readers. True stories. And a live audience. Anyone can submit! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll cringe. And you just might be inspired to tell your

own story. The Haitian-Caribbean Book Fair at the Little Haiti Cultural Center celebrated the culture of the region

over two days in May.

IN SPANISH: El Brunch Literario, escritores del patio se seunen con un escritor de visita a Miami para una

conversación intima durante un brunch.Elizabeth Alexander

Edwidge Danticat

@ m i a m i b o o k f a i r / m i a m i b o o k f a i r # m i a m i R E A D S

Miami Writers Institute Annual creative writing conference featuring workshops

with bestselling and award-winning authors and publishing professionals. In English and Spanish.

Creative Writing Program Non-credit creative writing courses and workshops

scheduled throughout the year. In English and Spanish.

Miami Book FairWriting

Author Events From newbies to Nobel prize winners, these authors—

their readings and discussions—are the heart of the Fair. In English, Spanish and Creole.

Street Fair Three days, millions of books, thousands of readers, live music, special events by interdisciplinary culture-makers,

and delicious food: a celebration unequaled.

Destination: Comics Miami Book Fair’s own comic-con! Featuring creator panels,

comics-making workshops, publishers and comics shops.

Generation Genius Children's AlleyActivities in seven pop-up “fun rooms” encourage learning, imagination, and exploration of science, visual arts, world

cultures, music, and health, and fitness.

Generation Genius Writes Creative writing workshops for children and teens in

locations throughout Miami, as well as in their schools. Taught by local and visiting authors.

The Porch: Miami Book Fair’s Gathering Place

The Porch is the place to meet friends, grab a drink and a bite, play games, browse books at Swampy’s Bookstore, groove with the Magic City’s fave DJs, and catch a pop-up

performance.

Generation Genius Authors Author readings and creative writing workshops for

children and teens, at Miami Book Fair (Best field trips ever!), and in classrooms all over the county. Free books

for all, thanks to the Fair’s generous sponsors.

Paz Prize for Poetry Miami Book Fair established The Paz Prize for Poetry in partnership with The National Poetry Series in 2012.

The award honors a poet writing in Spanish and living in the United States. The second Paz Prize winner,

chosen in Fall 2014, is Carlos Pintado for his collection, Nueve Monedas / Nine Coins. New contest submission

period opened in spring 2016.

NOVEMBER 13-20, 2016

First Draft Literary SocialsWrite a story. Have a drink.

Write a better story. Monthly.

IN SPANISH: ¡Tomate Una Copa y Escribe Mejor!

Una tertulia literaria guiada. Damos un tema, escribes. Hacemos pausa para tomar una copa. Y seguimos!

Mensualmente.

Creative Writing Workshop Street Fair


miami book fair year round by the numbersJune 2015 - May 2016 (excluding eight day festival)

121 events

9,621 attendees

38 event locations throughout South Florida

615 stories written

at First Draft events (and 1175 glasses of wine consumed!)

2,641 free books distributed to general public at cultural events

26 Big Read events and book discussions

17,000 miles traveled to deliver Read to Learn Books for Free books

40 Read to Learn Books for Free bookshelves across Miami-Dade County full of free books

58 Read to Learn Books for Free community partners collecting and donating free books for kids

19 creative-writing & publishing workshops,

attended by 553 participants

27 authors in Miami Dade College classrooms (all campuses)

23 true stories told out loud at Storypalooza and LipService

19 countries represented by our authors

183 authors & presenters

160,000 free books for kids distributed through Read to Learn Books for Free


740 authors

674 sessions held during the eight days, including cooking demos and culinary discussions, Children’s Alley storytelling and entertainment, live music, author presentations for children and at The Swamp

238

exhibitors,

including publishers, bookstores and organizations

200,000 total number of visitors to 2015 Miami Book Fair

40 countries represented by presenting authors

36 million times #miamibookfair2015 used on social media

52 venues used including Olympia Theater, EXILE Book Lounge, and The Standard hotel

41 corporate sponsors, institutional supporters and foundations contributed a total of

$754,217

14 million impressions generated by national and local media partners

2,200 volunteerspowered the Fair in 2015

32 author sessions in local schools, reaching 1,560 students

7,643books given FREE to children

523 Friends of the Fair donated more than

$158,828

the value of in-kind contributions from corporate and media sponsors totaled

$701,753

19,984 children enjoyed and learned at the Fair

2015 miami book fair by the numbersNovember 15-22, 2015 (Street Fair: November 20-22)

38 event locations throughout South Florida



reading programs

Salman Rushdie

VISITING WRITERSThe Visiting Writers program allows us to bring the type of high caliber authors that are at Miami Book Fair every November to Miami throughout the year. This year’s program was as robust as ever, with top-notch authors from all disciplines presenting at events open to the public and, frequently, meeting directly with students. Fall 2015 saw a number of visiting authors presenting in Spanish and in English, including Christina Balinotti, Mar Gómez Glez, Daniel Shoer Roth, Salman Rushdie, Chelsea Clinton, Diana Nyad, Cindy Crawford, Elizabeth Gilbert, Tim Weiner, David Mitchell, John Martin, Daniel Silva, and Rick Riordan. In the spring, Former Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly presented at the

Wolfson Campus Auditorium. Miami Book Fair Year-Round’s partnership with the Florida Literary Arts Coalition (FLAC) contributed to two author visits: Aja Monet, who visited MDC’s North Campus in the fall, and Andrea Chapin, who visited MDC’s InterAmerican and Wolfson campuses in the spring. These authors met with MDC students and participated in public events such as craft talks and readings; a total of 133 free books were distributed to MDC students. Former first daughter and Clinton Foundation spokeswoman Chelsea Clinton participated in a conversation, attended by 150 young people, about how youth can make a difference in the world. Free books were distributed to all attendees.

This countywide, year-long program has been ongoing since 2013. Miami Book Fair Year-Round has placed 40 bookshelves stocked with children’s books throughout Miami-Dade County in locations frequented by under-resourced families, including public health clinics, juvenile justice centers, foster care facilities, and homeless shelters. Children are encouraged to take and keep books from the shelves. Books are gathered through countywide book drives. In fall of 2015, Read to Learn once again participated in the Children’s Trust Family Expo, bringing in two incredible children’s authors, George O’Connor and Frank Cammuso, to present to hundreds of families. Over 300 of the authors’ books were given away to kids at the expo and autographed by the authors.

READ TO LEARN BOOKS FOR FREE

33 AUTHORS in the English and Spanish programs presented to the general public and to students

4,436 PEOPLE were impacted by the visiting author program

283 FREE BOOKS were distributed

160,000 FREE BOOKS distributed in 2015-16

340,000 FREE BOOKS distributed to date

$187,000 IN GRANT MONEY per year with additional support from Publix Supermarket charities and Give Miami Day efforts

58 COMMUNITY BOOK DRIVE PARTNERS helped collect tens of thousands of books for our bookshelves

100% of service locations strongly agreed that they would recommend this program to others


reading programs

reading programs

Chelsea Clinton Aja Monet Cindy Crawford


THE BIG READMiami Book Fair was awarded its eleventh grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to bring The Big Read to South Florida. This year’s events and projects were inspired by the Big Read’s official selection, Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat. The Big Read kick-off featured celebrated AP correspondent and author Jonathan Katz, who spoke on Haiti. The month-long series continued with several events focused on Haiti and the book’s themes of displacement and family, including film screenings followed by conversations with the directors, a photography exhibit juxtaposing Little Haiti and Little Havana with Haiti and Cuba, a writing

workshop, library discussions, a storytelling open mic, and a celebration of women’s voices with eight Haitian writers at Big Night in Little Haiti. As part of The Big Read’s outreach, four local Haitian authors were sent to Miami-Dade County Public Schools high schools to facilitate creative writing workshops, with each student receiving a copy of the selected title. The highlight of the month was the keynote talk between Big Read author Edwidge Danticat and Cheryl Little, Esq., director of Americans for Immigrant Justice. The Big Read was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Green Family Foundation.

The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 program, now in its tenth year, honors five young fiction writers at the beginning of their careers who are selected by past National Book Award winners and finalists, or previous 5 under 35 honorees. This year’s selection committee included Phil Klay, Fiona Maazel, Dina Mengestu, ZZ Packer, and Paul Yoo the finalists who made their way to Miami for an evening of readings included:

• Colin Barrett, author of Young Skins (Black Cat / Grove Atlantic). Selected by Paul Yoon.

• Angela Flournoy, author of The Turner House (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Selected by ZZ Packer.

• Megan Kruse, author of Call Me Home (Hawthorne Books). Selected by Phil Klay.

• Tracy O’Neill, author of The Hopeful (Ig Publishing). Selected by Fiona Maazel.

• Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, author of Fra Keeler (Dorothy, a publishing project). Selected by Dinaw Mengestu.

The event was moderated by LitHub.com Editor-in-Chief Jonny Diamond and was presented in partnership with the National Book Foundation.

NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION’S 5 UNDER 35

1,700 FREE COPIES of Brother, I’m Dying distributed to community participants, MDCPS high school students and MDC students in various campuses

1,681 PARTICIPANTS in this year’s Big Read activities

500,000+ SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS and 53 media stories and placements related to 2016 Big Read

14 EVENTS and a DOZEN READING DISCUSSIONS for 2016 Big Read.

5 Under 35 was the FIRST OF MANY COLLABORATIONS between Miami Book Fair Year Round and the National Book Foundation.

reading programs

Carl Juste and Jonathan Katz Edwidge Danticat Celebration of Women’s Voices


THE WORKING POET RADIO SHOWIn partnership with The Working Poet Radio Show, a live interview series, founded by Joseph Lapin, dedicated to the working lives of creative people, Miami Book Fair produced two live-recorded shows: one in November during Miami Book Fair, and a second in April for National Poetry Month. The Working Poet Radio Show was a success in the fall, with the participation of several high-profile guests: actor and writer John Leguizamo, comics author and artist Derf Backderf, and book editor Charles Kochman. In April, Miami Book Fair’s The Working Poet Radio

Show was part of the official O, Miami Poetry Festival programming for National Poetry Month. Held at Little Haiti Cultural Center, the event featured Dark Noise Collective, a multiracial, multigenre cohort of six performing artists who seek to empower youth and artists, specifically those who are underrepresented. The six performers were Danez Smith, Aaron Samuels, Franny Choi, Jamila Woods, Nate Marshall, and Fatimah Asghar. Podcasts are available on the Miami Book Fair website and iTunes. A live video recording of the show is also available on our website.

In spring 2016, Miami Book Fair took over Lip Service, a live storytelling event that was founded in Miami eight years ago is dedicated to presenting the smartest, hottest, and most honest storytelling event in South Florida: eight people, eight stories, eight minutes each. The stories are hilarious, heartbreaking, poignant, embarrassing, inspiring, and all true! This addition to our programs fits in well with our mission of promoting reading, writing, and community-building through storytelling. Workshops and auditions are being planned for next season and will help writers develop their stories for the stage show. Storypalooza: True Stories Open Mic is a new component developed by the Miami Book Fair team. During Storypalooza, anyone can take the microphone to tell a four-minute story in front of an audience and get feedback from a panel of editors. Lip Service Stage Show takes place twice a year; Storypalooza takes place monthly.

LIP SERVICE & STORYPALOOZA

450 ATTENDEES between both events

10 AMAZING ARTISTS and performers sharing their stories with Miami

reading programs

380 ATTENDEES at two spring events with an additional 300 ATTENDEES at the event at the 2015 Miami Book Fair.

Celebration of Women’s Voices

Nate Marshall Aaron Samuels

Lip ServiceStorypalooza

Lip Service



writing programs

First Draft


writing programs

writing programs

MIAMI WRITER’S INSTITUTEThe 11th Annual Miami Writers Institute took place in May. Four days of creative writing and publishing workshops with authors and editors featured critically acclaimed authors from all over the country, including Dani Shapiro, Smith Henderson, Terrance Hayes, Jacinda Townsend, The Book Doctors, Daína Chaviano, and literary agent Allison Devereux. Workshops included:

• New Shadows: Reading to Write

• Conflict Through Character: The Bottom-Up Approach

• Finding the Right Sentence: From Chaos Into Art

• Finding and Shaping the Larger Story

• Creative Fiction: Intensive Class (Spanish)

• How to Get Published Successfully

• Perfecting Your Pitch

• Manuscript consultations with a literary agent

Creative Writing Workshops are taught by local and visiting authors, open to writers of all levels. Workshops offered in the fall included:

• First Impressions: Memoir and Your First Chapter with Nikki Moustaki

• Learning, then Burning (Or at Least Overturning) the Writing Rule Book with Roxanna Elden

• Creative Nonfiction: What Is It and Where Do I Start? with Vanessa Garcia

• Travel Stories: How to Write the World with Tom Swick

Creative Writing workshops in the spring included:

• Introduction to Screenwriting with Margaret Cardillo Fronefield and Luke Fronefield

• Fiction Through Time and Space: Historical Fiction with Fabienne Josaphat.

• In Spanish, master classes with Jorge Benavides, Roberto Brodsky, Jose Ignacio Valenzuela, Samanta Schweblin, and Menena Cottin were offered at MDC’s Koubek center.

CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAMS

115 WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS from all over Florida, out of state, and even internationally, from Aruba.

144 PARTICIPANTS in fall and spring

Smith Henderson

Dani Shapiro Jacinda Townsend


writing programs

interdisciplinary programs

FIRST DRAFTFirst Draft: A Literary Social/ Tomate Una Copa y Escribe Mejor take place monthly (one in English and one in Spanish). At these gatherings, a guest author leads participants in a writing prompt before participants break out to write on their own. Participants share their work aloud and socialize over cocktails and appetizers.

Guest Authors included Vanessa Garcia, Kacee Belcher, Pedro Medina, Aja Monet, Reinaldo García Ramos, Nick Garnett, Jan Becker, Juan Carlos Valls, and Julie Marie Wade.

Miami Book Fair continues its collaboration with The National Poetry Series to award The Paz Prize for Poetry. Named in honor of the late Nobel Prize-winning poet Octavio Paz, the award recognizes a previously unpublished poetry book written in Spanish by a poet residing in the U.S. The winning book is published in a bilingual edition by Akashic Books, and its author receives a $2,000 cash prize. In the past, renowned Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco and Puerto Rican

poet Victor Hernandez Cruz served as judges.

PAZ PRIZE FOR POETRY

423 participants in 2015 - 16

The current judge is ACHY OBEJAS

The WINNING POET will be announced fall 2016

The WINNING BOOK will be published in fall 2017 Carlos Pintado, second winner of The Paz Prize for Poetry

First Draft events at various locations throughout the city




Surya: Indian Dance/Afro-Caribbean Poetics



HAITI & CUBA: TWIN HEARTBEATS OF MIAMI Created by Miami Herald photojournalist Carl Juste in partnership with Miami Book Fair, this project brought together students from Miami Dade College’s Honors College to collaborate on a project inspired by the book Havana and Haiti: Two Cultures, One Community, which explores the cultures of Haiti and Cuba through photography and essays by more than 40 photojournalists and writers. The goal of the project was to have the students develop an appreciation of each other’s cultures and a better understanding of the numerous similarities that exist between them, which become obvious when the lens is focused and the words are chosen with care. The project culminated with an exhibition and chapbook of photography and writing.

Surya: Indian Dance/Afro-Caribbean Poetics was funded in part by a Knight Foundation Art Challenge grant. A fusion of traditional Indian dance and Afro-Caribbean poetry, it featured traditional Indian dancer Ranjana Warier and Cuban-Dominican-American poet Adrian Castro. Both collaborated on the creation

of an original performance to highlight the ways these two cultures coexist in South Florida. On April 2, an artistic conversation and performance took place at Miami Dade College and was free and open to the public. PoetryDance.com archived the project.

SURYA: INDIAN DANCE/AFRO-CARIBBEAN POETICS

20 STUDENT PARTICIPANTS created amazing final photo and writing projects

200 VISITORS on opening night of the photography exhibition

500 CHAPBOOKS of student works printed and distributed

500 ATTENDEES between both Surya events

Carl Juste working with students

Student photoPhotography exhibition



HAITIAN-CARIBBEAN BOOK FAIRThis year, Miami Book Fair established a partnership with Libreri Mapou Creole bookstore and the Little Haiti Cultural Center to present the 4th Annual Haitian-Caribbean Book Fair in Little Haiti. The Haitian-Caribbean Book Fair took place May 28 and 29 and included cultural performances, an author panel with Father William Smarth and Historian Anthony George-Pierre, creative writing workshops for adults, StoryArts Time! and other programming for children, and a street fair featuring more than 50 authors, publishers, and vendors. Read to Learn Books for Free distributed books to children and teens in attendance. Miami Book Fair will continue to partner with these organizations to further serve our Haitia-Caribbean community.

The African American Read-In takes place at Wolfson and North Campus during the first week of February. The goal is to make literacy, education, and community a significant part of Black History Month. Dr. Carl Hart was this year’s visiting author, and free copies of his book, High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything

You Know about Drugs and Society, were distributed to attendees.

AFRICAN AMERICAN READ-IN

800 ATTENDEES

300 FREE BOOKS distributed

550 ATTENDEES

500 FREE BOOKS distributed



spanish programs

Leonardo Padura


spanish programs

spanish programs

LA FERIA EN ESPAÑOLThe Miami Book Fair Year-Round’s Spanish programs included numerous readings, panel discussions, and book presentations, as well as creative writing workshops and master classes, a multidisciplinary poetry and music celebration, and a children’s day literary picnic for families.

A total of 50 authors and artists participated in the Spanish Program events:

• Pablo Brescia and Luis Alberto Ambroggio from Argentina (living in Tampa)

• Samanta Schweblin from Argentina (living in Germany)

• Daína Chaviano, Yosie Crespo, Juan David Ferrer, Alberto Lauro, Carlos Pintado, Antonio Orlando Rodríguez, Maurice Sparks, José Fernández Pequeño, Sergio Andricaín, Greity González, Daisy Valls, Iliana Prieto, Marisela Verena, José Kozer, Orlando González Esteva, Magnolia García Treviño and Reinaldo García Ramos from Cuba (living in Miami)

• José Ignacio Valenzuela from Chile (living in Miami)

• Ana Laura Delgado and Israel Barrón from México

• Cristina Keller and Gloria Milá de la Roca from Venezuela (living in Miami)

• Pedro Medina from Peru (living in Miami)

• Rubén Torres Llorca, Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig, Mónica Prandi, Hernán Vera Alvarez, Mario Diament, Carina Barón and Alejandra Ferraza, from Argentina (living in Miami)

• Susana Poch from Uruguay

• Roberto Brodsky from Chile (living in Washington DC)

• Rubi Arana, Franklin Caldera, Ángel Cuadra, Vilma Duarte, Javier Iglesias, Danilo López Román and Leyla Torres from Nicaragua (living in Miami)

BRUNCH LITERARIOThis initiative brings a visiting author and local peers together in an intimate conversation. Taking place at the Koubek Center, each brunch encourages a rich and productive exchange of ideas. In Spanish. Some participating authors: Mar Gómez Glez, Camilo Pino, Andrés Pi, Carmen Duarte, Roberto Brodsky, Carlos Gamez, Gabriela Ovando, Mario Diament, José Kozer.

26 SPANISH-LANGUAGE events

16 EVENTS at Miami Dade College’s Koubek Center

765 ATTENDEES

50 AUTHORS AND ARTISTS presented their work

19 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED by presenting authors

4 CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS and master classes

Fiesta de la Lectura Orlando González Esteva

Susana Poch Brunch Literario Celebración del Día del Libro



miami book fair (November 15-22, 2015)

Street Fair


miami book fair (November 15-22, 2015) miami book fair

THE AUTHORSThe prestigious Evenings With… series included the internationally acclaimed musician and bestselling author Patti Smith, mega-bestselling and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Jane Smiley, former Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich, cult icon and celebrated British novelist Jeanette Winterson, award-winning journalist and long-time NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Gary Snyder, and top political advisor and strategist to Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, David Axelrod.

Weekend highlights included presentations by Congressman John Lewis, Peggy Noonan, Jon Meacham, Ted Koppel, Paul Giamatti, P.J. O’Rourke, actor Jesse Eisenberg, Joyce Carol Oates, John Leguizamo and Rosie Perez.

Panel discussions covered hot and timely topics, including: the intersection of technology and culture, Caribbean literature, genealogy and the African diaspora, the new era of U.S.-Cuban relations, the rise of the Islamic State, scientific exploration of the past and present, and race in America, among others.

Ibero-American authors included renowned Latin American and Spanish authors, including Leonardo Padura, Elmer Mendoza, Laura Restrepo, Pablo de Santis, Gioconda Belli, Abilio Estévez, Perla Suez, Jorge Ramos.

200,000 VISITORS to the 2015 Miami Book Fair

740 PRESENTING AUTHORS

40 COUNTRIES REPRESENTED by presenting authors

19 VENUES presenting back-to-back author sessions

465 AUTHOR SESSIONS held over eight days

32 AUTHOR SESSIONS IN LOCAL SCHOOLS, reaching 1,560 students

Peggy Noonan

Marlon James

Rosie Perez and John Leguizamo Patti SmithRobert Reich

Pablo de Santis, Élmer Mendoza and José C. Vales


miami book fair

THE STREET FAIR, PORCH AND SWAMPTHE STREET FAIRThe three-day Street Fair (November 20-22), is the soul of the Book Fair with more than 200 national and international exhibitors selling millions of books. 200,000 attendees not only enjoyed the huge number and variety of books for sale, but also the live music, street performers, children’s activities, and delicious food of every variety. Not to mention entire sections dedicated to comics (Destination Comics) and up-and-coming regional writers (Writers Row).

Attending vendors/publishers this year included Books & Books, Harper Collins, Houghton Mifflin, Grove Atlantic, and Akashic Books just to name a few.

THE SWAMP The Swamp, a pop-up literary and cultural performance lounge, debuted at the 2014 Book Fair. This new initiative celebrated Miami’s unique cultural mix by including more than 30 events created by 35 Florida-based cultural organizations. The Swamp honored South Florida’s Cuban and Haitian communities by exhibiting large format portraits (8 feet x 8 feet) of Cubans and Haitians created by photojournalist Carl Juste. The Swamp was funded by a Knight Arts Challenge grant.

THE PORCHThe Porch, a new area of the Fair, created community by providing a space for fairgoers to relax in fellowship while participating in entertaining activities with a cultural focus. Outdoor seating, music, food trucks, and a pop-up farmers market and bookstore provided recreation, refreshments, and intellectual nourishment. The Porch was funded by the Miami Foundation.

MIAMI BOOK FAIR MARKETING:Through the Book Fair’s robust marketing efforts and its amazing media partners, news and stories about the Book Fair spread across Miami, the country and the world. Below are a few highlights:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Snapchat, Periscope, and YouTube generated 207 million impressions

#miamibookfair2015 was used 36 million times

Email blasts, ads and other online promotions led to 8.5 million impressions

Street Fair

The Swamp

The Porch

miami book fair

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONSFrom the 40+ partners who helped make the Swamp and the Porch the home base for fun, funky, and cultural events and happenings at the Fair to the various cultural institutions and performers who helped bring the Children’s Alley to life; The Book Fair would not be possible without all of our amazing community partners and the incredible collaborations that help make the Book Fair the true community it is.

READINGQUEER COLLABORATIONIn partnership with local nonprofit ReadingQueer, the Fair highlighted the work of GLBTQ authors. Approximately 20 authors and artists participated in performances and panel discussions. A special night of poetry and performance with partner The Olympia Theater paid homage to the film Paris is Burning and to “ball” culture, a political, artistic, sexual, and gender identity movement in South Florida and around the country.

NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION PARTNERSHIPFor the second year, the Fair partnered with the National Book Foundation to bring the finalists of the National Book Awards for a special reading and conversation during the Fair. 27 of the 40 finalists, and all of the winners, participated. Also in 2015, a new component to the partnership was added: the Fair hosted its first Teen Summit/ Press Conference on Friday of the Street Fair. 300 students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools attended. 150 of them were student journalists who asked in-depth questions of the authors—the finalists in the Young People’s Literature category of the National Book Awards. These programs were funded by the Knight Foundation.


Through children’s programs at last year’s Book Fair, we:

Distributed more than 7,600 BOOKS

MORE THAN 19,000 KIDS attended Children’s Alley and GGA

MORE THAN 8,400 STUDENTS FROM 120 SOUTH FLORIDA SCHOOLS participated in Generation Genius Authors

Held more than 105 SEPARATE PERFORMANCES AND AUTHORS SESSIONS

GENERATION GENIUS CHILDREN’S PROGRAMSLast year, more than 19,000 kids were able to enjoy Generation Genius programming at the Fair. Generation Genius programs foster literacy, promote reading and encourage learning and consists of interdisciplinary events and activities that encourage learning and imagination through reading and writing, storytelling, art, music and theatre. Programs at the 2015 Book Fair included:

GENERATION GENIUS CHILDREN’S ALLEYAn educational and literary playground dedicated to children. Authors, storytellers, puppeteers, dancers and musicians bring stories to life on a plaza in the heart of Street Fair.

GENERATION GENIUS AUTHORSAuthor readings and creative writing workshops for children and teens, at the Fair, and in classrooms all over Miami. Free books for all, thanks to Book Fair’s generous sponsors.

Participating authors and performers at this year’s Fair included Dav Pilkey, Congressman John Lewis, Melissa De La Cruz, Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Ali Benjamin and Dave Barry.

Performers included the Story Pirates, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, National Geographic for Kids, Greater Miami Youth Symphony, and Guitars Over Guns.

Students with author Cristina Diaz Gonzalez

Author Dav Pilkey Congressman John Lewis

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING: In addition to our dedication to present diverse and dynamic authors and cultural programs at the Fair, we also undertake a robust marketing campaign, including aggressive marketing strategies, to effectively reach regional, national, and international markets. The 2015 Book Fair generated nearly 250 million identified gross impressions through marketing, promotional, and advertising campaigns. Book Fair continued to escalate use of social marketing. The Fair’s social properties include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Snapchat, Periscope, and YouTube. These properties generated 207 million impressions. The hashtag #miamibookfair2015 was

used 36 million times. The Fair revamped its website for more accessibility and, for a fifth year, Book Fair hosted a mobile site that Fairgoers could access from smartphones to check out events, plan their visit, and build their own personal schedule.

We also conduct significant marketing efforts for our year-round programs. For example, for this year’s

Big Read, we generated more than 500,000 impressions on social media, had more than 53 media stories and placements and distributed more than 10,000 event brochures.

SUPPORT & SPONSORSHIP: We also recognize the importance of creating a sustainable event with a well-diversified group of supporters who are dedicated to the long term health of the Book Fair and our year-round events. Our fundraising efforts are led by an experienced fundraising staff and supported by the Book Fair’s senior leadership team and Advisory Board, all of whom have a history of being active and engaged in the Book Fair’s fundraising efforts, with an established track record of success.

The Book Fair has a strong track record of securing financial support from foundations, corporate sponsors, and governmental agencies in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. For example, last year’s book fair was supported by:

• 41 corporate sponsors and foundation supporters including the Knight Foundation, OHL-Arellano, The Batchelor Foundation, the de Groot Foundation and South Motors ($754,217)

• 550+ Friends of the Fair and individual donors ($158,000)

• Institutional supporters like the County and State Department of Cultural Affairs, Downtown Development Authority and Miami Dade Public Schools ($200,000)

• 26 Media and In-Kind sponsors including the Miami Herald, American Airlines, GMCVB, C-Span 2, WLRN, and the Standard ($700,00).

We now fundraise more than 60 % of the Book Fair’s annual $2 million budget with the remainder coming from nearly $300,000 in earned revenue as well as the generous support of Miami Dade College.


a note about our storyMiami Dade College established the Florida Center for the Literary Arts in 2001 as a college-wide academic and cultural initiative that promotes the appreciation of literature in all forms and engages South Florida’s diverse community in an exchange of ideas. It was designed to serve both college students and residents of Miami-Dade County. Since its inception, the literary center has changed names several times, with each iteration reflecting efforts by staff and supporters to define and capture the evolving nature of the initiative. The original name, Florida Center for the Literary Arts, evolved into The Center for Literature and Theatre @ Miami Dade College and then into The Center for Writing and Literature @ Miami Dade College. After much discussion, and acknowledging the “brand recognition” of the center’s largest endeavor, Miami Book Fair, the literary center activities are being marketed as Miami Book Fair Year Round at Miami Dade College. The goal is to create more awareness and build new audiences with new marketing and outreach strategies. The name of The Center for Writing and Literature has been phased out completely from all of our communication this year.

Miami Book Fair founders, Mitchell Kaplan and Eduardo J. Padrón with current MBF directors, Lissette Mendez and Delia Lopez

Social media has become one of the most successful ways we market the Book Fair

NOVEMBER 13-20, 2016 STREET FAIR: NOVEMBER 18-20

AT MIAMI DADE COLLEGE, WOLFSON CAMPUS, DOWNTOWN MIAMI

AUTHOR PANELS & READINGS NOVEMBER 13 - 20

STREET FAIR & CHILDREN’S ALLEY

NOVEMBER 18 - 20

STREET FAIR ADMISSION (NOV. 19 & 20) $8CHILDREN 12 AND UNDER: FREE / 13-17 AND OVER 62: $5

600+ AUTHORS A BOOK FOR EVERY AGE AND INTEREST

LIVE MUSICON THE PORCH

FUN FOR KIDS IN CHILDREN’S ALLEY

COOKING DEMOSIN THE KITCHEN

FREE PARKING IN MDC GARAGE BUILDING 7

/miamibookfair #MiamiBookFair2016 #miamiREADS

VISIT MIAMIBOOKFAIR.COM FOR YEAR ROUND EVENTS

DURING EIGHT DAYS EACH NOVEMBER HUNDREDS OF AUTHORS AND THOUSANDS OF READERS CONVERGE ON DOWNTOWN MIAMI FOR THE NATION’S PREMIER LITERARY FESTIVAL.

AND WHEN THAT’S OVER, WE KEEP IT GOING, MONTH IN, MONTH OUT.

Miami Dade College District Board of Trustees Helen Aguirre Ferré, Chair • Armando J. Bucelo Jr., Vice Chair

Marili Cancio • Daniel Diaz Leyva • Benjamín León III • Bernie Navarro • Armando J. Olivera

Eduardo J. Padrón, President, Miami Dade College

Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation or genetic information.

Contact the Office of Director, Equal Opportunity Programs/ADA Coordinator, at 305-237-2577 for assistance.

300 N.E. Second Ave., Freedom Tower, 7th Floor Miami, Florida 33132-2296

And hundreds of other individuals, corporations, foundations, and institutional supporters including the Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Cultural Affairs Council, The Miami Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida,

Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

Supporters of Miami Book Fair include:

/miamibookfair www.miamibookfair.com

The Batchelor Foundation

2015-16 miami book fair annual report

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