From November 13-20, the Miami Book Fair will feature panel discussions, readings, and conversations from Florida authors who've devoted their lives to crafting uniquely Floridian stories. From chronicles of the plight facing Florida's manatees to a deep dive into the aftermath of gun violence in Miami, Florida's top authors are highlighting their state's issues at this year's fair.
Nadege Green
Miami researcher, writer, and archivist Nadege Green has devoted her professional life to telling stories about the lived experience of Black people in South Florida. For her recent anthology, More Than What Happened: the Aftermath of Gun Violence in Miami, Green utilizes history and first-person narrative to demonstrate the resilience and love that perseveres after people's lives become irrevocably changed by gun violence.More Than What Happened: the Aftermath of Gun Violence in Miami Panel Discussion. 12:30 p.m. Saturday, November 19, at 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, Third Floor, Room 8301).
Kathie Klarreich
After a quarter of a century working as a journalist for NPR, ABC, and the New York Times, Kathie Klarreich founded Exchange for Change, a Miami-based nonprofit that facilitates writing workshops in correctional systems. Don't Shake the Spoon: a Journal of Prison Writing is a literary journal containing the essays, poems, and stories of Florida's incarcerated individuals, gathered through Exchange for Change programming. Klarreich will discuss her latest publication in a panel including Eyone Williams, an author and violence-prevention specialist who served 17 years in prison during his young adulthood and Darren Tinker, an Exchange for Change program participant who served more than three years in Florida state prisons for a crime he didn't commit.Kathie Klarreich on Don't Shake the Spoon: A Journal of Prison Writing. 11:30 a.m. Saturday, November 21, at 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, Third Floor, 8301).
Craig Pittman
In Manatee Insanity: Inside the War Over Florida's Most Famous Endangered Species, bestselling author and journalist Craig Pittman takes a deep dive into the history of Florida's efforts to legally protect manatees. This work continues Pittman's efforts to share the stories of Florida's most unique wildlife and people with both humor and heart, which he's achieved for the past three decades for outlets like the Tampa Bay Times and the Florida Phoenix. During the fair, Pittman will share stories from his time reporting on the Floridian environmental beat in conversation with two other Floridian authors: Clay Henderson and Anne McCrary Sullivan.Craig Pittman, Clay Henderson, and Anne McCrary Sullivan: A Conversation. 2 p.m. Saturday, November 19, at Magic Screening Room, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, First Floor).
Vanessa Garcia
She's written for Sesame Street, her plays have been produced globally, and now she's created a children's picture book. Vanessa Garcia's What the Bread Says: Baking with Love, History, and Papan tells the story of a girl and her grandfather who embark on a baking adventure that takes them from Spain to France to Cuba and teaches them the power of roots, family, and love. Garcia will appear in conversation with Cuban author Carlos Manuel Álvarez during the fair, as well as read What the Bread Says during Picture Book Story Time in the Children's Alley.Carlos Manuel Álvarez and Vanessa Garcia: a Conversation. 3 p.m. Saturday, November 19, at Magic Screening Room, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, First Floor).
What the Bread Says: Baking with Love, History, and Papan Picture Book Story Time. Noon Sunday, November 20, at Children's Alley, Magic Screening Room, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami.
Anne McCrary Sullivan
In The Everglades: Stories of Grit and Spirit from the Mangrove Wilderness, Anne McCrary Sullivan relays the experiences of those who have traversed one of Florida's wildest corners and made it back to tell tales of shark encounters, manatee rescues, and endless beauty. The Fulbright scholar, professor emerita of National Louis University, and artist in residence in Everglades fellow (a partnership with Everglades National Park that aims to empower artists to think critically and creatively about their relationship with the environment) will appear in conversation with fellow Floridian authors Craig Pittman and Clay Henderson.Craig Pittman, Clay Henderson, and Anne McCrary Sullivan: a Conversation. 2 p.m. Saturday, November 19, at Magic Screening Room, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, First Floor).
Anastasia Samoylova
Miami-based photographer Anastasia Samoylova explores the unique contradictions — the paradise carved out of wild swamp, the beauty and bloat accompanying the development of land — that coalesce to make Florida the head-scratcher it is. In Floridas, a photo dialogue on Florida's past and present, Samoylova pairs her photos with the work of Walker Evans, who photographed the Sunshine State from the 1930s to the 1970s. She will discuss her recent work during the fair in a conversation moderated by Heather Diack, associate professor of art history at the University of Miami.Floridas: a Reading. 4 p.m. Saturday, November 19, at Magic Screening Room, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, First Floor).
Clay Henderson
In Forces of Nature: a History of Florida Land Conservation, retired Stetson University faculty member Clay Henderson draws on his long career as an environmental lawyer to celebrate the Sunshine State's storied history as a leader in state-funded conservation and land preservation. From chronicling the earliest naturalists like John Muir to highlighting little-known efforts — like Frank Chapman convincing Teddy Roosevelt to make Pelican Island in Florida's Indian River County the nation's first wildlife refuge — Henderson crafts a complete history of the perseverance necessary to make Florida home to nearly 30 national wildlife refuges and one of the country's most extensive state park systems. He will appear in conversation with fellow Floridian authors Craig Pittman and Anne McCrary Sullivan.Craig Pittman, Clay Henderson, and Anne McCrary Sullivan: A Conversation. 2 p.m. Saturday, November 19, at Magic Screening Room, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, First Floor).
Deb Rogers
Working as a blogger, policymaker, and victim advocate, Deb Rogers has traversed the entire state in efforts to improve Florida's response to violent crime, and she worked for a few years as a wilderness schoolteacher. In her recent novel Florida Woman, Rogers introduces readers to a woman whose life has gone viral following an outrageous crime she didn't mean to commit. The heroine attempts to find solace while logging in community service hours at a Florida shelter for rescued monkeys, but she ends up uncovering something more sinister than she could've imagined. During the fair, Rogers will appear in conversation with fellow crime and mystery novelists Sascha Rothchild and Virginia Hartman.Sascha Rothchild, Deb Rogers, and Virginia Hartman: A Conversation. 4 p.m. Saturday, November 19, at 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, Second Floor, 8202).
James A. Kushlan and Kirstin Hines
Author and wildlife photographer Kirstin Hines and writer, ornithologist, and conservationist James A. Kushlan teamed up to create Everglades National Park, a full-color celebration of the park's 75th anniversary. The pair track the national park's history in full, from its creation as a movement to save the wetlands from those plucking egret feathers for women's hats to its current status as a protected wild space that welcomes nearly one million visitors each year. Hines and Kushlan will appear in conversation with James C. Clark, a historian and the author of A History Lover's Guide to Florida.James A. Kushlan, Kirstin Hines, and James C. Clark: A Conversation. Noon Saturday, November 19, at Magic Screening Room, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami (Building 8, First Floor).
