Need a dose of feminism in this postelection-funhouse version of reality? Yeah, us too. Luckily, the Miami Book Fair launches Sunday, bringing these inspiring women writers to push back against the nightmare of Election 2016 — or at least distract us from it for a bit.
Artemis Fowl II is a very bad boy. The 12-year-old is a crime prodigy who takes the skills he learned from his Irish mobster father and thwarts his opponents — who are fairies, by the way — through a quick wit and state-of-the-art tech. Fowl would fit in far better…
When I saw that Bob Dylan had won the Nobel Prize last Friday, I fired off a quick, emotional tweet: “Without qualifications, Bob Dylan winning a Nobel for literature is dumb.” Dylan’s literary award was last Friday’s black-and-blue dress, and if you don’t immediately pick a side, are you really…
You can feel the Bern at the Miami Book Fair this year. Senator Bernie Sanders will take the microphone at a special book fair event in his honor the evening of Nov. 19. He’ll be promoting his book, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In, in which he “shares his…
If one of the joys of reading is that it takes you to a different world, this year’s Miami Book Fair does the reverse: It brings the world to you. Now in its 33rd year, the annual celebration of literature, creativity, and community-building through the written word will debut a…
As Wynwood, Miami’s burgeoning arts district, battles the Zika outbreak discovered in July, the neighborhood remains at a loss. “The name Wynwood is on people’s minds on a national scale,” says Diego Orlandini, founder of the Wynwood Coloring Book. “They associate it with Zika. It’s time we show people what Wynwood…
In her career as a journalist and author, Geraldine Brooks has traveled the world. Born in Australia, Brooks became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and has ventured to the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, and Yugoslavia in search of her next story. And in November, she’ll head to Miami to…
New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer remembers living in his grandmother’s one-bedroom, six-person apartment in North Miami Beach as a teenager. The first in his family to attend a four-year college, he is now the author of more than ten historical thrillers and the creator of Decoded, a show on the…
Three years after her father’s death, Annette Libeskind Berkovits could still barely surmount the grief. She kept avoiding the inevitable task of going through his clothes and belongings, instead keeping them out of sight, if never out of mind. When she finally decided to venture into his old room and navigate…
You’ve probably already heard about the headliners planned for the 2016 edition of the Miami Book Fair International: Daily Show host Trevor Noah, actor Alan Cumming, food star Padma Lakshmi and more. These are the subjects of the fair’s “Evenings With” series, its most popular events featuring talks and readings…
This Saturday, Bookleggers mobile library will celebrate its four-year anniversary in a fashion that could best sum up its run of bringing books to the masses in an unorthodox way: by drinking good beer, eating great food, and riding a mechanical alligator. If that doesn’t sum up Bookleggers outside-the-box business…
Three years ago, 18-year-old artist Israel Hernandez, also known as Reefa, was fatally tasered by police officers who found him creating a piece of illegal street art. The news split Miami in two. Some accused the cops of unwarranted brutality; others condemned Hernandez as a criminal. But filmmaker and producer…
Craig Pittman knows a thing or two about weird Florida. A native Floridian, the Tampa Bay Times reporter has spent his career wading through the wacky workings of the Sunshine State. His new book, Oh, Florida! How America’s Weirdest State Influences the Rest of the Country, dives deep into the bizarre…
Harry Potter has returned, and he’s officially adulting. Strange as it sounds, the boy who lived is 36 years old and embarking on a whole new adventure. One that involves a cursed child, apparently. A new play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts 1 & 2, written by Jack…
Alex Noghaven and Atena Sherry can barely contain their excitement about the outlook of Miami’s writing scene. They talk in caffeinated bursts, speaking for and maneuvering around each other in conversation to fawn about the blooming literary landscape. “Miami is just kind of burgeoning with this stuff,” says Noghaven, 25…
Among the canon of misquotes, “Write drunk, edit sober” is something of a masterpiece. Most often attributed to Daiquiri namesake Ernest Hemingway, the louche imperative is actually a corruption of a fairly instructive Peter De Vries remark. While it may not be responsible for any Nobels, the advice has resonated…
It’s always intriguing to see how outsiders portray Miami in their work. When artist or authors use Miami as inspiration and research in their work, reflecting our city’s strange sense of normality back at unsuspecting consumers, it sometimes presents an even more authentic version of ourselves. Lauren Weisberger, author of…
If you like books with your booze, you’ve probably attended a Bookleggers pop-up event. The independent mobile library has been running pop-ups at venues all around South Florida each month for the past four years — and those venues often have a tasty drink and a party atmosphere. But last…
Bookleggers, the non-profit community mobile library that has built a cult following in Miami over the past few years, is heading to the big leagues — specifically, Major League Baseball. The organization is partnering with Marlins Park for a burger, beer, and book event July 8th. Budweiser Burger & Beer…
Leave it to Mitchell Kaplan, the godfather of Miami’s bookselling scene, to keep bringing literary innovation to South Florida more than three decades after opening his first store. Kaplan’s newest venture — a books-meets-bikes-meets-art shop — has popped up in Miami’s most colorfully dressed neighborhood: Wynwood. The concept, which sits…
Miami doesn’t have much of a literary reputation. Despite the town’s rich cultural diversity and ideal setting, few big-name local writers have emerged from South Florida. VONA is an organization looking to change that. Founded in 1999 by Junot Diaz, Elmaz Abinader, and Diem Jones, VONA gives a voice to…
The advice we get when we are particularly disgusted by a politician is to hold your nose and vote for the lesser of two evils. But wouldn’t it be nice if instead of having to choose between a billionaire narcissist or a two-faced phony, there could be a candidate who…
