A Geek's Guide to the Miami Book Fair International

Your average bookworm would get an absolute thrill from the Miami Book Fair International's lineup next weekend. Uber-geeks, on the other hand, are going to totally, well, geek out. Event organizers have carved out an awesome space just for us nerdy types.See also:- Miami Book Fair International Announces Author Schedule-...

By Elisa Melendez

November 8, 2012

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Your average bookworm would get an absolute thrill from the Miami Book Fair International's lineup next weekend. Uber-geeks, on the other hand, are going to totally, well, geek out. Event organizers have carved out an awesome space just for us nerdy types.

See also:
- Miami Book Fair International Announces Author Schedule
- Miami Book Fair's 2012 Dates and Authors

Here are the top things geeks should make a beeline for at the Fair:

For the intellectuals with a sense of humor, be sure to check out author and South Florida darling Dave Barry and The Onion writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy as they show off their respective books, Lunacy and The Onion Book of Known Knowledge (Saturday, November 17, 10 AM, Chapman Conference Center, Building 3, 2nd Floor, Room 3210).

Click through for more geek-approved events.

Graphic novel enthusiasts looking to witness the shattering of the industry's glass ceiling in person should not miss the conversation between author Aline Crumb and scholar Hillary Chute, who authored her own examination of gender and the graphic novel industry, Graphic Women (Saturday, November 17, 2:30 p.m., Batten, Building 2, 1st Floor, Room 2106).

Looking to absolutely school your friends on Words with Friends? Envious of Scrabble competitors' loquaciousness? Word wizards should sprint/canter/dash/dart/scamper/whisk themselves to Is That a Word? David Bukszpan on From AA to ZZZ, the Weird and Wonderful Language of SCRABBLE (Saturday, November 17, 3:30 p.m., Room 8316, Building 8, 3rd Floor).

If you still need evidence to convince your peers that comics are awesome and are more than just mindless ink on paper, look no further than Comics and Social Change: with Marjorie Liu, Dan Parent, Ellen Forney, Stephanie McMillan, and Riva Hocherman. Moderated by DC Comics/Vertigo editor Joan Hilty. (Sunday, November 18, 1 p.m., Centre Gallery (Building 1, 3rd Floor, Room 1365). Liu and Parent are particularly known for writing or downright introducing gay characters into Marvel comics and Archie respectively, while the other authors make their own connections between comics and broader social issues.

That is just a taste of Miami Book Fair International's love for geek. Their Comics and Graphic Novel section on their website -- an entire section! -- promises over 30 comic/graphic novel authors on panels and book discussions back-to-back all day Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 18th. Give the rest of the schedule a perusal here.

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