29th MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL

Readings, Author signings and Topical Discussions

29^th MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL 

Presented and produced by The Center @ MDC

Nov. 11 – 18, 2012/ MiamiBookFair.com

The 29th edition of the nation’s finest and largest literary gathering, Miami Book Fair International, presented by The Center for Literature and Theatre @ Miami Dade College (MDC), will take place November 11 – 18, 2012, at Miami Dade MDC’s Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., in downtown Miami. The always-popular Street Fair runs Friday through Sunday, November 16 – 18, with more than 200 exhibitors from around the country selling books in a festive atmosphere.

The Fair, MDC’s flagship cultural event, will treat book lovers to eight days of cultural and educational activities, including the beloved Evenings With… series, the IberoAmerican Authors program, myriad learning activities for children, and programs for food enthusiasts in partnership with the college’s Miami Culinary Institute.

TOP CONFIRMED AUTHORS

 The Fair continues to raise the bar of excellence by offering a fine roster of writers from the U.S. and abroad, and this year will be no exception. Confirmed authors include  talk show host Bill O’Reilly, actress Molly Ringwald, political commentator Andrew Solomon, historians Robert Caro and Deborah Dash Moore, David Maraniss, Michael Grunwald; Pulitzer Prize winning Junot Diaz; essayists and commentators Adam Gropnik and Camille Paglia; novelists Sandra Cisneros, Emma Donoghue, Jess Walters, Ann Lamott Lauren Groff, Robert Goolrick, Thane Rosenbaum, personality Lemony Snickett;  fashion designers Isabel and Ruben Toledo; best selling authors James Patterson, Jo Nesbo, RL Stine, Justin Torres, and opening the Fair on Nov. 11 is novelist and journalist Tom Wolfe, to name just a few of the 300 plus authors coming to Miami from all over the world to read from their newest works, to meet their readers and sign books.

The IberoAmerican program will present an array of Spanish-speaking literary voices from around the world, including Homero Aridjis (Mexico), Mayra Santos Febres (Puerto Rico), Abilio Estévez (Cuba-Spain), Santiago Roncagliolo (Perú) and more.   

Back again this year is the fall edition of The Miami Writers Institute, with workshops taught by novelist Margot Livesey, literary agent Kimberly Witherspoon, and award-winning author Teresa Dovalpage with a workshop in Spanish, among others.

This year, the Fair continues to expand its children’s programming with Generation Genius Days, a component for toddlers, children, tweens and teens to explore, discover and learn through reading and writing, storytelling, art-making, music and theater. Age-appropriate, book-inspired activities will be offered, and will include a “musical petting zoo”, where kids can handle instruments; map-making and star-gazing; junior engineering projects and science experiments; creative writing and theater workshops, computer storyboarding for comics and cartoons, and other activities that can lead to learning and discovery in the various subject areas, such as English, math, history, geography, the sciences, the visual arts and others. An additional day of author readings for students on field trips is now on the schedule, as well as a fourth day of readings, storytelling and entertainment on the two children’s stages.

The Fair also continues special programming for educators with the day-long School of Comics and Graphic Novels -- a series of workshops on how to use comics in the classroom--and adds workshops on how to teach creative writing to K-12 students.  Miami Book Fair International 2012 promises to be another exceptional literary event!  For regular updates on the Miami Book Fair, please visit www.miamibookfair.com

MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL AND The Center @ MDC

Miami Book Fair International is the largest and is regarded as the finest literary gathering in America. It is the premier event of The Center for literature and theatre at Miami Dade College. The Center promotes reading and writing throughout the year by consistently presenting quality literary activities open to all in South Florida. Literacy projects target children of all ages—from kindergarten to high school—as well as college students and adults. Established and emerging writers from South Florida and all over the U.S. read, lecture, and teach workshops. They work with K-12, MDC students, and diverse members of the community, helping to deepen their understanding of literature, and encouraging their work of writers at all stages of development. The Center envisions South Florida as a nexus of literary activity in the Americas and beyond, and will continue to champion its mission of promoting the advancement and appreciation of the literary arts in all forms.

Miami Book Fair International is made possible through the generous support of the State of Florida and the National Endowment for the Arts; the City of Miami; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; Miami-Dade County Public Schools; the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Miami Downtown Development; and the Friends of the Fair; as well as many corporate partners.

ABOUT MIAMI DADE COLLEGE

Miami Dade College has a long and rich history of involvement in the cultural arts, providing South Florida with a vast array of artistic and literary offerings including The Miami Book Fair International, The Florida Center for the Literary Arts, The Miami International Film Festival, the MDC Live! performing arts series, The MDC Tower Theater Cinema Series, the Miami Leadership Roundtable speakers’ series, the National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower, numerous renowned campus art galleries and theaters, and the nationally recognized School of Entertainment and Design Technology. With an enrollment of more than 174,000 students, MDC is the largest institution of higher education in the country and is a national model for many of its programs. The college’s eight campuses and outreach centers offer more than 300 distinct degree programs including baccalaureate, Associate in Arts and Science degrees and numerous career training certificates leading to in-demand jobs. MDC has served nearly 2,000,000 students since it opened its doors in 1960.