College Forum - Volume 12 • Number 8
2008 MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL
2022-05-16 03:27:34
Now in its 25th year, Miami Book Fair International continues to demonstrate why it has been a success since its inception.
More than 350 authors from diverse backgrounds will participate in the event, which is presented by the Florida Center for the Literary Arts at Miami Dade College from Nov. 9 – 16.
Among the literary stars set to greet more than 300,000 visitors to MDC’s Wolfson Campus this year are Pulitzer Prize-winner Junot Díaz, Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott and American Book Award-winner Sandra Cisneros.
Also making appearances at the 2008 Fair are social critic Gore Vidal; novelist, playwright, poet and critic Joyce Carol Oates; and educator and philosopher Dr. Cornel West (who will share a stage with political commentator and author Tavis Smiley).
More than 350 authors and millions of books
“When I started working with the Book Fair it was already a highly respected event that was loved by the community,” said Alina Interián, executive director of the Florida Center for the Literary Arts, who joined the team in 1989.
Known as Books by the Bay, the first Fair squashed skepticism by publishers, agents and potential sponsors by hosting dozens of writers and more than 130 exhibitors over two days for its more than 25,000 visitors.
“It just kept growing from there, and before we knew it, it began to be recognized as a model for book fairs popping up across the country,” Interián said. “We had no idea the magnitude it would eventually get to.”
It is the largest and widely regarded as the finest literary gathering in America.
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