Miami Book Fair International

The Miami Book Fair is an annual literary festival event realized in Miami by Miami Dade College.The fair, which has become a model for other fairs across the country, brings over 300 renowned national and international authors exhibitors to a weeklong celebration of all things literary and includes pavilions for translation, comics, children, and young adults. The mission of Miami Book Fair International is to promote reading, encourage writing, and heighten an awareness of literacy and the literary arts in the city's multi-ethnic community. The eight-day book festival has draws hundreds of thousands of book lovers to downtown Miami each November for a festival of all things read and written.A collection of select book fair sessions, dating back to 2006, are available in audio and video format via Miami Dade College at iTunes U.HistoryMiami Book Fair International, originally known as “Books by the Bay was founded in 1984 by Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus President, Eduardo J. Padrón, Books & Books owner, Mitchell Kaplan, Craig Pollock of BookWorks, as well as other local independent bookstore owners, in cooperation with the Miami-Dade Public Library System. The two-day street fair grew steadily each year and by the 1990s, the renamed Miami Book Fair International had become the largest literary festival in the country.Community Partners and SponsorsFlorida Center for the Literary Arts (FCLA)The now-parent organization of Miami Book Fair International, the Florida Center for the Literary Arts, serves both students and residents of Miami-Dade County. Discussion about the development and structure of the Center began in the late 1990s and involved Miami Dade College faculty and staff, members of the board of Miami Book Fair International, special advisors from the book industry and selected members of the community. Building on the success of Miami Book Fair International over the years, and the tremendously positive response of the community, the idea of a literary center was conceived to help advance the College’s vast and diverse literary traditions. The College received a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create a permanent endowment for the Center. This support paved the way for a solid base for the Florida Center for the Literary Arts. Full programming began in January 2002.