Let Us Now Praise the Miami Book Fair

Let Us Now Praise the Miami Book Fair

posted November 17th, 2009 by tiffany


By Jason Rekulak

How much do I love the Miami Book Fair? Let me put it this way: I still keep the program from my first visit in 1994, when I had the chance to see Michael Ondaatje, Richard Ford, Robert Stone, Susan Sontag, and a billion other writers doing their thing. My personal highlight of the fair was a conversation with Ethan Canin (who was kind enough to chat with me for 20 minutes before his panel). My biggest regret was missing a reading by a then-unknown mystery writer named Dennis Lehane. But therein lies the beauty of this extraordinary literary event: Among the scores of bestselling novelists and Pulitzer Prize winners reading at the Miami Book Fair, there are plenty of lesser-known talents who are poised to become tomorrow's superstars.

Flash-forward 15 years to 2009. Now I'm living in Philadelphia and working at Quirk. I have two small children (one still in diapers, ugh) so I can't imagine returning to the Miami Book Fair for at least another decade. Hell, I don't even get to the movies anymore.

But then the telephone rings -- it's an events coordinator from the Fair! She wants to do a panel on Quirk's literary monster mash-ups, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, and she would like me, as series editor, to attend as a guest.

"So I have to go," I later tell my wife. "It's for work." But she's well aware that the ratio of business to pleasure on this particular "job" will be seriously out of whack.

The Miami Book Fair ended yesterday and I am pleased to report that it's still going strong. Al Gore, Jonathan Lethem, Francine Prose, Joyce Carol Oates, Lydia Davis, David Small ("Stitches"), Tracy Kidder, John Hodgman, even Iggy Pop and Martha Freaking Stewart were all on hand. I waited in line for breakfast with Dan Chaon, whose creepy novel Await Your Reply ranks among my favorite new books of the year. And in an amazing stroke of good luck, Dennis Lehane was also back again -- this time autographing copies of his megabestsellers Mystic River and Shutter Island and The Given Day. Who says life doesn't offer second chances?

There's nothing like this event anywhere else in the United States. Nothing matches the size and scope, the rich cultural diversity, the surprisingly good street food, and the fact that most events are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. In this economy, it's nothing short of a miracle. Give a lot of the credit to Chairperson Mitchell Kaplan (also owner of Miami's Books & Books -- easily one of the top five best bookstores in the country). I don't know how he puts such an extraordinary show together -- or why more cities can't/won't/don't host similar events. I just know I've got a stack of new books to read, and sunburn on the back of my neck, and I can't wait to go back again!

-- Jason Rekulak