MIAMI, October 17, 2007 – The 24th annual Miami Book Fair International will host a rich assembly of African-American and Caribbean authors Nov. 4-11 at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE 2nd Ave. in downtown Miami.
This year’s Book Fair will give fair goers a candid glimpse into the life of legendary vocalist Eddie Levert Sr., one of the founding members of the renowned 1970’s soul group the O’Jays. Levert Sr. is scheduled to take center stage with co-author Lyah Beth LeFlore to read excerpts from their book I Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep It Real About Love, Fatherhood, Family and Friendship. The book is Levert’s final collaboration with his late son Gerald, who passed suddenly at the age of 40 late last year. I Got Your Back gets inside the special and rare father-son bond that these two R&B legends shared. The failures, concerns, fears, and triumphs of the talented duo are chronicled throughout the poignant book. In 2005, the O’Jays was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
During the book fair’s Evening’s With… series, spend the evening of Thursday, Nov. 8 with one of the most highly regarded poets of the modern age, Nikki Giovanni. Christened early on her career as the Princess of Black Poetry and recently making it onto Oprah Winfrey’s twenty-five Living Legends list, Giovanni returns to the fair to share from her book Acolytes, a collection of new poems and prose depicting the powerful elements and forces in her life.
Actress Victoria Rowell will also be at the fair to present her latest book, The Women Who Raised Me, a memoir of her life which focuses on her time in foster care. In the book, Rowell discusses all of the foster mothers who cared for her and for her sisters. Nigerian poet and novelist Chris Abani also returns to South Florida to read from his latest book Song for Night, a novella about a teenager living in a deplorable and violent neighborhood of Nigeria.
The Caribbean Voices Program will feature Edwidge Danticat, whose memoir, Brother, I’m Dying, weaves her most intimate tale yet of brotherhood and family amid Haiti's and the United States' chaotic circumstances. Other authors will include Jane Bryce, Oonya Kempadoo, Rabindranath Maharaj, Kim Robinson-Walcott and Anthony C. Winkler.
Below is a list of authors presenting at this year’s fair whose works reflect African-American and Caribbean themes. All presentations will be at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Avenue, Miami. For exact location and time for each presentation, go to www.miamibookfair.com.
Chris Abani: Song For Night
Dr. Opal Palmer Adisa: I Name Me Name: Lola
Preston Allen: All or Nothing
Tina McElroy Ansa: Taking After Mudear
Amiri Baraka: Tales of the Out & Gone
Steven Barnes: Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel
Madison Smartt Bell: Toussaint Louverture – A Biography
David W. Blight: A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom
Marina Salandy-Brown: Caribbean Dispatches Beyond the Tourist Dream
Jane Bryce: Chameleon & Other Stories
Adrian Castro: Wise Fish: Tales in 6/8 Time
Margaret Cezair-Thompson: The Pirate’s Daughter
Rudy Crew: Only Connect: The Way to Save Our Schools
Edwidge Danticat: Brother, I’m Dying
Tananarive Due: Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel
Nina Foxx: No Girl Needs a Husband Seven Days a Week
Nikki Giovanni: Acolytes (Evenings With & Student Literary Encounters)
Joanne Hyppolite: Ola Shakes It Up
Peniel E. Joseph, PhD: Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America
Oonya Kempadoo: Tide Running
Eddie Levert, Sr. & Lyah Beth LeFlore: I Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep It Real About Love, Fatherhood, Family and Friendship
Rabindranath Maharaj: A Perfect Pledge
Philip Nanton: Caribbean Dispatches: Beyond the Tourist Dream
R. Donahue Peebles: The Peebles Principles: Tales and Tactics from an Entrepreneur’s Life of Winning Deals, Succeeding in Business, and Creating a Fortune from Scratch
Geoffrey Philp: Grandpa Sydney’s Anancy Stories
Howard Pitterson: Spectre of Seven and Deadly Embrace
Anthony Romero: In Defense of America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror
Victoria Rowell: The Women Who Raised Me: A Memoir
Robert Edison Sandiford: Shouts from the Outfield: The ArtsEtc Cricket Anthology
Mercedes Cros Sandoval: World View: The Orishas and Santeria: The Past from Africa to Cuba and Beyond
Trisha R. Thomas: Nappily Married
Carolyn Quick Tillery: Southern Homecoming Traditions: Recipes and Remembrance
Kim Robinson-Walcott: Out of Order! Anthony Winkler and White West Indian Writing
Anthony C. Winkler: The Lunatic and Dog War
There will be a nominal $5 admission fee to the Fair grounds only on Saturday and Sunday of the Street Fair. Fairgoers 18 years of age and younger, Miami Dade College students and employees with identification, Book Fair Friends, volunteers, exhibitors and guests with credentials will be admitted free of charge. Access to the Fair grounds on Friday is free. Events during Book Fair week leading up to the weekend Street Fair, including the Evenings With series are free of charge. In addition, a coupon booklet will be provided to paying fairgoers offering several discounts for items within the Fair.
MIAMI BOOK FAIR INTERNATIONAL (MBFI) AND THE FLORIDA CENTER FOR THE LITERARY ARTS (FCLA)
The Miami Book Fair International is the largest and is regarded as the finest literary gathering in America. It is the premier event of the Florida Center for the Literary Arts 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.
The 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 Authority; and the Friends of the Fair. Corporate sponsors as of this date include: Chrysler Jeep, Target, AARP, American Airlines, Bank of America, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Ghirardelli Chocolate, Publix Super Markets Charities, Starbucks, Miami Parking Authority, Miami-Dade Transit, Southern Vines, Inc., Big Chef, Octavio Taylor Nurseries and The Raleigh Hotel. Media sponsors include: The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, CBS4 and MY33, Univision23 and Telefutura69, WQBA 1140AM, WAQI 710 AM, WAMR FM 107.5, La Kalle 98.3 FM, Comcast, Diario las Américas, 940 WINZ, NewsRadio 610 WIOD, The New York Times, Miami New Times, WLRN Public Radio and Television, WPBT Channel 2, 88.9 FM Serious Jazz, Plum TV, Mother & Daughter Magazine, FUEL Outdoors, Caribbean Today, Coral Gables Gazette, and the Welcome Channel.
Miami Dade College
Opening its doors in 1960, Miami Dade College (MDC) 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 Cultura del Lobo performing arts series, The Cuban Cinema Series, the Miami Leadership Roundtable speakers’ series, numerous renowned campus art galleries and theaters, and the nationally recognized School of Entertainment and Design Technology. MDC is the largest institution of higher education in the country and is a national model for many of its programs. With an enrollment of more than 165,000 students, MDC is the nation’s top producer of associate of arts and associate of science degrees. The college’s eight campuses and outreach centers offer more than 200 distinct degree, workforce training, licensing, and certificate programs including three bachelor’s degree programs. In 2006, MDC admitted its 1.5 millionth student in its storied history.