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Oh, so South Florida at the Miami Book Fair: Authors To Watch
Edwidge Danticat’s brings her new book to the Miami Book Fair, which opens Sunday, Nov. 16 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 22, about what happens when Miami turns chilly in “Watch Out For Falling Iguanas.” (Photo courtesy of Miami Book Fair)
A beach-loving, no shoes wearing country singer and songwriter sharing his down-to-earth memoir; a revered South Florida storyteller (and former Miami Herald columnist) whose unforgettable characters have inspired hit television shows and films; a former presidential poet laureate; and an art critic tracing the evolution of Miami’s visual arts in a book of compilations —all will appear at this year’s Miami Book Fair alongside more than 500 authors. What they share is a single source of inspiration: South Florida itself.
Country singer Kenny Chesney speaks of Key West, one of his most creative places for songwriting in his new book “Heart Life Music.” He’ll be at the Miami Book Fair as one of the headliners at the opening on Sunday, Nov. 16. (Photo courtesy of Kenny Chesney, Harper Collins)
Kenny Chesney
About a third of country star Kenny Chesney’s new book “Heart Life Music was written in Key West. Chesney and his collaborator, Holly Gleason — who began her music writing career at the Miami Herald while studying at the University of Miami before moving on to the Palm Beach Post — take readers on a journey through five states and the Virgin Islands. But it’s Key West that holds a special place for Chesney. “I’ve always felt very creative when I was there,” he says. “That’s why I just kept going back.”
Throughout the book, Chesney drops plenty of names — no surprise given the people he’s met since his country music career took off. In the chapter “Keg in the Closet, Kenny in the Keys,” he recalls a call from Jimmy Buffett, who invited him to dinner at La Trattoria on Duval Street. Over the meal, Buffett shared stories about Tennessee Williams, Captain Tony’s Saloon, Key West literary legends Shel Silverstein and Ernest Hemingway, and “the characters who lived, fished, dreamed and smuggled there… and the mythic Key West came to life.”
More than a memoir, Chesney says “Heart Life Music” is a tapestry. “I just wanted all of these stages of my life up until now woven together. And then, being invited to headline the Miami Book Fair made him feel like he’d created something that “struck a chord with people who know books.”
Gleason will join Chesney for their appearance at the fair and describes the conversation ahead: “If you want to sit and have a beer with Kenny Chesney, that’s what this is going to be. There’s a story in the book about him walking into a bar in the Virgin Islands, sitting down, and talking with some guys for three hours. That’s what this will feel like — new friends and old friends on a barstool.”
“An Evening With Kenny Chesney and Holly Gleason, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16, at MDC Wolfson Campus, Chapman Conference Center-3210; 300 N.E. Second Ave., Bldg. 3, Miami. $35, $22.66 for “Friends of the Fair.” Prices include a copy of the book.
On Saturday, Nov. 22 it’s “An Afternoon with Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry” at the Miami Book Fair. (Photo of book by Knopf, Hiaasen photo by Elena Seibert)
Carl Hiaasen
With the release of Carl Hiaasen’s latest book, “Fever Beach,” the Vero Beach, Fla.,–based writer has more than 30 books under his belt, two feature films, a full series on Apple TV+ shot in the Florida Keys and Miami, and an upcoming ABC series, “RJ Decker,” based on his 1987 novel “Double Whammy.”
Hiaasen will appear at the Book Fair at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, alongside colleague and longtime friend Dave Barry, whose memoir “Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up” was released in May. The two have been friends for more than four decades – the friendship forged in the 1980s and 1990s when they were career columnists at the Miami Herald.
Hiaasen credits his years covering South Florida news with the memorable characters he creates and his ear for dialogue. “The writers I always loved, the first thing they nailed was dialogue… Once the dialogue is right—it’s not easy—but once you get it, the storylines fill themselves in,” he says.
As a reporter in South Florida, Hiaasen said he found endless story material, and from the real-life “Only in Florida” stories, he began creating his wildest fictional characters. “There was never any shortage of inspiration. There’s so much you see and hear as a reporter that helps you later as a novelist. If you keep your eyes and ears open, you can’t help but have enough material for a book or two or three in your head.”
As for appearing with Barry at the book fair, he says: “We’ve done enough of these that we don’t really have a plan. It’s not heavy lifting for me. I just sit there and listen to him be funny. And we always have a great time.”
“An Afternoon with Carl Hiassen and Dave Barry, 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 22, at MDC Wolfson Campus, Chapman Conference Center (Building 3, 2nd floor, Room 3210) 300 NE Second Ave., Miami. Admission with Street Fair Ticket.
Miami-Dade County’s first ever poet laureate Richard Blanco is part of “Generation 305: An Intergenerational Poetry Project, 11 a.m.., Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Miami Book Fair. (Photo by Matt Stagliano, courtesy of Miami Book Fair)
Richard Blanco
Richard Blanco became the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history in 2013 when he read his poem “One Today” at President Barack Obama’s inauguration, then 10 years later received the National Humanities Medal by President Joe Biden. He was appointed the first ever poet laureate of Miami-Dade County. At the Book Fair, he’s helping with the launch of Miami-Dade County Poet Laureate Caridad Moro-Gronlier’s “Generation 305: An Intergenerational Poetry Project. “
“She’s asked various people to write original poems that bridge generations that can connect or bridge across generations,” says Blanco. The poem he’ll present comes from an interview with his mother. “I spent three hours interviewing her,” he says.
The theme of “Generation 305,” he says, resonates deeply in how he arrives at his own work. “Part of my motivation, or part of my impetus for my work, has always been to, in a way, to document emotionally, the stories, not only of my family, as exiles, as immigrants, but also all the Cuban community. To sort of make sure those stories are represented in poetry and are not lost.”
Other poets joining Blanco are Jen Karetnick, Mia Leonin, and Rani Ruado. Moro-Gronlier and Nicole Tallman, poetry ambassador for Miami-Dade County will moderate the session.
Blanco believes the “Generation 305” project stands as a testament to the enduring power of poetry. “I’ve seen in my own lifetime how poetry has occupied more and more space in our society. And I think that happens because when things get more complex, we turn to poetry, to arts, to sort of think about it, and to also be able to express what sometimes feels inexpressible.”
Following the readings, audience members can contribute their own verse to add to the Generation 305 archive. Each of the poets’ latest books will be on sale.
“Generation 305: An Intergenerational Poetry Project, 11 a.m.., Saturday, Nov. 22, MDC Wolfson Campus, Room 8303 (Building 8, 3nd floor) 300 NE Second Ave., Miami. Admission with Street Fair ticket.
Art critic Elisa Turner moderates a panel “How Did Miami’s Art Boom Happen and What’s Next?” at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, in the Knight Skylight Gallery at Freedom Tower as part of the Miami Book Fair. (Photo courtesy of University of Florida Press)
Elisa Turner
Hot on the heels of the release of her book “Miami’s Art Boom,” a compilation of profiles, reviews, and stories that capture the evolution of Miami’s visual arts community before and after Art Basel, Elisa Turner will host a moderated panel as part of the Book Fair in MDC’s Freedom Tower.
“It was very difficult for me to pick who I wanted to include on the panel. First of all, I wanted to select artists who had come here from the Caribbean or another country,” she says.
The discussion will focus on how the artists’ careers moved forward during the years chronicled in the book and what lies ahead. The panelists are artists Charo Oquet, María Martínez-Cañas, and Asser Saint-Val, along with Lori Mertes, executive director of incubator art space Locust Projects.
“Charo is from the Dominican Republic and I think her story is really interesting,” says Turner. Oquet is featured in Turner’s book. “I framed her story as sort of a journey within a journey.”
“Hers was a far reaching pilgrimage from lust New Zealand forests moist with geothermal steam to sun bright sugarcane fields in the Domincan Republic” in a profile from September 1999 in “Miami’s Art Boom.”
Martínez-Cañas, and Saint-Val are also featured in Turner’s book. Saint-Val is included in a November 2000 Miami Herald art review where the Haitian-born artist was part of a group show at Diaspora Vibe. “(Saint-Val) is showing a promising evolution in his approach to painting the human figure, especially female nudes suffused with coppery shades,” the critic writes.
Turner says her panel selection reflects the range and diversity of artists in Miami.
Rounding out the panel with Mertes added another dimension. “She witnessed the transformation of MAM in its early days (Mertes was at MAM, which is now PAMM from 1994 to 2006), and now as director of Locust Projects, which has gone through their own big changes.”
“How Did Miami’s Art Boom Happen and What’s Next?,” 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, Knight Skylight Gallery, Freedom Tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Admission with Street Fair ticket.
ALSO SO MIAMI . . .
Edwidge Danticat’s “Watch Out For Falling Iguanas” will be part of the panel in “Cross Currents: Haiti, Jamaica, and The Caribbean Imagination,” 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23 in Room 8302, Building 8, 3rd Floor, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami. Multiple additional appearances. The book is illustrated by Rachel Moss and tells the story of a rare chilly day in Miami when a young girl’s grandmother gives her an unusual warning, “Watch out for falling iguanas. Admission with Street Fair ticket.
Three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and midcentury American lyric poet, Hyam Plutzik’s essays and poems are featured in “Hyam Plutzik and the Mosaic of Time.” Plutzik’s writing desk is in “The Writer’s Room” at The Betsy Hotel on Ocean Drive, owned by son Jonathan Plutzik and his wife, Lesley Goldwasser. Deborah Plutzik-Briggs, the writer’s daughter, is the vice president of arts and community engagement there. Three Jewish American poets discuss the life and work of Hyam Plutzik and talk about the “Mosaic of Time,” at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, Room 8106, Building 8, 1st Floor, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami, as part of the Jewish Life & Culture series of the Book Fair. Admission with Street Fair ticket.
WHAT: Miami Book Fair
WHERE: Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami.
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 16 to Sunday, Nov. 23. Various times for author events; Street Fair 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 21-23.
COST: Street Fair admission tickets include access to all non-ticketed weekend author sessions. Saturday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 23: $12, general admission, $7 ages 63 and older, $5 for 13 to 18 years old and free for ages 12 and younger.
INFORMATION: Visit miamibookfair.com, download the guide here https://www.miamibookfair.com/downloadable-guide or follow MBF at @miamibookfair #miamibookfair2025
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