By Riley Kaminer
Break out your bookmarks! This year’s Miami Book Fair is right around the corner – and it’s more tech and business-focused than ever.
The eight-day event, presented by Miami Dade College and sponsors, brings upwards of 20,000 people each weekend day alone. The Book Fair features a street fair with authors and literary-related vendors, talks and panel discussions showcasing global intellectuals, and ample food and activities for kids. This year is the 40th anniversary of the annual Fair.
“We have a number of books that deal with the wider subject of technology and entrepreneurship,” Lissette Mendez, the Miami Book Fair’s Executive Director, told Refresh Miami.
Mendez shared that she herself is always looking to understand more about the latest technologies and leverage them to create efficiencies in her daily life and businesses. But equally, she urges the technophiles among us to take a critical look at the digital tools we’re building and using.
“We always have to be aware of what’s last when we’re making the always-forward move toward optimization or making things ‘better’ through the use of technology,” Mendez said. “That’s why we are offering attendees to learn about some critical and scholarly points of view about technology from people that have done in-depth research about what has been going on.”
The street fair portion of the event will be held on Friday the 17th, Saturday the 18th, and Sunday the 19th on Miami Dade College’s Wolfson campus. Tickets are available for purchase online and at the door.
Tech and business highlights at this year’s Miami Book Fair include presentations with:
- Michael Sayman, the Miami native who went from second-generation Latino immigrant to 13-year-old coder to successful entrepreneur and is the author of App Kid: How a Child of Immigrants Grabbed a Piece of the American Dream.
- Jonathan Taplin, whose book, The End of Reality: How Four Billionaires are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto, looks into the lives of Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marc Andreessen.
- Shane Neman, author of Nightlife Lessons: How I Conquered the Business of Partying with Tech and a Glimpse into Its Future, shares his insights into how he transformed his passion for partying into a VC business.
- Coco Krumme, author of Optical Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization, will share her thoughts about how optimization has taken over the world.
- Jennifer Pahlk, author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better, on how we can infuse tech into the American government.
- Harold Hughes, whose Kids Book About Blockchain fosters curiosity about the technology that has the potential to transform our lives.
- Brian Merchant, the LA Times tech columnist whose new book, Blood in the Machine, chronicles how automation has taken over the world.
- Alissa Quart, author of Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream, which examines the American obsession with self-reliance.
On the fence about attending? Mendez says to give it – and long-form literature – a try. “Reading a book is a different experience than reading a newspaper article or a newsletter, or listening to a podcast. The great part about the book format is that it brings forward a lot of different kinds of research and longer, more complete, and maybe deeper thought processes in handling a particular issue.”
WHAT: Miami Book Fair
WHERE: Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus (3100 NE 2nd Ave, Miami 33137)
WHEN: November 12th to 19th (street fair November 17th to 19th)
WHO: Book lovers of all ages and backgrounds
HOW: Learn more on their website and order tickets
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:
- There’s a lot of Miami in Michael Sayman’s first startup. He just raised $3M to build it
- Get your flip flops ready to hit the Tech Beach! Conference to showcase the best in Caribbean tech
- Venture Miami gears up for a tech-filled fall with new events, workshops, and more
- Building in Notion? You’re not alone anymore, thanks to upcoming ‘Notion en Miami’ event
WHAT: Miami Book Fair
WHERE: Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus (3100 NE 2nd Ave, Miami 33137)
WHEN: Nov. .12 to 19 (street fair is November 17th to 19th)
WHO: Book lovers of all ages and backgrounds
HOW: Learn more on their website and order tickets here
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:
- There’s a lot of Miami in Michael Sayman’s first startup. He just raised $3M to build it
- Get your flip flops ready to hit the Tech Beach! Conference to showcase the best in Caribbean tech
- Venture Miami gears up for a tech-filled fall with new events, workshops, and more
- Building in Notion? You’re not alone anymore, thanks to upcoming ‘Notion en Miami’ event
