In a normal year, South Florida book festivals would be gearing up to present an array of various authors and discussions. Although 2020 is hardly normal, organizers are making sure that book festivals will continue as virtual events.
South Florida’s Jewish Community Centers are teaming up to present a virtual festival with more than 25 events from Oct. 8-25. Cost for access to all events and virtual author meet-and-greets is $75, or $10 for individual events. Attendees will want to sign up through their local JCC. A link for the virtual event will be sent to those registered. Books can be purchased through each JCC’s site. More information and a program booklet also are at each JCC site.
The participating JCCs are:
Boca Raton’s Levis JCC Sandler Center: levisjcc.org/culture/jewishbookfest, Stephanie Owitz, stephanieo@bocafed.org
Davie’s David Posnack JCC: dpjcc.org/bookfest, Debbie Hochman, dhochman@dpjcc.org
North Miami Beach’s Michael-Ann Russell JCC: marjcc.org, David Surowitz, davids@marjcc.org
Miami Beach JCC: mbjcc.org/arts/literary-series-2/, Karen Sepsenwol, karen@mbjcc.org
Miami’s Alper JCC: alperjcc.org/artsculture/book-festival/, Marcy Levitt, mlevitt@alperjcc.org
The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando: orlandojcc.org/; Avivit Erlichman, avivite@orlandojcc.org
The opening event begins at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8 with author Thane Rosenbaum discussing his book “Saving Free Speech…Itself” during an interview with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Rosenbaum, an essayist, novelist and law professor, grew up in Miami Beach, the son of Holocaust survivors. In his book, Rosenbaum discusses how certain limits on free speech are constitutional and essential for the maintenance of civil society.
Lawyer, feminist trailblazer and MSNBC legal analyst Jill Wine-Banks discusses her new book, “The Watergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11. Wine-Banks was the only female prosecutor during the Watergate scandal and was the first woman to serve as US General Counsel of the Army under President Jimmy Carter.
“The Florida Author Spotlight” panel, moderated by Les Standiford, begins at 1 p.m. Oct. 12 and will feature John Gregersen, “Yamato Colony: The Pioneers Who Brought Japan to Florida;” Rick Kilby, “Florida’s Healing Waters: Gilded Age Mineral Springs, Seaside Resorts, and Health Spas;” Amy Paige Condon, “A Nervous Man Shouldn’t Be Here in the First Place: The Life of Bill Baggs.”
“The Stories of Addiction” panel at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 features Cameron Douglas, author of “Long Way Home” and the son of actor Michael Douglas, and magazine editor Dan Peres, author of “As Needed for Pain: A Memoir of Addiction.”
“Multi-Generational Jewish Stories from Around the World” begins at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 with Esther Amini, “Concealed: Memoir of a Jewish-Iranian Daughter Caught Between the Chador and America,” and Jonathan Kaufman, “The Last Kings of Shanghai.”
“Boys to Men” panel begins at 11 a.m. Oct. 18 with actor/comedian Michael Ian Black, “A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son,” and journalist Cleo Stiller, “Modern Manhood: Conversations About the Complicated World of Being a Good Man Today.”
“Transgender Stories Through Mothers’ Eyes” begins at 4 p.m. Oct. 18 with Jo Ivestor, “Once a Girl, Always a Boy: A Family Memoir of a Transgender Journey,” and Mimi Lemay, “What We Will Become: A Mother, A Son, and A Journey of Transformation.”
The fiction forum features eight authors, and participants can listen to all the authors or specific ones from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 20. Authors are Jennifer Rosner, “The Yellow Bird Sings;” Jan Eliasberg, “Hannah’s War;” Max Gross, “The Lost Shtetl;” David Hopen, “The Orchard;” Leslie K. Barry. “Newark Minutemen;” Linda Kass, “A Ritchie Boy;” Meg Waite Clayton, “The Last Train to London;” Hallie Ephron, “Careful What You Wish For.”
“Women in a Changing World” panel kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 with Erica Katz, “The Boys’ Club” and Anna Solomon, “The Book of V.” Filmmaker and author Ruth Behar gives an individual presentation discussing her book “Letters from Cuba” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22.
The event closes at 4 p.m. Oct 25 with “Ordinary People Change the World” featuring Brad Meltzer and illustrator Christopher Eliopolos on their children’s books “I am Anne Frank” and “I am Benjamin Franklin.”
Palm Beach Book Festival
The Palm Beach Book Festival teams up with Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters for virtual interviews with best-selling authors. Visit fau.edu/bookfestival for more information. Tickets for virtual conversations are $10 for the general public, $8 for FAU Osher Lifelong Learning students, FAU students free. All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit student scholarships in the college.
Jeffrey Toobin discusses “True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump” at 7 p.m. Oct. 6. Tim Weiner discusses his book “The Folly and the Glory: America, Russia and Political Warfare, 1945-2020” with Renat Shaykhutdinov, FAU associate professor of political science, at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 15. Weiner’s book traces the roots of political warfare and the conflict between America and Russia with espionage, sabotage, diplomacy and disinformation from 1945 until 2020. Weiner illuminates Russian and American intelligence operations and their consequences. Mitch Albom talks about “Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family” at 7 p.m. Oct. 19. James Patterson and Kwame Alexander team up to chronicle “Becoming Muhammad Ali” at 7 p.m. Nov. 12.
Miami Book Fair
The 37th Miami Book Fair will transform from its normal location in downtown Miami to a free virtual event Nov. 15-22.
More than 200 authors and moderators will be featured, including headliner Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood (“Dearly: New Poems,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Testaments”).
As in years past, the fair features programs in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole with all genres including fiction, politics, history, memoir, comics, poetry, and programs for children and teens. Signature programs, such as “Evenings With…” and the IberoAmerican and ReadCaribbean programs will return.
Those who register for the free fair will receive email notifications about programs and activities as they become available, plus practical tips on how to navigate the website, create a watch list and more. All programs will be available on a schedule to be published before the fair starts. The fair site will not be fully operational until programs are complete and ready for viewing. But the registration page is open. Audiences can sign up to get updates and program schedules at miamibookfaironline.com.
For more information, visit www.miamibookfair.com or email wbookfair@mdc.edu.
Oline H. Cogdill can be reached at olinecog@aol.com.
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