By Mary Damiano

	The image chosen for the Miami Book Fair International poster

November 15, 1987. It was my birthday, I was living in Hollywood, and I didn’t yet have a drivers license, so I was thrilled when a friend offered to take me to the last day of the Miami Book Fair International.

Joseph Cotten was sitting at the table, next to his wife, actress Patricia Medina. He was in his early 80s by then, and wasn’t in the best of health. But he was there in the flesh, this man who’d worked with some of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and he was still as debonair and witty as the characters he so often played.

His wife helped him. Sitting next to him, she would ask each person their name and how to spell it, then print it on a post-it so he could copy it as he signed the book.  When it was my turn, she asked my name. I told her and then added, “Could Mr. Cotten please also write the date on the book?  Today’s my birthday and the book is a gift.”

She smiled, and wrote on the post-it note. As the person in front of me moved along, she whispered into her husband’s ear and showed him the post-it.

Joseph Cotten looked up at me.  “It’s your birthday?” he said.  I replied that it was.  “I’m flattered that you came to spend it with us,” he said.

He may have been in his 80s, but his voice was still strong and velvety, and I melted.

I opened the book to the end page to make it easier for him, but he shook his head and flipped to the title page, which had a photo illustration of him. “I’m very vain,” he said. “ I must sign on the page with my picture.”

	Joseph Cotten, in a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt

In large, measured script, Joseph Cotten wrote: ‘For Mary  Happy Birthday  Nov. 15^th  From Joseph Cotten.’

I said something about how much I loved Shadow of a Doubt, and he said he enjoyed making that and that the film turned out well. Then he wished me a happy birthday and I moved along, making room for the next person in line to have their moment with the star.

That’s what the Miami Book Fair International means to me, the opportunity to have a moment, to make a memory with a personal hero, someone who’s work you admire, some whose writing has inspired your own life in some way.

The Miami Book Fair International has been giving book lovers those kinds of moments and memories for more than two decades.  Now in its 23^rd year, the Miami Book Fair runs from November 12 to 19, and in that short week will present hundreds of authors from all over the world.  Some of the hottest names in all genres of writing will be on hand with their newest books, ready to chat with the audience and sign books. There will also be dozens of homegrown talent, local authors who’ve made their mark on the literary scene. (See the list below for a list of the Florida authors appearing at the Miami Book Fair.)

The Evenings With…  series kicks-off on November 12, the opening night of the fair, with Pulitzer-winning memoirist Frank McCourt and continues throughout the week with other Pulitzer-winners, including Edward P. Jones and Richard Ford, plus best-selling novelist Isabel Allende, political pundit Arianna Huffington, and historian Thomas Cahill.

On Saturday and Sunday, November 18 and 19, the Congress of Authors continues with hundreds of authors presenting their works. This year, fairgoers can expect to see John Berendt, Nora Ephron, Jonathan Franzen, Mary Gordon, Jay McInerny, Doris Kearns Goodwin, U.S. Senator Barack Obama, Robert Olen Butler, Francine Prose, Helen Thomas, Meg Tilly, and Gary Wills, among others. The Fair will also feature a cadre of beloved local authors, including celebrity chefs Norman Van Aiken, Michelle Bernstein, and Jonathan Eismann, Moroccan-born memoirist Malika Oufkir, meteorologist Brian Norcross, and former WPLG television reporter Mel Taylor, as well as mystery writers Les Standiford, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, Tom Corcoran and James W. Hall.

The Write Out Loud Café, (formerly the Spoken Word Café) presents readings and performances by Florida writers and musicians every evening during Book Fair week from Monday through Thursday, November 13 to 16, at ArtCenter/South Florida, located at 800 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. The Café will move to the Book Fair grounds (corner of 3^rd Street and 2^nd Avenue) starting Friday, November 17 in the evening. On Saturday, November 18 and Sunday, November 19, readings and performances begin at 11 a.m. and are scheduled back to back until the Street Fair closes at 6 p.m. 

Children’s Alley begins Friday November 17, and runs throughout the weekend. Children can return to some of their favorite Children’s Alley haunts: Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss, What’s up Doc?, Let’s Play and Learn will be back, along with newcomers Arthur and Curious George at the “All Time Favorites” tent. Also new this year, the “Charlotte’s Web” tent and the Target Ready. Sit. Read! Book Club, where families will learn how to start their own book clubs and kids will have fun making their own bookmarks and getting their pictures taken with costumed characters. 

	The Miami Book Fair International, seen here in a previous year, always draws crowds of book lovers to its weekend street festival

The Miami Book Fair International culminates with the weekend street fair, where the streets of downtown Miami around the Wolfson campus of Miami-Dade College shut down and are flooded with more than 250 publishers and booksellers exhibiting and selling books in a festive atmosphere. Rare book aficionados will find first editions, antique maps and other collectibles at the Antiquarian Annex, and mystery lovers, history buffs and bargain hunters will also have bookstores catering to their whims. The Rockbottom Remainders, a fairgoers favorite, come back this year with authors (moonlighting as musicians) Dave Barry, Ridley Pierson, Greg Iles, Kathi Goldmark, Aron Ralston, and Andy Borowitz.  There will be a $5 admission fee to the street fair on Saturday and Sunday, November 18 and 19.

Every November, as I prepare to attend the book fair, I remember that morning in 1987. Joseph Cotten died in 1994.  But thanks to the Miami Book Fair, I still have the book, personally inscribed with his swirling letters, and I still have the memory of that moment.

For more information and a complete schedule of events and authors at the Miami Book Fair International, visit miamibookfair.com 

Florida Authors Appearing at the Miami Book Fair International

Gonzalo Barr’s book of short stories, The Last Flight of José Luis Balboa (Houghton Mifflin, $12), offers the author’s view of the vibrant, multicultural Miami where he resides. Through an unforgettable cast of characters that include an unscrupulous newscaster, an Ocean Drive bar manager, a beautiful but cruel teenaged heartbreaker, and the title character—a suicidal Latin pop star—Barr introduces us to situations that teem with humor and brutality, absurdity and poignancy.  Sun., Nov. 19, 12 p.m., Centre Gallery.

Dave Barry, one of Miami’s literary treasures and a Pulitzer Prize-winning humor columnist and author, has 25 books to his credit and a syndicated column that has appeared regularly in 500 papers around the world. In his new book, Dave Barry’s Money Secrets (Crown, $24.95), Dave offers a host of hilarious, “foolproof” money-making tips, and just in time for the holidays, he’s written The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog (Putnam, $15.95), touted as one of the funniest and most delightful Christmas stories ever. Sat., Nov. 18, 12 p.m., Chapman.

	Joann Biondi, who wrote a book chronicling Miami Beach’s past

Joann Biondi is a journalist who has written for the Miami Herald, New York Times and National Geographic. For her book, Miami Beach Memories: A Nostalgic Chronicle of Days Gone By (Globe Pequot, $24.95), she interviewed 100 people from all walks of life—strippers, comedians, doctors, lawyers, waiters, waitresses, writers, photographers, maids and bellhops—about Miami Beach from the 1920s to the 1960s. Sat., Nov. 18, 9:30 a.m., Prometeo. 

James O. Born, a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), has been involved in numerous crime, drug and corruption investigations. Using his real life experiences as story fodder, he started writing 14 years ago and now has the same editor as his favorite authors of years past:  Tom Clancy and W.E.B. Griffin. In Shock Wave (Putnam, $24.95), he has written an explosive novel of a FDLE agent who reluctantly teams up with the FBI on a case involving a stolen Stinger missile. Sun., Nov. 19, 5 p.m., Mystery Stage/Student Life Patio.

Edna Buchanan brings back the crew from the Cold Case Squad as discoveries in Saving Shadows, a historic Miami waterfront estate that’s about to be bulldozed, lead to the reopening of a 45-year-old unsolved murder. Her latest book, Shadows: The Novel (Pocket, $7.95) is said to contain the cop humor and interjected war stories for which she became known during her newspaper days with the Miami Herald. Sun., Nov. 19, 5 p.m., Mystery Stage/Student Life Patio.

Sandra Castillo, born in Cuba, writes poetry that reflects themes from when she lived in Cuba as a child and after one of the last Freedom Flights landed in Miami. Her writings include two books:  Red Letters and My Father Sings to My Embarrassment (which won the White Pine Press Poetry Prize). Burnt Sugar, A Bilingual Poetry Reading: Sun., Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Rm. 7106-07.

Adrian Castro is a native Miamian, a poet, performer, interdisciplinary artist and the author of Wise Fish: Takes in 6/8 Time (Coffee House Press, $14), which was selected as an editor’s choice by The New York Times Book Review for its “sinuous, syncopated verses about the Caribbean melting pot.” Burnt Sugar, A Bilingual Poetry Reading: Sun., Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Rm. 7106-07.

Mitchell Chefitz has been Rabbi of Temple Israel of Greater Miami since 2002 and previously, was Rabbi of Havurah of South Florida beginning in 1980. His new book, The Curse of Blessings: Sometimes, the Right Story Can Change Your Life (Running Press, $12.95), a series of haunting and inspiring tales, takes four characters on a journey that will transform their lives. Sun., Nov. 19, 4:30 p.m., Rm. 3313-14.

Loretta Ciraldo, M.D., FAAD, has maintained a private practice in cosmetic and general dermatology since 1983. Previously, she was assistant professor of dermatology at New York Medical College and chief of dermatology at the Bayley Seton Hospital. Her book, Six Weeks to Sensational Skin: Create the Perfect Skin-Care Routine for Your Freshest Face (Rodale, $20), invites readers to attend her "beauty camp," where she teaches readers how to conduct a thorough skin assessment and build a beauty regimen that meets individual needs and style. Sun., Nov. 19, noon, Rm. 3313-14.

Tom Corcoran is the author of five Alex Rutledge mysteries set in South Florida and the Florida Keys. His most recent novel is Air Dance Iguana and he is one of the contributing authors included in Miami Noir, edited by Les Standiford (Akashic Books, $15.95) Saturday, Nov. 18, 2 p.m., Auditorium. 

Tim Dorsey brings back the irrepressible Serge A. Storms, the world’s most lovable serial killer, in The Big Bamboo (William Morrow, $24.95). During his latest cavalcade of nonstop felonies, Serge finds time to resurrect his obsession with movies, particularly those featuring his beloved home state of Florida. Tampa resident Dorsey, who was a reporter/editor for the Tampa Tribune for a dozen years, is the author of seven previous novels. Sun., Nov. 19, 5 p.m., Mystery Stage/Student Life Patio.

Sharon Draper, an accomplished writer and professional educator, has been honored as the National Teacher of the Year and received many awards for educational excellence. A prolific author, she has published many poems, articles and short stories as well as over a dozen books for young adults, including Tears of a Tiger, Forged by Fire, Darkness Before Dawn, and the new Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs series. Student Literary Encounters.

John Dufresne is a professor at Florida International University and the author of Deep in the Shade of Paradise, Louisiana Power & Light, Love Warps the Mind a Little, a short story collection titled The Way That Water Enters Stone, and now, Johnny Too Bad: Stories (W.W. Norton & Company, $13.95). Through a mix of hope and regret, imagination and wonder, Dufresne examines the universal themes of the slow approach of death, fidelity and love. Sun., Nov. 19, 12:30 p.m., Auditorium.

David Fischman reveals his personal struggle with his out-of-control life through the fictional character of his new book, The Secret of the Seven Seeds (Jossey-Bass, $22.95). Fischman is a well-known columnist in Latin American newspapers, and has published five management books in Spanish. Sunday, Nov. 19, 4:30 p.m., Rm. 3313-14.

M. Evelina Galang, an award-winning writer, edited Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images, which won ForeWord Magazine’s 2003 Gold Book of the Year. In Galang’s new book, One Tribe (New Issues Poetry & Prose, $26), for which she received the 2004 Association of Writers and Writers Programs (AWP) Prize, the death of Isabel Manalo’s unborn child stirs widespread speculation in her small Midwestern community. Sun., Nov. 19, 4:30 p.m., Centre Gallery.

Vanessa Garcia is an “American-born Cuban” writer, visual artist and playwright. Currently writing for the Miami Herald, her writing traverses themes of exile and Diaspora, as well as music, art, urban development and the growth of the American city. Sun., Nov. 19, 11 a.m., Write Out Loud Café.

	Linda Gassenheimer, a Miami food writer who will appear at the Miami Book Fair International

Carolina Garcia-Aguilera is the author of eight books, the first six of which are part of a series featuring Lupe Solano, a Cuban-American private investigator like Garcia-Aguilera herself, who lives and works in Miami. She has received many awards, including the Shamus and the Flamingo. Miami Noir Panel. Sat., Nov. 18, 2 p.m., Auditorium.

Linda Gassenheimer is a TV and radio personality, syndicated journalist, bestselling author, food consultant, and James Beard Award winner for her popular book, Dinner in Minutes. Her latest book is Prevention’s Fit and Fast Meals in Minutes (Rodale $18.95). Sat., Nov. 18, 11 a.m., Rm. 3410.

Donna Gehrke-White co-recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes at The Miami Herald and author of The Face Behind the Veil: The Extraordinary Lives of Muslim Women in America, Citadel Press, $22.95), will join Jean Sasson, author of best-selling Princess trilogy, for a discussion on the divergent experiences of Muslim women in the Western World and in Arab countries. Sat., Nov. 18, 10 a.m., Rm. 7106-07.

Paul George, a history professor at Miami-Dade College and historian to the Historical Association of Southern Florida, is as well known for the many historical tours he conducts in South Florida as for his prolific writings. His latest works include: The Cushman School, A Historical Perspective: 1924-2004; and The GESU in Miami, A Story of God’s People in a Subtropical Metropolis, 1896-2006. Sat., Nov. 18, 11 a.m., Rm. 3315.

Diane Goodman is a professional caterer and fiction writer who explores the competing demands of nourishment and desire in stories about cooks, caterers and private chefs in Miami Beach in The Plated Heart (Carnegie Mellon University, $16.95). She has published a collection of short stories, The Genius of Hunger (2001) and her poems have appeared in Prairie Schooner, Indiana Review and Negative Capability. Sun., Nov. 19, 4:30 p.m., Centre Gallery.

Dan Grech is the Miami-based Americas correspondent for Marketplace, the public radio business news show produced by American Public Media. A former Buenos Aires correspondent for the Miami Herald, Grech teaches radio writing at the Florida Center for the Literary Arts. Sat., Nov. 18, 3:30 p.m., Write Out Loud Café.

James Grippando was a trial lawyer for 12 years before becoming a full-time writer.  His latest novel, Got the Look, (HarperCollins $24.95), is the fifth installment featuring Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck. In this tale, Swyteck is up against a killer who's so fiendishly clever and diabolical that he may have met his match at last. Sun., Nov. 19, 3:30 p.m., Mystery Stage/Student Life Patio.

James W. Hall is the author of four books of poetry, a collection of short stories, a collection of essays and 14 novels, including his most recent, Magic City. He won an Edgar award for his short story, “The Catch,“ from Carloyn Graff’s book, Greatest Hits, and several of his novels have been optioned for film and chosen as Book-of-the-Month and Literary Guild selections. Hall joins 16 South Florida mystery writers in Miami Noir, Sat., Nov. 18. 2 p.m., Auditorium; and is also part of a session with Edgar winners, Sun., Nov. 19. 11 a.m., Mystery Stage/Student Life Patio.

Carl Hiaasen, noted columnist for the Miami Herald, is the author of more than 10 novels, including bestsellers Skinny Dip and Lucky You, and bestselling children’s books Hoot and Flush. His latest novel, Nature Girl (Knopf, $25.95), another batch of Hiaasen’s usual outrageous mayhem.  Sun., Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Chapman.

Carolina Hospital is a Cuban-born poet, essayist and fiction writer who teaches writing and literature at Miami-Dade College. Hospital has published three books. Her writings have appeared nationally in anthologies, newspapers and literary journals.  Burnt Sugar: A Poetry Reading: Sun., Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Rm. 7106-07. 

	Author David Leddick celebrates Miami Beach in his new book

Miriam Klein Kassenoff, Ph.D., a nationally recognized Holocaust educator joins Alan Berger, Ph.D., in presenting their chapters in the new book, Elie Wiesel and the Art of Storytelling, edited by Rosemary Horowitz (McFarland & Co., $35). Dr. Kassenoff, who fled Nazi Europe in 1941 with her family, is the Education Specialist for Holocaust Studies for Miami-Dade County Public Schools and an appointee to the Florida Governor’s Task Force on Holocaust Education. A frequent speaker and conference presenter, she co-authored Memories of the Night: Studies of the Holocaust with Dr. Anita Meinbach. Sun., Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Rm. 3410.

David Leddick’s latest book, In the Spirit of Miami Beach (Assouline, $40), celebrates what we love about Miami Beach—its unique style, myriad treasures, colorful beaches, impressive architecture, vibrant personality and much more—with a rich text illustrated by never-seen-before photographs. Sat., Nov. 18, 9:30 a.m., Prometeo.

Brad Meltzer, author of several New York Times best-selling books including The Tenth Justice, The Millionaires, Dead Even, The First Counsel and The Zero Games, has presented another wonderful thriller, The Book of Fate (Warner Books, $25.99) which opens with an assassination attempt on President Leland Manning. Fast forward eight years and a mystery begins to unravel which includes the deciphering of a 200-year-old Masonic code invented by Thomas Jefferson, leading to The Book of Fate, which holds everyone’s secrets. Sat., Nov. 18, 3:30 p.m., Auditorium.

Jesse Millner is an English Instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University whose poetry and nonfiction have appeared widely in literary magazines such as Willow Springs, Gulf Stream and Third Coast. Gulf Stream: Sun., Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Centre Gallery.

	Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald columnist and author

Lyn Millner’s radio stories have been broadcast on Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, Marketplace and Weekend America. Her essays and print work have appeared in The New York Times, Health magazine, Continental, The Hollywood Reporter and USA Today.  Gulf Stream: Sun., Nov. 19, 10 a.m., Centre Gallery.

Leonard Pitts, Jr. won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his twice-weekly syndicated column, which appears in more than 200 newspapers. In Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood (Agate, $16), Pitts looks at the stereotype of black men as absent, negligent fathers. He weaves together remembrances of an abusive father with scores of interviews with other black fathers, their experiences, and how that impacted fathering their own children. Sat., Nov. 18, 12:30 p.m., Rm. 7106-07.

Diane Roberts, acclaimed journalist and NPR commentator has many family secrets to tell.  Dream State (University Press of Florida, $19.95) is the grand and sometimes crazy story of Florida through the eyes of a native daughter. With a talent for setting great scenes, Roberts lays out the sweeping history through eight generations that includes cousins Governor Napoleon Broward, who wanted to drain the Everglades, and Clayton Roberts, the director of the division of elections during the presidential vote recount of 2000. Sat., Nov. 18, 11 a.m., Rm. 7106-07.

	Octavio Roca, who wrote a book about the making of the new Carnival Center for the Performing Arts

Octavio Roca’s Prologue to Greatness: The Creation of the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts (HCP Aboard/Knight-Ridder), tells the tale of the largest public and private partnership in the city’s history.  Roca is a widely respected authority on the arts. Sat., Nov. 18, 11 a.m., Rm. 3315.

Scott Rogers transforms everyday moments into opportunities to awaken to the beauty and joy of being alive in Mindful Parenting - Meditations, Verses and Visualizations for a More Joyful Life (Mindful Living Press, $14.95).  Mindful Parenting takes much of the mystery out of meditation.  Sun., Nov. 19, 1:30 p.m., Rm. 3410.

Jonathan Rose is a poet and writer, playwright, translator, editor, teacher.  He is also an attorney specializing in immigration. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2001.  His is a co-founder of Culture in the City in Coconut Grove. Write Out Loud, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m., Art Center/South Florida, 800 Lincoln Road, South Beach.

Jennifer Rubell, writer, renowned hostess, hotelier and youngest member of the illustrious Rubell clan, is poised to become the country’s newest entertaining guru. Real Life Entertaining: Easy Recipes and Unconventional Wisdom (Morrow Cookbooks, $27.50) is a blueprint for Rubell’s high-style, stress-free way of entertaining, showing how to throw chic parties with minimal fuss. The recipes are simple and the ingredient lists are short, so sophisticated, delicious fare can be whipped up in mere minutes. Sun., Nov. 19, 3 p.m., Rm. 3313-14.

Lawrence C. Rubin contends that society has been transformed into an asylum without walls in Psychotropic Drugs and Popular Culture (McFarland and Co., $35). Rubin is Professor of Counselor Education at St. Thomas University in Miami, and a practicing psychologist.  Sun., Nov. 19, 12 p.m., Rm. 3315.

Les Standiford  Sixteen new, diverse and highly entertaining mystery stories by South Florida writers pack Miami Noir (Akashic Books, $15.95), edited by Standiford. He is the author of ten novels, including the John Deal series and two nonfiction works, including Meet You in Hell. Standiford wrote a chapter of Naked Came the Manatee, and edited The Putt at the End of the World.  Miami Noir. Sat., Nov. 18. 2 p.m., Auditorium.

Mel Taylor, an Emmy Award winning reporter for WPLG-TV Channel 10, in his debut novel Murder by Deadline (Avalon, $21.95), tells the story TV journalist Matt Bowen, whose life changes dramatically with one anonymous phone call.  Sun., Nov. 19, 2 p.m., Mystery Stage/Student Life Patio.

Emma Trelles’ poems and essays have appeared in New Millenium Writings, Gulf Stream, Newsday and Latina. She is the editor of the 3rd edition of Tigertail, A South Florida Poetry Annual and the Sun-Sentinel’s art critic. Sat. Nov. 18, 1:15 p.m., Write Out Loud Café.

	Author Dan Wakefield

Bruce Turkel explains why almost identical products sell for vastly different sums just because of the name or logo printed on them. In Building Brand Value: Seven Simple Steps to Profitable Communications (Booksurge, $20), the native Miamian turns this complicated practice into an easy-to-understand guide based on his 30 years of creating and working with valuable brands. Sat., Nov. 18, 12:30 p.m., Rm. 3315.

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