Guess who is turning thirty this year? That’s right: the Miami International Book Fair (MIBF)! The books are coming and they bring with them eight days of literature.  

Formerly called Books by the Bay, the MIBF takes place at Miami Dade MDC’S Wolfson Campus in the Florida Center for the Literary Arts. The MIBF brings hundreds of thousands of book lovers of all ages to the MDC campus every November in celebration of the written word.

The Miami International Book Fair will be held from November 17^th to the 24^th starting at 10:00 A.M. On the 17^th it opens with the popular ‘’Evenings With…’’ series, which features six nights of discussions with noted authors from the Unites States and around the globe, such as Cassandra King, Dan Brown, and Sherman Alexie.

Friday, the 22^nd, is when the real fun starts. With free admission all day, the ‘’Street Fair’’ opens up, its highlight being the Festival of Authors, where over 350 authors read their work. One of the other popular activities includes the ‘’Children’s Alley,’’ where South Florida schoolchildren will make a trip downtown to the fair to hear authors and participate in activities such as crafts and storytelling.

During the festive atmosphere that surrounds the ‘’Street Fair’’ the crowds of people go through vendors and exhibits of all kinds, like the antiquarians, who showcase signed first editions and original manuscripts. Over 250 publishers and exhibitors will be selling books to the book hungry people dying to dig into something new.

‘’I look forward to going to the Miami International Book Fair this year because it has a variety of genres of books to go through. Rather than going to a library, people can own the books themselves.

The Street Fair is different from any ordinary bookstore because it’s outdoors and people can go through the aisles of books at their own pace,’’ said Mishal Khan, a sophomore at MLEC in the Health Academy.

Tickets can be bought starting Monday, November 4^th at 10:00 AM. Author presentation tickets, like the ones for Dan Brown, can be bought starting Monday, September 23^rd starting at 10 A.M.  For Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24^th, tickets start at $8 for 13 to 18 year and $5 for people over 62. Children twelve and under are free.

So get those reading glasses and start preparing for the Miami International Book Fair! Bring your sisters, brothers, grandmothers, and friends and walk the aisles upon aisles of books of your favorite genres.