Dear Colleagues,

The Fair was founded at Miami Dade College in 1984, with the goal of bringing to Miami the writers and thought leaders shaping the national conversation and contributing to our country's cultural zeitgeist. We wanted our South Florida community, and our students and staff, to be part of that dialogue, to help shape the culture. Thirty-eight years later, as we start the countdown to Miami Book Fair 2021, I am proud of the part I've played in making the Fair the successful model that other book festivals follow.

We were innovators in 1984, and innovators we remain. In 2020, when other community gatherings were forced to shut down, Miami Book Fair did not shrink back and skip a year – it rose to the challenge and built MiamiBookFairOnline.com, an ambitious, program-delivery platform, a “Netflix for book events” that once again led the way and expanded the concept of what a book festival could be. This year, that foresight has paid off. While I am happy to report that Miami Book Fair is back in person, Nov. 14-21, on the Wolfson Campus, where everyone in our community can attend, I am proud to note that the Fair will also be online, where anyone, anywhere, can take part.

I salute the hardworking staff of the Fair, but we all know they can't do it alone. MBF is MDC, and MBF needs MDC.

As most of you know, I was MDC many years before I became your College president, and one of the MDC programs I was proud to volunteer for when I was an academic advisor, a dean and a campus president was the Miami Book Fair. Please volunteer a few hours of your time. I am glad that I did, and will continue to do so.

I've often said that for those eight Book Fair days in November, Miami is the smartest city on the planet with the talented authors we learn from. But Miami and MDC are smart all year round, as it was the year that Miami Book Fair got its start, and was nurtured by MDC and community volunteers, for all of us to enjoy.
 
See you at the Fair!

Madeline Pumariega
President, Miami Dade College