Writing the World with Thomas Swick

Wednesdays, February 20 – March 13 (4 weeks) 7 – 9 p.m. | MDC Wolfson Campus, Downtown Miami During this course, students work on travel stories with the intent of eventually publishing them. Discover the seven key elements – a personal voice, a point of view, imagination, insight, humor, people, dialogue – and how best to incorporate them into your stories. Learn about the importance of finding a theme – something that ties your disparate and seemingly random experiences...

José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela presenta Mi tío Pachunga

En conversación con el escritor Sergio Andricain, el escritor chileno José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela presentará su libro infantil más reciente, Mi tío Pachunga. Eva tiene un par de problemas: nadie le hace caso y no sabe qué quiere ser de grande. Pero su estrafalario tío aparece justo a tiempo para ayudarla a responder algunas preguntas interesantes y, sobre todo, para pasar juntos muy buenos momentos de diversión. Eva piensa que no es una niña muy afortunada, pues cada...

Love Notes: The Craft of Writing Romance with Nadine Gonzalez

Thursdays, February 21 – March 14 (4 weeks) 7 – 9 p.m. | MDC Wolfson Campus, Downtown Miami A well-crafted romantic sub-plot can add dimension to any genre. A love interest can raise the stakes in a thriller, round out the character of a fantasy trilogy hero/heroine, or serve as the ultimate blind spot for an antihero. With that in mind, it’s worth it to master the romantic arc. In this workshop, we’ll work through the mandatory beats in romance (meet cute, courtship, darkest hour,...

Ayesha Harruna Attah on The Hundred Wells of Salaga

Co-presented by Books & Books Based on true events, a story of courage, forgiveness, love, and freedom in precolonial Ghana, told through the eyes of two women born to vastly different fates.  Aminah lives an idyllic life until she is brutally separated from her home and forced on a journey that transforms her from a daydreamer into a resilient woman. Wurche, the willful daughter of a chief, is desperate to play an important role in her father’s court. These two women’s lives converge...

Teen Poetry Workshop with Rudi Goblen

Saturday, February 23 (1 day) 1 – 4 p.m. | The Light Box at the Goldman Warehouse This three-hour poetry workshop is just for teens. Start the new year inspired to write and perform your own poetry out loud with acclaimed B-Boy, performance artist, and published poet Rudi Goblen. Workshop in partnership with Miami Light Project Rudi Goblen (writer, dancer, actor, and music producer) was commissioned by Miami Light Project to create the solo dance theatre performances Insanity Isn’t,...

Read to Learn Books for Free Book Drive – Cinderella

Actor’s Playhouse will be running a book drive for Read to Learn Books for Free during their special performances of Cinderella (based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault) Saturdays, February 7 – March 21 @ 2 p.m. Loved the world over, Charles Perrault’s classic tale of a young lady’s struggle to overcome the tyranny of her wicked Stepmother and Stepsisters springs to life. Toss in a zany Fairy Godmother with two comical assistants, a Prince who is having parental problems of...

Read to Learn Books for Free Book Drive – Into The Woods, JR!

Actor’s Playhouse will be running a book drive for Read to Learn Books for Free during their special performances of Into The Woods, JR! (based on the Emmy Award-winning 1970’s Saturday morning cartoon series)! Saturday, February 23 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, February 24 at 4 p.m. (Beans Cast) Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 3 at 4 p.m. (Nectarines Cast) The Brothers Grimm “go Broadway” as Sondheim and Lapine offer up a cockeyed fairy tale in Into The Woods JR., an...

Carlos Gámez Pérez presenta Malas noticias desde la isla

El autor estará en conversación con el escritor Hernán Vera Álvarez. En un futuro no muy lejano, cuatro inmigrantes arriesgarán su vida en un “juego” donde la apuesta es alcanzar la Tierra Prometida de lo que otrora se llamara Europa. Carlos Gámez Pérez nos entrega esta visión distópica, en un mundo que a ratos tristemente parece demasiado próximo, ante el resurgimiento de los nacionalismos a nivel global. Carlos Gámez (Barcelona. 1969), es escritor y profesor. En 2012...

The Big Read Kickoff: Sundays in the Park with AIRIE

In partnership with AIRIE – Artists in Residence in the Everglades (https://airie.org/) Miccosukee native Betty Osceola along with AIRIE Fellow Cathy Byrd, and others, will discuss conservation efforts in the Florida Everglades, their effects on indigenous ways of life, and how to effectively communicate environmental concerns through the cultural arts. Fresh Art International will stream the discussion LIVE on the web on Jolt Radio. For more information about this event,...

Big Read Field Trip to the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Museum

Join us for an educational and immersive trip to the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Museum in Clewiston, FL. There will be a guided tour of the museum including a 20-minute film and free time to explore the boardwalk which takes you through a natural cypress dome. The bus will leave from the front of The Freedom Tower at 600 Biscayne Blvd.  promptly at 9 a.m. and leave Clewiston to return at 4 p.m.. The cost is $20, payable in advance when you reserve your spot on the bus. Bring your own lunch.

Picnic de Libros para toda la familia

La Feria del Libro de Miami, del Miami Dade College; la Fundación Cuatrogatos y Conecta Miami Arts presentan Picnic de Libros, un evento cultural gratuito, dirigido a los niños y a las familias de Miami, que busca fomentar la lectura y el gusto por los libros y la literatura. Las actividades esa tarde incluirán la obra de teatro para niños El camino del bosque, producida por Artefactus Cultural Project. Los niños también disfrutarán de una performance musical a cargo de Michael...

Keynote Address: Joy Harjo, author of How We Became Human in conversation with Natalie Diaz

Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a member of the Mvskoke Nation. Her seven books of poetry, which includes such well-known titles as How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems, The Woman Who Fell From the Sky, and She Had Some Horses, have garnered many awards. These include the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas; and the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of...

Poetry Workshops with High School Students

Award-winning poets Joy Harjo and Natalie Diaz will facilitate community poetry workshops for local high school students. They will each visit separate local high school classes, where each student in the workshop will receive a copy of either Joy Harjo’s How We Became Human or Natalie Diaz’s When My Brother Was an Aztec.

FIRST DRAFT: A Literary Social (March 2019)

Have a drink. Write a story. Have another drink. Write a better story. Instructor: Anjanette Delgado Theme: How to Write Real People Miami Book Fair presents First Draft, a series of informal writing events that turn happy hours into great stories. You’re inspired. But you’re also thirsty. Swing by a First Draft event for a drink (the first one’s on the house) and a guided writing prompt. Share your writing. You never know what you might knock out as you knock one back!

Taller: “El cuento: el Frankenstein despierto” con Carlos Pintado

Taller de 8 semanas, los sábados de 10:00 am. a 12:00 pm. Del 16 de marzo al 4 de mayo Objetivo: Al final de las ocho semanas del taller, los participantes habrán escrito, al menos, un cuento que habrá sido analizado y debatido por el instructor y los demás integrantes del grupo. Sobre del taller: Durante los encuentros semanales que tendrán lugar en el marco del taller, los participantes serán guiados por el instructor para conocer y poner en práctica diferentes técnicas narrativas,...