South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
JCCs team up for virtual fall book festivals
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 willwant 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 JCCSandler Center: levisjcc.org/culture/jewishbookfest, Stephanie Owitz, stephanieo@bocafed.org
• Davie’sDavid 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
• TheRoth 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 FloridaGov. Jeb Bush. Rosenbaum, an essayist, novelist and lawprofessor, grew up in Miami Beach, the son ofHolocaust survivors. In his book, Rosenbaum discusses howcertain limits on free speech are constitutional and essential for the maintenance of civil society.
Lawyer, feminist trailblazer andMSNBC legal analyst JillWine-Banks discusses her new book, “TheWatergate Girl: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11. Wine-Bankswas the only female prosecutor during theWatergate scandal and was the firstwoman to serve asUS General Counsel of the Army under President Jimmy Carter.
“The Florida Author Spotlight” panel, moderated by Les Standiford, begins at 1p.m. Oct. 12 and will feature John Gregersen, “Yamato Colony: The PioneersWho Brought Japan to Florida;” Rick Kilby, “Florida’sHealingWaters: Gilded Age Mineral Springs, Seaside Resorts, andHealth Spas;” Amy Paige Condon, “A NervousMan 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 “LongWay Home” and the son of actor Michael Douglas, and magazine editorDan Peres, author of “As Needed for Pain: A Memoir of Addiction.”
“Multi-Generational Jewish Stories fromAround theWorld” begins at 1p.m. Oct. 14 with EstherAmini, “Concealed: Memoir of a JewishIranianDaughter Caught Between the Chador and America,” and Jonathan Kaufman, “The Last Kings of Shanghai.”
“Boys toMen” panel begins at 11 a.m. Oct. 18 with actor/comedian Michael Ian Black, “A BetterMan: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son,” and journalist Cleo Stiller, “ModernManhood: Conversations About the ComplicatedWorld of Being aGoodMan Today.”
“Transgender Stories ThroughMothers’ 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, “WhatWeWill 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 fromnoon to
4 p.m. Oct. 20. Authors are Jennifer Rosner, “The YellowBird Sings;” Jan Eliasberg, “Hannah’sWar;” MaxGross, “The Lost Shtetl;” David Hopen, “The Orchard;” LeslieK. 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 fromCuba” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22.
The event closes at 4 p.m. Oct 25 with “Ordinary People Change theWorld” featuring BradMeltzer 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 AtlanticUniversity’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 FAUOsher Lifelong Learning students, FAU students free. All proceeds fromticket 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. TimWeiner discusses his book “The Folly and the Glory: America, Russia and PoliticalWarfare, 1945-2020” with Renat Shaykhutdinov, FAUassociate professor of political science, at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 15. Weiner’s book traces the roots of politicalwarfare and the conflict between America and Russia with espionage, sabotage, diplomacy and disinformation from1945 until 2020. Weiner illuminates Russian and American intelligence operations and their consequences. Mitch Albom talks about “Finding Chika: A
Little Girl, an Earthquake, and theMaking of a Family” at 7 p.m. Oct. 19. James Patterson andKwame 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 eventNov. 15-22.
More than 200 authors and moderators will be featured, including headliner Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood (“Dearly: New Poems,” “TheHandmaid’s Tale,” “The Testaments”).
As in years past, the fair features programs in English, Spanish andHaitian Creole with all genres including fiction, politics, history, memoir, comics, poetry, and programs for children and teens. Signature programs, such as “EveningsWith…” 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 howto navigate thewebsite, create awatch 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, visitwww.miamibookfair.comor email wbookfair@mdc.edu.