Miami Book Fair 2023: Elena Odriozola

The Miami Book Fair will be held from 12 to 19 November and will be attended by the illustrator Elena Odriozola, with support from the Etxepare Basque Institute. Odriozola will take part in a seminar on children’s literature and reading: X Seminario de Literatura Infantil y Lectura: Libros para un mundo plural, held in Spanish. Odriozola’s contribution will be a talk titled ‘Cuando hay algo que contar’ on 18 November at 3PM (GMT-5).

Elena Odriozola embarked on her career as an illustrator in 1997. Since then, she has illustrated over 100 books, in addition to creating posters and book covers. Her work has been published primarily in Spain, as well as in France, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Taiwan. Her books have been published in several languages. In 2019, Elena Odriozola, along with Gustavo Puerta Leisse and Marta Ansón, co-founded Ediciones Modernas El Embudo. This venture was established to showcase her more personal and playful artistic creations.

Among others, she has been awarded the Euskadi Illustration Prize, the National Illustration Prize, the Junceda International Prize, as well as the Golden Apple and the Grand Prize at the Biennial of Illustration Bratislava. Odriozola has been nominated several times for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award and for the Andersen Prize 2018, 2020 (finalist), 2022 and 2024.

The Miami Book Fair began as a two-day event in November 1984, when a small group of determined individuals – including educators from Miami Dade College, independent booksellers, and librarians – founded Miami Book Fair International. Since then it has grown into one of the most significant cultural events in the region and is internationally recognised for its excellence.

Today MBF is both an annual eight-day festival – typically featuring more than 500 authors, 200,000 attendees, 200+ national and international book exhibitors, and a robust schedule of literary, cultural, and educational events, supported by 1,000+ community volunteers – and a provider of a diverse slate of literary-centric programming year round.