Miami Book Fair: Leire Bilbao

The Miami Book Fair will take place this year from November 16 to 23 and will feature the participation of writer Leire Bilbao, supported by Etxepare Basque Institute. Bilbao’s presentations will take place on November 22 at the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade College, in two sessions at 1:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., respectively.

• 1:30 p.m. | Dade College´s Wolfson Campus, 3rd building, Room 3315:

The first talk, titled ‘Con una nube de poesía—Ficción y poesía’ (‘With a Cloud of Poetry—Fiction and poetry’), will focus on children’s literature and reading. In it, Leire Bilbao will discuss poetry as a tool to explore all kinds of subjects within children’s and young adult literature.

• 3:15 p.m.| Dade College´s Wolfson Campus, 8th building, Room 8525:

The second talk, ‘Desplegando el verso: novedades de poesía’ (Unfolding the Verse: Poetry Updates), will revolve around poetry and verse, and the Basque author will converse with Mercedes Moresco, María Auxiliadora Álvarez, and Jhanayra Manzano. Bilbao will take as a starting point her award-winning poetry collection ‘Etxeko urak’ (‘Aguas madres’) to reflect on the construction and deconstruction of identity through the experience of motherhood.

Leire Bilbao

Leire Bilbao’s literary career has had a profound impact on both children’s and young adult literature and the poetic field. Since 2006, she has published numerous works —among them ‘Ezkatak’ and ‘Amonak nobioa du, eta zer?’— which have become key references in Basque literature. In 2024, she published the illustrated album ‘Klera’, where music, dance, and illustration converge. For this work, she recently received Spain’s National Award for Children’s and Young People’s Literature, in recognition of its poetic beauty and interdisciplinary nature. Her writing addresses themes such as conflict, war, and death through a sensitive and accessible language.

Miami Book Fair

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 an internationally recognised model of 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.