When Mitchell Kaplan (Eng鈥�76)听launched Books & Books in Miami听in 1982, the business was the size of a听one-bedroom apartment.听
Still, Kaplan, then 27, fled the tiny听bookstore with more than titles 鈥� he听brought in real live writers, unusual at听the time. Nobel Laureate Isaac Bashevis听Singer was among the first.听
鈥淔rom the beginning we established听ourselves as the store where literary听events took place alongside the selling of听books,鈥� Kaplan has said.听
Early on, he also set about putting Miami on the literary map, helping found听the Miami Book Fair in 1984. The annual听weeklong festival now hosts hundreds of听authors and draws hundreds of thousands of participants.听
鈥淚n the 1980s, Miami was off the radar听screen,鈥� said Oren Teicher, head of the听American Booksellers Association, a听trade group based in New York. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛听a place where publishers wanted to send听their authors. He helped change that.鈥澨�
Over the next three decades Kaplan, now 63 and originally from Miami听Beach, added seven more South Florida听stores. The flagship store occupies a听9,000-square-foot building with a spot on听the National Register of听Historic Places.听
His labor of love would听become a landmark for听bibliophiles. In 2015,听Publishers Weekly听named the听business 鈥淏ookstore of the听Year鈥� citing its 鈥渙utsized听influence鈥� on independent听bookstores 鈥渁nd the literary culture at large.鈥澨�
鈥淵ou have to be able听to communicate to your听customers that value isn鈥檛听only measured by price,鈥澨齭aid Kaplan. 鈥淭here is value听in meeting an author, being听a place where ideas are听shared, value in bringing听writers into the schools.鈥澨�
Recently he developed a听publishing arm and a partnership with film producer听Paula Mazur. Their first feature-length movie,听The Man听Who Invented Christmas,听with Christopher Plummer,听was released in November.听
It was a novel that inspired Kaplan听to apply to CU Boulder. Captivated by a听character in Jack Kerouac鈥檚听The Dharma Bums听who writes poetry on a mountaintop, Kaplan听envisioned Boulder as an 鈥渆xotic land of听mountains and snow,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 saw CU for听the first time the day I got there.鈥澨�
Professor Sidney Goldfarb鈥檚 literature听courses 鈥� which included histories of the听鈥済reat bookstores,鈥� such as Shakespeare听and Co. in Paris and Manhattan鈥檚 Gotham听Book Mart 鈥� made a deep impression on听Kaplan, not least for their role as defenders of First Amendment freedoms.听
After CU, he tried law school in Washington, D.C., but found himself spending听more time in bookstores than in the law听library. He left after two years, returned听to Miami, taught high school English,听then yielded to his persistent urge: to听become a bookseller.听
When he opened the first Books &听Books, he had a lot to learn: 鈥淚 knew听more about Pablo Neruda and Thomas听Pynchon than I did about interest rates听or bank charges,鈥� he said.听
It鈥檚 been a risk that paid: 鈥淚鈥檝e been听able to make some small contribution to听Miami becoming a world-class city.鈥�
听
Photo courtesy听Mitchell Kaplan
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