Mitchell Kaplan
Mitchell Kaplan, a Miami Beach native, founded the independent bookstore chain Books & Books in 1982. Books & Books was named “Publishers’ Weekly Bookstore of the Year” in 2015. He is the co-founder of Miami Book Fair, the largest community book festival in the United States, produced by Miami Dade College. A former president of the American Booksellers Association (ABA), Mitchell received the National Book Foundation’s prestigious “Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community” in 2011. He is the host of the podcast, “The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan” and with his partner Paula Mazur, formed the Mazur/Kaplan film production company to bring books to the screen. In 2023, Mitchell launched the Books & Books Literary Foundation, whose mission is to use the power of literary culture to cultivate and nurture new readers, build a thriving and diverse community, and advocate for writers, books, and the freedom to read." For his outstanding dedication to literature and uplifting the creative work of writers, poets and playwrights, Mitchell Kaplan received the 2025 Mayor’s Legacy in the Arts Award by Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine Cava.