Mitchell Kaplan made Miami lit — well, literate.

He founded Books & Books, an independent bookstore in Coral Gables that has become a major gathering place for Miami-area writers and has grown into a major brand with seven bookstores. And it just turned 40. 

The cafe at that Gables store is Miami’s original “third space” — where people who are not at home and not at work can stop in for coffee, a change of scenery to write their The Great American Novel — and a bite to eat from a James Beard Award-winning chef.

Books & Books is the one place a writer in Miami is always welcome. The food is always good. And where a copy of a local author's book (like host Carlos Frias' "Take Me With You") is always on the shelf even 10 years after it was published.

Mitchell also helped found the Miami Book Fair and he started a production company to turn books into major Hollywood films. I call him the patron saint of Miami writers. Hosted by James Beard Award winning host Carlos Frias and Miami.com editor Amy Reyes.

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