Shelf Life

Taking a little literary license from Jane Austen, if bookseller Mitch Kaplan had a novel about his life’s work it might be titled “Passion and Persistence.” Kaplan’s staying power as an independent bookstore owner is an affirmation of his devotion to literature and to the Miami community.

Weathering tough times for small businesses, particularly indie bookstores, Kaplan has thrived and is celebrating 40 years in business with Books & Books. He opened the store in Coral Gables in 1982. The chain now includes five other locations in Miami and one in Key West.

“It’s a testament to the entire South Florida community that they’ve allowed us to be a bookstore that survived through so many ups and downs of this industry,” says Kaplan. “We could never have done it without recognizing that Miami has a very incredibly literate and loyal and sophisticated reading community.”

The bookstores’ status as a community “third place,” (besides work and home) where people can meet and share ideas, Kaplan says, factors into their success. Books & Books hosts 400 author events a year as well as other programming. “The whole idea of any business is to have added value,” Kaplan says, referring to Books & Books as a community meeting place. “That’s been our key so far, plus a lot of persistence.”

From November 13-20, Kaplan will also celebrate the 39th year of the Miami Book Fair, an annual literary event he co-founded with Miami Dade College. It’s the largest community book festival in the United States and a model for other book fairs, according to the National Book Foundation. The fair draws a diversity of renowned authors to Miami for a weeklong fest.

Kaplan, 67, has strong ties to the community where he lives and works. He was born and raised in the Magic City and graduated from the University of Miami. He and his wife Rachelle, a real estate agent, have three adult children, a daughter in the fashion industry in New York and twin sons, one who works for Books & Books and the other who is a cinematographer.

“I’m very proud, very thankful that we have been able to serve the community,” he says. “As a former English teacher and English major, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have spent 40 years pursuing something I’m so passionate about.”

When he’s not running the bookstores, reading or hosting his podcast, “The Literary Life,” Kaplan is busy with an endeavor that dovetails with his literary interests. He and film producer Paula Mazur are the creative producers of Mazur Kaplan Company, adapting books for film. In 2018 the company brought the bestselling novel “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society” to the screen. Future projects include “The Silent Wife,” from the A.S.A. Harrison novel with Nicole Kidman in the lead.

Kaplan explains his foray into filmmaking through the novel “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society: “It all started with a book that I loved.”