Laughing at Injustice: The Art and Power of Miami Satire

Autocracy, kleptocracy, bigotry, idiocy—satire can’t fix any of these things, but it can make fun of them! Come laugh through the pain on April 24 at Books & Books’ Coral Gables location with some of Miami’s most prominent satirists, including Dave Barry, Asha Elias, Andrew Boryga, and Andrew Otazo. The panel will be moderated by Bill Kearney, The Sun Sentinel’s senior editor and environmental reporter.

About the Panelists:

Dave Barry is the author of more bestsellers than you can count on two hands, including , , , , and . A wildly popular syndicated columnist best known for his booger jokes, Barry won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He lives in Miami.

Andrew Otazo is the CEO of ARO Communications, which specializes in formulating communications strategies to help organizations successfully launch products and services. He worked at several international PR agencies and served as the executive director of the Cuba Study Group. He was employed at the State Department before working as a research associate at the Harvard Business School and as Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s personal assistant. Andrew removed 28,000 pounds of trash from Miami’s mangroves. He is the award-winning author of The Miami Creation Myth.

Writer, mother, and reluctant socialite Asha Elias is the author of . She graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in print journalism, has contributed to Cosmopolitan magazine, and is the sex & dating columnist for Miami New Times. She lives with her family in Miami Beach, Florida.

Andrew Boryga is an author who was born and raised in the Bronx, New York but has called Miami home for nearly a decade now. His debut novel, VICTIM, was published in 2024 and was selected as a New York Times' Editor's Choice, as well as a best book of the year by NPR, The BBC, LitHub and other outlets. His non-fiction writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among other publications.

About the Moderator:

Author of the forthcoming The Serpent and the South with HarperCollins, Bill Kearney has been a writer and editor of both newspapers and magazines for more than 15 years, and has written for publications such as New York Magazine, the Miami Herald and Miami New Times.He's had a front-row seat to the absurd extremes of Florida as both an editor at Ocean Drive magazine and an environmental reporter for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, where his stories on invasive pythons and other beasts go viral.He previously helmed American Way magazine for American Airlines, and spends as much time as possible outdoors with his son, Joaquin.

Host or Publisher Books & Books