Calle Ocho Books & Press Launches Website with a Flair on Cuban Culture
MIAMI – Florida International University (FIU) graduates Michelle Donovan and Melissa Montero have opened Calle Ocho Books & Press, an online website. Their goal in launching www.calleochobooks.com is to give up-and-coming authors and publishers of Cuban and South Florida fiction a place to promote and sell their newest works.
“Fans of Cuban literature will find captivating works at Calle Ocho Books with modernista and ‘boom’ authors,” said business development director Donovan. “We devote a main section called ‘Caliente’ to works from emerging writers living in South Florida. They write in English and Spanish about life in the region.”
The name “Calle Ocho” pays homage to an important street in a historically Cuban community in Miami. Known to be a hotbed of political discussion amongst the elders, Eighth Street, or Calle Ocho, serves an important role in keeping the community connected through its smattering of coffee shops, bakeries and most importantly, “Domino Park,” where Cubans congregate over ivory domino pieces and trade stories from their youth.
Donavan and Montero, both Miami natives, are bringing a little piece of the Calle Ocho community online. By publishing blogs and a Facebook page about new titles, authors and upcoming literary festivals related to Cuban and South Florida literature, the two engage their audience much the same way patrons of domino park do. In addition to news from the literary community, Calle Ocho Books & Press post news about Miami life, culture, dining, arts and entertainment.
ABOUT CALLE OCHO BOOKS & PRESS
Calle Ocho Books & Press is a Miami-themed online bookstore where commercial fiction and literature about the Cuba and South Florida intersect.
It carries non-fiction regarding South Florida history, the Cuban revolution, immigration from Latin and South American countries, the Mariel boatlift, Cuban politics, baseball, international politics and economics, and a full line of cookbooks and coffee table photography books.
Calle Ocho Books carries fiction titles about South Florida. Its breadth of media also includes a selection of movies on DVD, audio books, music CDs and downloads. Kindles, lap desks, bookshelves, desks, are also kept in stock. For more information, visit www.calleochobooks.com