“Just go for it.” That is what the founder of the Fort Lauderdale International Book Fair stated when asked how he created his project. Michael Bergstorm, an eleventh grade St. Thomas Aquinas student, began the book fair project his freshman year after hearing about the idea while volunteering with the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society in Florida. However, the project fell through, so Michael took it upon himself to launch his own with a couple of his friends. 

The Fort Lauderdale International Book fair took place on February 3rd. This is the second year of the event, which has exponentially expanded to include over thirty book vendors ready to showcase their work. Christiana Lilly, author of the book 100 Things to Do in Fort Lauderdale Before You Die shared her perspective. She stated that she found out about the book fair through social media and felt enticed to join and exhibit the unique experiences and rich culture Fort Lauderdale has to offer: “Something I really love for people to check out is the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki museum; it’s the official museum of the Seminole tribe.” And if you do not enjoy a trip to the museum, she recommends Fort Lauderdale’s annual Winter festival in Las Olas. If you are feeling hungry, then the Rustic Inn is for you, a local crabhouse restaurant that got its peculiar name from an inn that was closing down the street. 

Although Christiana and Michael have vastly different jobs, both had the same goal: to bring books to their local community. Currently, the rate of reading books is rapidly decreasing, as less than 20 percent of high schoolers report reading a book for pastime, while 80 percent say they use social media daily, according to The American Psychological Association. The book fair attempts to make literature exciting for the community and hopefully increase engagement. Bergstrom noted that it was possible as “the annual Miami Book Fair brings over thousands of visitors every year. I thought why not Fort Lauderdale too.” 

Managing an event of this size is challenging, so Michael recruited other high schoolers that were interested in creating a positive impact in their community. Eleventh grader, Chase Carroll, said that this was his second time attending the book fair and enjoyed volunteering there to work with the local authors. The book fair was not exclusive to just books as high schooler Sophia Organzov directed the art booth because “it’s popular with the kids, and I enjoy sharing art with the community.” Throughout the event, visitors could not help but notice the classic rock playing in the background thanks to the band LAPSE, a group run by sophomore high schoolers. “This was our first gig and our chance to be able to show our talent to Fort Lauderdale.” The lead singer, Adrian Moncada, said the name LAPSE is “another way of saying a break out of time and to me that’s what music is.” The culmination of literature, art, and music contributed to the transformation of the Fort Lauderdale International Book Fair from a mere event into an immersive experience, providing the community an escape from the ordinary. Before departing, Michael Bergstrom gave his own advice for teenagers who want to create a similar project but do not know where to begin. He said, most importantly, “you have to make connections, build credibility, call, email, and then people will want to speak with you.”

Through establishing relationships with like-minded people, student-lead organizations become stronger through collective action and therefore have a stronger impact. This is exemplified through the collective actions of high schoolers who collaborated to create the Fort Lauderdale International Book Fair which is now officially a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The book fair’s unwavering commitment to fostering literacy in teens and enriching the community demonstrates its enduring dedication to make a lasting impact for years to come.