Miami, Ep. 5

November 22, 2013 — In a bookish guns-blazing return to steamy Miami, Literary Death Match teamed with Miami Book Fair Internationa and Bookleggers for a knockdown lit-out night at Bardot that ended with Lauren Oliver outdueling co-finalist Kevin Barry in a wild game of Lone Star Lit by a final score of 55-40, to win Oliver the LDM Miami, Ep. 5 crown. 

But before the finale was even a thought, the steamy night kicked off with fresh-off-a-plane Lucy Knisley (comic artist, musician and author of Relish: My Life in the Kitchen) who read a graphic novel excerpt about her time in the country. Next up was Lauren Oliver, author of Requiem and NY Times bestseller Before I Fall, who wowed with a piece from her new book that enchanted the packed crowd. 

The mic was then handed over to the trio of all-star judges: Daniel Alarcón, author of At Night We Walk in Circles, and a New Yorker 20 Under 40; Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, half of the seminal hip-hop duo Mobb Deep; and Meg Cabot, New York Times bestselling author of the Princess Diaries series. The trio amazed with a sterling series of off-the-cuff compliments and musings before making the night's first impossible decision, naming Oliver the night's first finalist. 

After a fast-and-boozy intermission, Round 2 kicked off with JJ Colagrande, professor and author of Headz, who reeled off a piece from Huffington Post making an argument that Miami was the best city in America. Finally it was  multi-award winning Irish author Kevin Barry (author of City of Bohane) who read a heartaching piece from Dark Lies the Island about a boy trying to kiss a girl. 

Again the judges were center stage, with praise and delight delivered in the direction of both writers before they made their night's second impossible choice, naming Barry as the night's second finalist. 

Then host and LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga took center stage, announcing the Lone Star Lit finale, in which he read off 1-star Amazon book reviews written about the 100 Best Books of All-Time. The finalists, teamed with a mix of volunteers from the crowd, took turns nailing book after book, but with everything to play for Team Oliver nailed the final answer, and she was crowned champ, winning the Miami, Ep. 5 medal, and literary immortality to go with it.  

Follow LDM on Twitter and/or Facebook now!