Tuesday, award-winning author Rebecca Skloot will read from her New York Times best-selling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks at UCLA Live’s Royce Hall. The critically-acclaimed nonfiction book has been heralded for its intricate research and gripping story. more ›

Novelist Mark Z. Danielewski is frighteningly good at what he does. His books have imparted an international cult following for their courageous and mind-bending subjects, experimental typography, and innovative approaches to story-telling. more ›

While the common adage suggests everyone has one book in them, it fails to mention that book will average 28 rejections. Or that publishing it might take as long as writing it. Nor is it even insinuated that your one book, once it’s published, will hopefully make you about $1 per book—that is, if you can sell 7,000 copies first. So yes, everyone might have one book in them, but getting it published warrants an entirely different—and perhaps less optimistic—outlook. Thankfully, this past weekend, the LA Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association made it their mission to bring some clarity to the often-murky realm of publishing. more ›

Welcome to Los Angeles, known to many as the place where dreams come true. While we might be in line for a Frappucino next to Miley Cyrus one day, then seeing a paparazzi shot of a Twilight star pumping gas ("They pump their own gas!") on a glossy page of a gossip rag while waiting at the doctor's office, here we live in a curious world of celebrity, no matter how distant the proximity. more ›

Towards the starting point of a traveling installation exhibit of a body of work from illustrator, author, and designer Maira Kalman there is a loving sketch of a woman the artist once spotted on the street. "I saw her," the drawing reads in Kalman's famed handwriting. more ›

Would you take dating advice from an actress and a model? Maybe not right off the bat, because it seems like their point of view on snagging a man might be a bit...well...skewed. But actress Cheryl Anne Meyer, 25, and model Tara Landon, 25, have set out to change that. more ›

Longtime comedian and actress Elizabeth Beckwith has put pen to paper for her first book, "Raising the Perfect Child Through Guilt and Manipulation" which will be released tomorrow by Harper Paperbacks. As a new parent, Beckwith drew upon her own upbringing in creating this guide which Barnes & Noble should bundle with "What to Expect When You're Expecting". more ›

Writer Dominick Dunne died today at his home in New York, according to the LA Times. The bestselling author of crime-meets-celeb scandal tomes like Another City Not My Own (based on his involvement in the OJ Simpson trial), film producer, and Vanity Fair contributor was 83, and had been battling bladder cancer. Born to an affluent East Coast family, Dunne moved to Los Angeles in the late 50s and worked extensively in television. His writing career took on new proportions following the 1983 murder of his daughter, Dominique. Dunne's only surviving child, son Griffin, is an actor, and his sister-in-law is iconic Californian writer Joan Didion. more ›

Long Beach is facing a $16.9 million budget deficit and has proposed shutting down their downtown library. "Tell City Hall NO to the threatened closure! Long Beach residents and children deserve nothing less than access to a downtown library with ready access to books and programs to help them achieve their goals and aspirations," wrote author Ray Bradbury in a letter printed last week in the Press-Telegram. The LA Times takes a look at the controversy, including a group called Save Our Long Beach Public Library. more ›