Warm up your xerox machines and ready your staple guns: next week the inaugural L.A. Zine Fest will be kicking off. During the week of February 5, zinesters and other DIYers will be teaching workshops on zine-making, button-making and screenprinting. more ›

Time to polish off those reading glasses because this Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of a SoCal literary tradition: the West Hollywood Book Fair! And for letters-loving Angelenos, the line-up is sure to delight. This year, the WeHo Book Fair boasts twelve stages and over a hundred exhibitors, all for fun and for free. more ›

The end of the Oprah Era means more than the loss of a national anticipation for 4:00 p.m., heart-wrenching exposés, couch-jumping shenanigans and free cars; it also marks the departure of one of the largest book clubs in history. Swaying millions of viewers to read the kinds of books that put Cliff’s Notes in business proves that there is power in community reading. more ›

Five years ago, the independent bookstore was likely fated to join the cassette tape: nostalgically revered, but tragically doomed. Despite hand picked recommendations, too-cool cashiers, and erudite small talk, the local bookstore didn’t stand a chance against the Big Guys—corporations like Barnes and Noble, Borders, and the true Iago of bookselling, Amazon. Then came the Kindle, the Nook, whatever the hell Sony makes, and all-too-quickly the local bookstore was thrown into certain extinction. Indie booksellers started looking less like the counter-culture revolutionaries they once were and more like, well, Luddites. But this month, something sensational happened: mega-chain Borders went belly-up and despite bleak predictions, many of LA’s indie bookstores aren’t just still standing—some are downright thriving. That’s right: mom-and-pop bookshops are back, baby. more ›

Los Angeles is home to many things "unliterary." Hollywood celebrities, the porn industry, and paparazzi perpetuate this fact. So, when held against definitive bookish cities Seattle, New York, and San Francisco, LA’s literary credibility falls understandably short. But Central Connecticut State University’s recent list of 75 national literary cities banished Los Angeles to number 61. LA’s literary rating fell behind those of Miami, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. No offense intended toward Sin City, but this can’t be right. more ›

Silent Wednesdays at Cinefamily is focusing on Charlie Chaplin tonight with a screening of The Kid (1921) along with A Dog's Life (1918) both via new 35mm prints. 8PM. $10. more ›

The Annenberg Beach House Artist-in-Residence Holly Rothschild is holding a site-specific dance workshop tonight at 6:30 pm. She’ll guide participants in an exploration of site, movement and process during the free, two-hour workshop. Come early for a docent-led tour of the Beach House (formerly Marion Davies estate). more ›

According to Canteen publisher Stephen Pierson: “The idea is twofold: (1) to make literary readings more entertaining, and (2) to encourage a culture of writing where, for an evening, the reader/aspiring-writer can compete on an even level with an established author.” more ›

The anti-slavery organization Free the Slaves is holding its Freedom Awards tonight at USC’s Bovard Auditorium at 7 pm. The nonprofit frees slaves around the world, helps them rebuild their lives, researches solutions to the root-causes of slavery, and enlists businesses to clean slavery out of their product and supply chains. The awards provide winners with financial support to continue their work on the issue. Actresses Demi Moore and Camilla Belle, singer Peter Buffett, author Isabel Allende, football great Emmitt Smith, and Olympic Sprinter Maurice Greene are expected to attend and pay tribute to the people working on the frontlines to free slaves worldwide. Entrance to the event is free, but guests will need a ticket to enter. Request here and will be reserved based on availability. more ›

Even during a recession, some news outlets are still looking for freelancers. Tonight the Society of Professional Journalists presents “Editors Spill the Beans: What do they want from freelancers?” tonight at 7 pm. On the panel are Sara Wilson, associate editor, Los Angeles Magazine; John Haas, editor, Marketplace; Stephen Pizzello, editor, American Cinematographer. Cost: $18 for SPJ members and students; $23 for nonmembers. The price includes cocktails at 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. dinner at Golden Dragon Restaurant in Chinatown. Reservations are required. Please call the SPJ/LA hotline at (323) 259-3350 or send an e-mail to SPJLosAngeles@gmail.com. more ›

The New American Writing Series at the Hammer Museum tonight presents readings by poets Rae Armantrout and Rachel Loden. Armantrout is a professor of writing in the literature department at UCSD and the author of 10 books of poetry. Loden is the author of Dick of the Dead, released in May. The event begins at 7 pm and is free to the public. more ›

Alan Zweibel presents Clothing Optional 7:30pm @ Skylight Books more ›

Alan Jacobson signs The 7th Victim 7:30pm @ Barnes & Noble, Encino more ›

Susan Lankford presents Maggots in My Sweet Potatoes: Women Doing Time 7pm @ Book Soup more ›

Diahann Carroll presents The Legs Are the Last to Go 7pm @ Book Soup more ›

Arthur Nersesian and Joseph Mattson read their work 7pm @ Vroman's more ›

Candace Bushnell discusses and signs One Fifth Avenue 7pm @ Vroman's more ›

Todd Komarnicki discusses and signs War 7pm @ Vroman's more ›

Nathaniel Mackey presents and signs Bass Cathedral 7pm @ Book Soup more ›

Billy Taylor presents and signs Based on the Movie 7pm @ Book Soup more ›

First Dutton's closed, then Beyond Baroque was in trouble, but then wasn't, but might be again soon. It was only last December when Village Books was having a "we might have to go out of business sale" that was sucessful enough they didn't have to close. For a town that is closing its beloved bookstores and hacking its own Book Review section to pieces, we were delighted to learn that Skylight Books is...that's right...expanding! more ›

Donald Welch presents and signs The Bachelorette Party 7pm @ Book Soup more ›

Nam Le was recently in town to read from and sign The Boat, a wildly diverse and intense collection of short stories that did not immediately strike us a short stories and which prompted an interesting dialogue. While we make a point in our author interviews to ask questions that would be of interest to our readers, we found that in this case, we were compelled to ask some pointed questions about our own reading experience as we started this collection thinking it was a novel. Over weeks of email and a meeting at The Dresden last week, we sorted it all out. And lest you think we are the only ones who are crazy enough to cry foul about the elusive "stories" title on the book cover, take a look at Antoine Wilson's review of The Boat that appeared on Sunday in the LA Times. more ›

Joe Carducci presents and signs Enter Naomi: SST, L.A. and All That 7:30pm @ Family more ›

Janet Evanovich signs Fearless Fourteen 7pm @ Barnes & Noble, 3rd Street Promenade more ›

Paul Roberts discusses The End of Food with Lisa Brenneis & Bill Fujimoto 7pm @ Central Library more ›

Alan Furst discusses and signs The Spies of Warsaw 7pm @ Vroman's more ›

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will discuss The Good Fight: Hard Lessons From Searchlight to Washington with Rob Reiner 7:30pm @ UCLA, James Bridges Theater more ›

Mike Farrell presents Just Call Me Mike 7pm @ Book Soup more ›