Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Bookworms Rejoice! LA Times Festival of Books is Almost Here
Photo by popculturegeek.com via Flickr
()
Let hyperboles of excitement fly: the greatest annual book festival in the country is only a week away. Our beloved Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is set to take over USC’s campus next Saturday, where some of the greatest names in the book world will congregate for LA’s most literary weekend of the year. And this year (ok, every year) the LA Times Festival of Books features an all-star line-up of literary luminaries including authors, publishers, indie presses, lit journals, bookstores, magazines, book reviews, journalists, panel discussions, readings, and writing seminars. Whatever your literary liking, the LATFOB has something for you and anyone you bring along thanks to a wide array of programming--from extensive coverage of children’s books and story telling to panels on Obama, old Hollywood, and writing in the Middle East. And the best part? General admission is, as always, free.
While the festival usually takes place on UCLA’s campus, this year the LATFOB will grant USC the honor of welcoming thousands of LA bibliophiles onto its well-manicured lawns. The sprawling festival amasses hundreds of literary vendors and, if this year follows tradition, it’ll be near impossible to get halfway through the labyrinth of booths in merely a day. Thankfully, the LATFOB gives us two full days to cover serious literary ground. Which includes, of course, the star-studded panels and readings that run throughout the weekend. Per usual, this year’s panels are top-notch. Here are just a few of the schedule’s (many) highlights:
Panels
Patti Smith and Dave Eggers in Conversation with Steven Elliot
T.C. Boyle with an Introduction by Janet Fitch
Walter Mosley in Conversation with Erin Aubry Kaplan
Fiction: Breaking Boundaries with 2011 Pultizer-Prize winner Jennifer Egan on the panel
Jonathan Lethem in Conversation with Carolyn Kellogg
Michael Connelly in Conversation with Richard Rayner
Fiction of the Middle East features renowned journalist Reza Aslan
The Pale King: David Foster Wallace moderated by LATimes literary aficionado David Ulin
Mystery: Organized Crime with best-selling author T Jefferson Parker
From the Front Register: Bookselling Today features Emily and Michael Powell of the iconic Powell’s Books
The Poet’s Responsibility with Henri Cole, Amy Gerstler, and Carol Muske-Dukes
The Vanguard: Literary Journals featuring Black Clock and Slake, among other journals
Fiction: The Art of the Novel with legendary writer Francine Prose
There will be stage performances by Patton Oswalt, Demetri Martin, Rick Springfield, Jamie Lee Curtis, R.L. Stine, David St. John, 826LA, Write Girl, and many more.(You can find the full schedule here.) In addition, there will be writing seminars and USC programming--including offerings from its Cinema School, which will host a free screening of Focus Features’ film Beginners with Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer—it’s still LA, after all.
Support for LAist comes from
With an impressive lineup of panels, performances, authors, and vendors scheduled, the 2011 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will likely pull off another legendary year. And now that it’s at USC, it's well worth forging downtown traffic for.
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books @ USC
Saturday April 30, 2011 from 10am - 6pm
Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 10am - 5pm
General admission is free. Parking is $10.
FYI:
Some panels and discussions, while ‘free,’ require passes because of limited-capacity. The service charge for the ticket costs $1. (Full ticket info here).Writing seminars, panel passes, and ‘special programming’ are at additional costs. The full LATFOB program will print in this Sunday’s LA Times and festival maps can be found here.
For more information, including the full list of programs, seminars, and vendors, visit the LATFOB website.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist