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The Last Bookstore is kicking off a new project to highlight the work of local authors and independent publishers in Los Angeles.
The downtown bookstore says it plans to set aside a lot of shelf space for its new Indie Shelves Initiative. The selections will come from the independent publishers or other curators in the city's literary community. You'll be able to recognize it when you see it: there will be placards that give a little background about the kind of books the local presses publish, the authors and, of course, recommendations for the books themselves.
Some of the participating publishers include Gorsky Press, A Barnacle Book and What Books Press. The shelf curators include Rosalind Helfand, co-founder of The West Hollywood Book Fair; the Los Angeles Poverty Department, which has encouraged Skid Row residents and workers to share their stories; Suzanne Lummis, director of the Los Angeles Poetry Festival; and Mike The Poet, organizer of the monthly poetry gathering LAnguage.
The project kicks off with a reading tomorrow at 3 pm, featuring Jim Ruland, Chuck Rosenthal, Sesshu Foster and Bruce Boston.
Related:
Is L.A. The World's Next Great Literary City? The Los Angeles Review of Books Says Yes
Literary Death Match's Todd Zuniga on L.A.'s Lit Scene and Writing Against Everything
