“As someone who believes in the importance of books, as someone who engages in close readings and appreciates the close readings of others, I am committed to, dependent on, and nourished by the work done by LARB.”
Claudia Rankine
LARB’s Best: Fiction
The nine pieces below were selected by Lisa Teasley, the brilliant Los Angeles author, painter, and all-around creative powerhouse whom we were lucky to call our Fiction Editor for half a decade. Lisa, now an Editor-at-Large, leaves behind her a long ...
Apr 10
LARB’s Best: Poetry
The LARB Poetry section is a place for celebration, compassion, and close reading (as well as, apparently, alliteration!)....
Mar 14
Women’s History on the Radio Hour
In honor of Women’s History Month, the LARB Radio Hour team brings you a selection of episodes from the past few years that highlight the stories of women who have shaped our world through writing, art, film, philosophy, and activism. &...
Mar 13
Spotlight on Translation: April Edition
In this spotlight you’ll find reviews and essays on work translated from Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, German, and BCSM, as well as a story translated from the Armenian....
Apr 10
Spotlight on Translation: March Edition
In this monthly feature, we gather 10 reviews, essays, and interviews that deal with work in translation....
Mar 13
2011
LARB Publishes First Piece
LARB breaks onto the scene with Ben Ehrenreich's "The Death of the Book," the first post on the newly minted Los Angeles Review of Books Tumblr.
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Letters to the Editor
LARB begins the Letters to the Editors series, a longstanding feature of our Tumblr website.
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LARB Introduces the Newsletter
We debut our regular newsletter. The weekly LARB newsletter collects highlights from the week on LARB, the LARB Radio Hour, and our Channels and Affiliates.
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On Literary Los Angeles
Founder Tom Lutz speaks with the LAist about LARB's mission and the importance of a West Coast literary scene.
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Our First E-Publication
Our first e-publication, a compilation of the first six months of LARB, comes out. In the years since, LARB has produced topical e-publications on issues ranging from reflections on the pandemic to the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
LARB Radio Hour Launches
LARB starts producing audio and video content for the site, including this early podcast and predecessor to the LARB Radio Hour. Check out the LARB Radio Hour here, or anywhere podcasts are found.
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2012
LARB's Growing Readership (2012)
Readership skyrockets from 181,000 readers to over 2 million with the migration of LARB to its first official website.
LARB Welcomes Dear Television
The epistolary TV criticism of Dear Television officially joins LARB as its own section.
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2013
LARB Goes Live with Event Programming
Our official events programming kicks off with "An Evening with Kirk Johnson." LARB hosts numerous readings, discussions, cocktails and conversations, Luminary Dinners, and more every year. Find out about our past and upcoming events below.
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LARB's First Educational Program
LARB's first internship program, a precursor to the Publishing Workshop, begins. Interns gain experience in print and digital publishing, culminating in the production of their first magazine at the end of the summer.
The (First) Office
LARB moves into its first official office in Glendale.
Book Club Launches
Tom's Book Club launches, with a first selection of Jonathan Lethem's "Dissident Gardens." Other Book Club picks have included Alain Mabanckou's "Black Moses," Mieko Kawakami's "Breasts and Eggs," Amitav Ghosh's "Gun Island," and more. Join the conversation by becoming a LARB Book Club member today!
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The First Print Quarterly Journal
The inaugural issue of the LARB print Quarterly Journal publishes. The Quarterly Journal features original fiction, poetry, essays, and art. Pick up a copy in our shop, or become a member to receive print and digital access to issues plus other great perks year-round.
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LARB Hosts First of Many Luminaries
LARB launches our Luminary Dinner series with special guest T. C. Boyle. The evenings feature dinner and conversations with prominent literary and cultural figures such as Margaret Atwood, Norman Lear, Walter Mosley, Jane Smiley, Frank Gehry, James Ellroy, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and more.
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LARB's Growing Readership (2013)
LARB reaches a new milestone of 3.5 million annual readers by the end of 2013.
First Year-End Fund Drive
LARB launches our first year-end matching grant campaign. LARB depends on the generous giving of matching donors, our members, and supporters to sustain our work each year.
2014
LARB Turns Three
We celebrate three years of LARB with a panel discussion between Tom Lutz, Julia Lupton, and Jonathan Alexander.
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LARB Launches Channels & Affiliates Program
We launch our official Channels and Affiliates program, which has grown to include 55 Voices for Democracy, Avidly, China Channel, diaCRITICS, Guernica, Marginalia, the Podcast Review, Transformations, and more.
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LARB's Growing Readership (2014)
LARB reaches 3.7 million readers globally in 2014.
2015
LARB Goes to Hollywood
From Glendale to Sunset Boulevard: LARB officially moves to our office in the historic Crossroads of the World complex in Hollywood.
LARB Radio Hour on KPFK
The LARB Radio Hour, with hosts Tom Lutz, Laurie Winer, and Seth Greenland, moves to a primetime spot on local station KPFK 90.7. Tune in to new episodes of the Radio Hour on Thursdays at 2 p.m. (PT) at KPFK, or listen to the episodes here or wherever podcasts are available.
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LARB Wins LA2050 Grant Challenge Award
LARB receives a $100,000 grant from the My LA2050 Grants Challenge, an initiative launched in 2011 by the Goldhirsh Foundation, to bring attention to LA writers and artists, at least one a day for 2016.
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LARB's Growing Readership (2015)
By end-of-year 2015, LARB has over 4 million annual readers.
Inaugural LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award
LARB presents our first ever LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award to writer John Rechy, a pioneer of modern LGBTQ literature.
2016
LARB Gets a Refresh
LARB celebrates five years with a website redesign.
New LARB Radio Hour Hosts
Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman take the reins at LARB Radio Hour, which has featured a wide and illustrious range of contemporary authors, filmmakers, and thinkers. Tune into the trio's very first episode all together below!
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LARB's growing readership (2016)
Annual readership expands by half a million to 4.6 million readers in 2016.
2017
Second Annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award
LARB honors the accomplishments of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o with the second annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award.
An Evening with Granta's Best Young American Novelists
LARB and Granta host an evening of cocktails and conversation with five of Granta's Best Young American Novelists: Joshua Cohen, Lauren Groff, Karan Mahajan, Ottessa Moshfegh, and Esmé Weijun Wang.
Membership Drive Kicks off with Mary Gaitskill
We kicked off our 2017 membership drive with an evening with Mary Gaitskill at the home of Founding Editors Tom Lutz and Laurie Winer.
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LARB's First Publishing Workshop
The inaugural LARB Publishing Workshop takes place on the USC campus. To date, around 220 fellows from a wide variety of backgrounds have joined us to learn, grow, and break into the publishing industry.
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LARB's Growing Readership (2017)
Audience grows by over a million people to 5.4 million annual readers in 2017.
2018
Third Annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award
LARB celebrates the groundbreaking work of novelist Maxine Hong Kingston with the third annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award.
LARB Books Launches
LARB Books launches, with the mission of "promoting and disseminating rigorous, incisive, and engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts."
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LARB Publishing Workshop Fellows Launch PubLab
PubLab, the official student magazine of the LARB Publishing Workshop and a LARB Channel, launches.
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2019
Fourth Annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award
LARB honors the many accomplishments of novelist Margaret Atwood with the fourth annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award.
LARB Books Publishes First Title
LARB Books publishes its very first title and first LARB Classics book: "A Stab in the Dark" by Facundo Bernal, translated by Anthony Seidman. In two years, LARB Books has published 10 titles and looks forward to publishing the inaugural Tómas Rivera Book Prize winner, J. L. Torres's "Migrations," in May.
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LARB Debuts the Little Literary Fair (LITLIT)
LARB partners with Hauser & Wirth Publishers to host LITLIT, or The Little Literary Fair, a two-day book fair celebrating independent booksellers, book publishers, and book makers from Los Angeles and beyond.
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LARB's Growing Readership (2019)
At year-end 2019, LARB has accrued 5.8 million annual readers.
2020
Fifth Annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award
LARB celebrates novelist Walter Mosley as he becomes the fifth annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award honoree.
LARB Publishing Workshop Goes Virtual
The pandemic transforms the LARB Publishing Workshop into a virtual program, where 56 fellows are able to connect and gain valuable insight into the publishing industry.
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LARB Out Loud (Virtually)
LARB begins hosting virtual events and talks on the pressing issues of the day, including a conversation between Jody Armour and Melina Abdullah on racial oppression in America, and a discussion of the Hong Kong democracy movement with Samuel Chu, Mary Kay Magistad, Rep. Katie Porter, and Jeffrey Wasserstrom.
LARB's Growing Readership (2020)
By the end of 2020, LARB has reached 7.7 million readers and has published nine books, 28 Quarterly Journals, and thousands of articles.
2021
Sixth Annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award
LARB celebrates the pathbreaking careers and service of US Poets Laureate Rita Dove, Joy Harjo, and Juan Felipe Herrera with the sixth annual LARB/UCR Lifetime Achievement Award.
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LARB Celebrates Ten Years of Cultural Vitality
LARB launches our new website design and our 10-month celebration of a decade of LARB.
