Join the Los Angeles Review of Books and LARB Publishing Workshop this January for a special offering: Book Design with Tom Comitta.





How do you go from manuscript to a book that’s printed, bound, and out in the world? How do you choose a style that captures the spirit of a text and stick to it? How do you create a book for both print and digital publication?

In this four-part introductory workshop, students will learn the fundamentals of book design, publication, and promotion, and gain basic skills in Adobe InDesign along the way. Whether you’re joining us with a manuscript of your own, or want to put your own spin on a classic text in the public domain, this course is for book-lovers looking for a working understanding of industry standards in the publishing today. Beginners welcome.





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The Details


Sundays, January 10, 17, 24, and 31, 2021.


12pm to 2pm Pacific Time via Zoom.


$260 per participant (includes taxes and service fees).*


Questions? Email [email protected].



Register Here Today


*Note: For the month of December, donations to the Los Angeles Review of Books, a reader-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, will be matched up to $100,000 by an anonymous donor. Become a LARB Writers Donor for an additional $240 and receive and receive the following perks along with your Book Design Workshop registration:

- Annual LARB Print Membership, which includes four print issues of the LARB Quarterly Journal delivered to your door
- Access to the digital Quarterly Journal and the entire LARB archive
- A limited edition tote bag
- A Reckless Reader Card, which offers discounts and perks at independent bookstores across the country AND...


Your gift will result in a $500 donation match that will help all of us at LARB keep the lights on, writing fresh, and our publishing and educational programs flourishing as we close out this unusually difficult year. 

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Course Outline


Week 1: Introduction to Adobe InDesign, Book Covers, and Typography
—Getting comfortable with Adobe InDesign
—Setting your files up for success
—Introduction to typography
—The basics of the book cover

Week 2: Introduction to Book Interiors and Typesetting
—Book Interiors: all about margins, bleeds, trims, sizes, and styles.
—From Microsoft Word to InDesign
—Front Matter and Typesetting

Week 3: Print and Electronic Publication
—Converting a print book to an Epub
—Publishing with Lulu.com, Amazon, and more.

Week 4: Publishing and Promoting
—Publishing and printing
—Getting the word out: promotions, press releases, and more.


Course Materials: This workshop will make extensive use of Adobe InDesign. If you do not already have Adobe InDesign, please visit adobe.com to purchase a one-month subscription and be sure to install the software prior to the first day of the class.

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About the Instructor


Tom Comitta is a designer and writer living in Los Angeles. His design clients have included Frieze Art Fair, University of Southern California, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Havianas, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's management company, TGC Management. His original typography, "Balding Type," was included in The New Concrete (Hayward Publishing, UK), an international anthology mapping "the rise of concrete poetry in the digital age," and featured in the Creative Review. As a writer, Comitta is the author of ◯ (Ugly Ducking Presse) and The Nature Book (Coffee House Press, forthcoming 2022). His essays and short stories have appeared in WIRED, Lit Hub, Electric Literature, The Los Angeles Review of Books, BOMB, and Best American Experimental Writing 2020.