Articles

If you've heard it once, you've heard it a million times—the book was better! There's nothing like debating the differences between a favorite book and its translation to the screen. But if you don't…

Eric J. Guignard is a writer and editor of dark and speculative fiction, operating from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles, where he also runs the small press Dark Moon Books. He’s twice won the…

The Looking at Art - In the Street program series celebrates artists and art historians who create and preserve open space street art in Los Angeles. Headline for article by Arthur Millier, published…

On June 7, 1952, Orhan Pamuk was born in Istanbul. He is Turkey’s most celebrated author, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006. Pamuk’s works include his postmodern novels The Black…

Have you ever seen countless hot air balloons drift weightlessly across the sky like vibrantly colored jellyfish? This is something you might have viewed live, or on the internet, TV, or glimpsed on…

With locations all over the city, and lots of books and other materials devoted to local history, libraries are a perfect springboard for exploring Los Angeles. This is the first in a series of blog…

California Nouns: People, Places, and Things Serena and Venus Williams If you’ve visited the children’s nonfiction sports section lately, you may have noticed a growing number of picture book…

One of the world’s most prolific and successful writers, Anthony Horowitz may have committed more (fictional) murders than any other living author. Several of his previous novels, including Magpie…

Art in public spaces can serve as a means of shared identity, of connecting residents and visitors to the community, and creating a sense of ownership and respect in a shared space; to spark…

In May, we celebrate one of the fastest-growing racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month pays tribute to the generations of Asians and Pacific Islanders who…

From a small town in West Central Texas came the stuff of legends—kings, warriors, evil sorcery, and monsters. Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) wrote hundreds of short stories published in the pulp…

Continuing our celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, we highlight the importance of paying tribute and recognizing the history and the contributions Asian Americans and Pacific…

Kim Michele Richardson is a native-born Kentuckian who resides in Kentucky. Her works include The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Liar’s Bench, GodPretty in the Tobacco Field, and The Sisters of…

On May 26th, 1926, Miles Davis was born. He would revolutionize jazz several times over as a trumpeter, composer, and bandleader. As he famously said, “I have to change, it’s like a curse.” Miles’…

Jews rock! You know it even if you don’t know it. Among the contributions of Jewish thinkers, artists and doers to every area of human endeavor is the vastly underappreciated role of Jews in rock &…

I was a curious and strongly opinionated tween girl growing up in the 90s and the books I treasured centered around characters of the same mind: Kristy in The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin…

Veronica G. Henry was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has been a bit of a rolling stone ever since. She is a graduate of the Viable Paradise Workshop, a member of SFWA, and an Author Spotlight…

Julius Levitt (1885–1952) was a promoter of Yiddish culture and a community activist, most importantly through the Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) to bring attention to the horrors of Nazism throughout…

President Joseph Biden may have put it best in his 2021 proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month: “The Jewish American experience is a story of faith, fortitude, and progress. It is a…

Here at the library, we closely follow stories of books being banned or challenged throughout the country. It is the mission of the Los Angeles Public Library to provide free and easy access to…

I dislike the question “how do you like retirement?” I mean, this is like asking “how do you like breathing?” Life is a one-way street and there are no U-turns on the way toward the great unknown. So…

Jenny Tinghui Zhang is a Chinese-American writer. She holds an MFA from the University of Wyoming and has received support from Kundiman, Tin House, and VONA/Voices. She was born in Changchun, China…

By the late nineteenth century, the West Coast of the United States was home to thriving Japanese communities. After the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 barred the immigration of Chinese workers…

Alma Katsu is the award-winning author of six novels, most recently Red Widow, The Deep, and The Hunger. She is a graduate of the master's writing program at Johns Hopkins University and received her…