Jessica Blough
Jessica Blough is a freelance writer. A former associate editor at Alta Journal, Blough is a graduate of Tufts University where she was editor in chief of the Tufts Daily.

14 New May Books
Here are works on and of the West, including The Hill, Destiny Express, and Deep Time in the Mono Lake Basin, that we’re excited to see published this month.

15 New April Books
Here are works on and of the West, including The Oracle’s Daughter, Brand New Beat, and Questions 27 and 28 that we’re excited to see published this month.

14 New March Books
Here are works on and of the West that we’re excited to see published this month.

13 New February Books
Here are works on and of the West, including Evil Genius, A Killing in Cannabis, and Fifty Mothers, that we’re excited to see published this month.

12 New January Books
Here are works on and of the West, including Crux, How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder, and Vigil, that we’re delighted to see published this month.

9 New Books for December
Here are works by authors on and of the West, including Only Way Out, How to Cook a Coyote, and Television, that we’re excited to see published this month.

12 New Books for November
Here are works by authors on and of the West, including Blind Persistence, Devouring Time, and Self-Portraits Ex Machina, that we’re excited to see published this month.

15 New Books for October
Here are works by authors on and of the West—including Archive of Desire, The High Heaven, and Crawl—that we’re excited to see published this month.

14 New Books for September
Here are works by authors on and of the West—including Wrecking Ball, What a Time to Be Alive, and The Wilderness—that we’re excited to see published this month.

What Reality Is This?
Elaine Castillo’s futuristic love story Moderation builds its own world.

15 New Books for August
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Feasts on the Farm, Regaining Unconsciousness, Automatic Noodle, and 12 other titles by writers on the West.

New Releases for July
Here are 12 books by authors on and of the West, including The Silver State, Little Red Barns, and Salt Bones, that we’re excited to see publish this month.

15 New Books for June
This month, we’ve got our eyes on The Catch, Out There in the Dark, So Far Gone, and 12 other titles of the West.

Yesterday’s Weather
Susanna Kwan’s debut novel, Awake in the Floating City, submerges San Francisco as it remembers the past.

New Releases for May
Here are 14 books by authors on and of the West, including So Many Stars, The Words of Dr. L, and The Last Great Dream.

Crawls, Cocktails, and a Whole Lot of Books
Independent Bookstore Day is this weekend—mark your calendars for these events throughout the West.

13 New Books for April
This month, we’re excited about Small Ceremonies, Lonely Women Make Good Lovers, Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age, and 10 other books by writers on or of the West.

10 New Books for March
This month, we’ve got our eyes on The Pacific Circuit, Coastal: 130 Recipes from a California Road Trip, The Dream Hotel, and seven other titles from authors of and on the West.

12 New Books for February
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Immemorial, Smother, and 10 other titles by writers on the West.

Uncanny Island
In Sara Sligar’s Vantage Point, nothing is what it seems.

11 New Books for January
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Call Her Freedom, Alternative Facts, and nine other titles by writers on the West.

Rooms for Writing: Female Leaders of the Northern California Lit Scene
In the San Francisco Bay Area, a handful of dedicated women are leading the revival of a post-COVID literary community.

The Sacramento River: A Mecca for Many Critters—and a Source for All
The 400-mile-long water source provides infinite resources for the state.

El Capitan Climbers: Go Sleep on a Rock
Jessica Blough explores the extreme sport of rock climbing on El Capitan.

Our Diversity: What Californians Look Like
California, your favorite melting pot.

10 New Books for December
This month, we’ve got our eyes on How We Know Our Time Travelers, The Last One, and eight other titles by writers on the West.

Introducing ‘Goodbye, Vitamin’
In her debut novel, the December California Book Club selection, literary novelist Rachel Khong explores the fabric of life as it’s experienced when roles are reversed and an adult child cares for a parent with dementia.

10 New Books for November
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Didion and Babitz, Cher, and eight other titles by writers on and of the West.

‘Violent Spring’: The Scene of the Crime
In this newsletter, we look at the rich terrain that 1990s Los Angeles affords fiction—and why the California Book Club has returned there for its November selection, Gary Phillips’s debut crime novel.

Losing My Religion
Jessica Elisheva Emerson pursues lust and liberation in Olive Days.

Capturing Tobias Wolff’s America
In this newsletter, we examine narratives that, like This Boy’s Life, are written by people who lived through the history that Wolff recounts.

10 New Books for August
This month, we’ve got our eyes on My Chicano Heart, A Wilder Shore, and eight other titles by writers on and of the West.

‘Women of My Generation Were Sold a Bill of Goods’
Sarah Manguso on the deception of marriage.

12 New Books for July
This month, we’ve got our eyes on The Rent Collectors, Coachella Elegy, and 10 other titles by writers on the West.

2024 Pride Month Reads
Here are 17 outstanding, fresh California books written by LGBTQ authors.

Four Letters, Opposite of East
Westwords, a crossword puzzle tournament, debuts in Berkeley.

Voices of ‘Solito’
Five podcasts to accompany your reading of Javier Zamora’s memoir.

14 New Books for June
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Life Span, The Sons of El Rey, What Fire Brings, and 11 other titles by writers on the West.

Q&A: Elaine Castillo on Dogs, the Dead, and the Disservice of Romanticism
May 20 was National Dog Rescue Day. The former California Book Club author’s new book brings readers close to her heart as a rescue-dog mom.

Wings of Desire
Anna Dorn’s Perfume and Pain revives a lost genre.

15 New Books for May
This month, we’ve got our eyes on The Red Grove, Love Is a Burning Thing, Reading the Room, and 12 other titles by writers on the West.

A Fantasy World Returns
Reviving art carnival ‘Luna Luna,’ the most Instagram-worthy show of the 1980s.

Alta Journal Celebrates Storytellers at the L.A. Times Festival of Books
In a jam-packed weekend, Alta treated readers to community, book signings, events, membership deals, and a special moment with Joan Didion herself.

Technicolor Groove
Five documentaries that immerse you in the vibrant San Francisco of The Gangster of Love.

14 New Books for April
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Chipped, Like Love, and 12 other titles by writers on the West.

Event Recap: Laila Lalami’s ‘The Other Americans’
Author Laila Lalami, special guest Danzy Senna, and host David L. Ulin gathered to discuss The Other Americans, the March CBC selection.

Talking with Rita Bullwinkel
The author of the debut novel Headshot dishes on youth sports, the Paris Olympics, and Bend It Like Beckham.

12 New Books for March
This month, we’ve got our eyes on James, Tough Broad, and 10 other titles by writers on the West.

Death, Sex & Money’s Near-Death Experience
A beloved podcast gets a new start on a new network.

Kansas City Trades Red for Readers During AWP 2024
Two Alta Journal editors ventured to the charming midwestern city for the annual writers’ conference.

11 New Books for February
This month, we’ve got our eyes on The Book of Love, Wandering Stars, and nine other titles by writers on the West.

Magazine of Magical Creatures
A McSweeney’s publication for creative kids features “awesome talent from across the world.”

Around the World with Dave Eggers
The February CBC author is no stranger to big topics and sweeping narratives, including the one he crafts in The Every.

Doom Spiral
In her first novel, Rabbit Hole, Kate Brody goes dark to find the truth.

12 New Books for January
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Fog and Smoke, Martyr!, and 10 other titles by writers on the West.

Catch ’Em Before They’re Gone: Winter Art Shows
Escape the winter weather and spend a day wandering the vibrant art museums and galleries of the West. Check out these six exhibitions before many of them move on.

A Book Club for the Girls
The NDN Girls Book Club envisions bringing Indigenous literature to young writers and uplifting the vibrant communities that follow.

10 New Books for December
This month, we’ve got our eyes on Songs on Endless Repeat, Light As Light, and eight other titles by writers on the West.

11 New Books for November
This month, we’ve got our eyes on My Name Is Barbra, Resurrection Walk, and nine other titles by writers on the West.

Introducing Jennifer Egan’s ‘The Candy House’
In this newsletter, we introduce the October California Book Club selection and examine its place in our changing world.

Poetry Spotlight: James Cagney
The Oakland-based poet tells us his antidote for loneliness.

Nonfiction Spotlight: Claire Dederer
The author of Monsters explains why she’s less interested in seeing problematic artists punished and more curious about dismantling the structures that support them.

Nonfiction Spotlight: David Thomson
The noted film critic reveals his favorite acting performance of all time in his “Spotlight” Q&A for “Bound Together 2023.”

The Political Is Personal
If you were intrigued by the political and true-crime collisions of Naomi Hirahara’s Clark and Division, the August California Book Club selection, check out these podcasts.