April means big things for Alta Journal: a brand-new issue, kickoff events around the state, and a gorgeous weekend at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Hosted by the University of Southern California, this year’s festival exceeded the magazine’s expectations of community, storytelling, and inspiration through two days of book signings, panels, and connecting with the Alta community.
“We had so much fun participating in the West Coast’s largest book festival,” Blaise Zerega, Alta’s editorial director, said. “It was a thrill to speak with members—new and existing—of the Alta community and inspiring to visit with fantastic authors and our bookstore partners.”
Alta launched its big weekend with a full-blown party for contributors, friends, and staff on the penthouse rooftop of the historic Oviatt in downtown Los Angeles. Beneath the glow of L.A.’s city lights, conversations about Hollywood’s connections to literature, the hottest new book titles, and the anticipation of the weekend ahead drifted through the air. Above the crowd sipping cocktails and snacking on sliders, the classic L.A. film Blade Runner was projected on a screen. The scene was pure literati L.A.
Starting Saturday morning and continuing throughout the weekend, Alta welcomed a lineup of 19 authors, including folks like Lisa See, Jonathan Lethem, and Reyna Grande, to its booth. Sharpies in hand, authors signed their books, including titles featured in our California Book Club, like D. J. Waldie’s Holy Land and Carribean Fragoza’s Eat the Mouth That Feeds You, and brand-new ones like José Vadi’s Chipped and Tayi Tibble’s Rangikura. All books signed and sold at the Alta booth came courtesy of our friends at Vroman’s, the famed independent bookseller that has partnered with Alta on book sales at the festival for the past three years.
Fans of social media “moments” had a fun time with us thanks to the rare photo opportunity we offered this year: Joan Didion superfans and haters alike were able to pose as Alta’s Issue 19 cover star, their head popped through a large-scale blowup of this seminal literary figure. Follow Alta’s social channels to see the (sometimes silly, sometimes serious) results.
As always, it was a thrill for Alta staff and contributors to meet members of the Alta community in person, including those who subscribe, have connected at previous festivals or other events, or Zoom in to our regular Alta Live and California Book Club meetups. This year, Alta hosted a chance for those who stopped by the booth to win a Vroman’s gift card, which attracted more entries than any other giveaway we’ve offered. We’ll announce and notify the lucky winner later this week.
In a full circle moment, L.A. Times Festival of Books cofounders Narda Zacchino and Lisa Cleri Reale visited Alta’s booth to share a bit of history about the festival from its first year, when it was hosted by UCLA and an estimated 75,000 people attended. Twenty-eight years later, over 100,000 people attend each year, coming from Southern California and across the country. The opportunity to meet the folks who brought us this annual bookstravaganza was especially exciting for those of us who’ve come to love the festival.
Forty-eight hours later, Alta’s staff feels simultaneously exhausted and invigorated.
“Alta Journal had more author signings than we’ve ever had in the past, more events, more giveaways, more merch for sale—and it was all a great success,” Beth Spotswood, Alta’s digital editor and the head of the magazine’s Festival of Books team, said. “I’ve never been more proud to be part of the Alta community. Getting to celebrate literature and writers and people who are passionate about reading is a privilege, and we had a blast.”
Did you miss us at this year’s festival? It’s not too late to join us next Saturday, April 27, when we’ll celebrate Independent Bookstore Day with readings and more at Pages: A Bookstore in Manhattan Beach. Register here.
Thank you to all who came out to this year’s festival. And Bay Area folks, don’t miss us at the Bay Area Book Festival, held June 2 in Berkeley. We’ll see you soon!•
