Los Angeles Review of Books

From their website:

The Los Angeles Review of Books is a nonprofit literary and cultural arts organization that combines the great tradition of the book review with the evolving technologies of the web. We are a community of writers, critics, journalists, artists, filmmakers, and scholars dedicated to promoting and disseminating the best that is thought and written, with an enduring commitment to the intellectual rigor, the incisiveness, and the power of the written word.

The Los Angeles Review of Books magazine was created in part as a response to the disappearance of the traditional newspaper book review supplement, and, with it, the art of fun, intelligent long-form writing on everything from fiction to politics, architecture to young adult fiction, academic monographs to genre fiction. In our swiftly changing world of books and publishing, the Los Angeles Review of Books stands for curated, edited, expert opinion written by the best writers and thinkers of our time. We seek to revive, and reinvent, the book review for a new generation.

LARB publishes every day online and quarterly in print (learn about our signature print edition, the LARB Quarterly Journal). We also publish a collection of wholly independent sister magazines, the LARB Channels, covering genres as diverse as sports and philosophy to plant thinking and experimental literature.

Our civic arts programs are designed to advance the next generation of editors and publishers, including the LARB / USC Publishing Workshop, an immersive, collaborative publishing program designed for students and innovators interested in playing a role in the future of publishing. Internships are available for college credit year-round.

LARB is a center for events and public arts programs that connect writers and artists to everyday readers both locally and nationwide. Tom’s Book Club, a level of our membership program, meets on a quarterly basis and includes live readings with selected authors; the LARB Luminary Dinner series features writers in conversation with readers in homes around Los Angeles.

Last Updated: July 7, 2016

China’s Two Problems with the Uyghurs

Lisa Ross
Los Angeles Review of Books
Beijing has two problems with the Uyghurs, the Turkic-speaking, Central Asian people from China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. One problem is terrorism; the other problem is civil rights.

The Challenges of Conveying Absurd Reality: An Interview with Yu Hua

Megan Shank
Los Angeles Review of Books
Thus, Los Angeles Review of Books Asia Co-editor Megan Shank and Yu exchanged Chinese-language e-mails about history’s most over- and underrated Chinese writers, the evolution of an ancient language and why Yu will never read&...

Jittery Nation: Link, Maden, and Pickowicz’s “Restless China”

Megan Shank
Los Angeles Review of Books
Thirteen knowledgeable academics trained in diverse disciplines and based around the world explore disquietude surrounding Chinese values and civic life in clusters of essays on “Legacies,” “A New Electronic Community,” “Values,” and “Global...

Bo Xilai Trial Draws Comparisons to China’s Greatest Courtroom Drama

Barbara Demick
Los Angeles Review of Books
In 1980, the Gang of Four trial was widely mocked in the West as a political show trial in which Deng Xiaoping purged his enemies. While there are many differences between that trial and Bo’s it is the long ago trial that is likely to prove more...

From Beijing Alleyways to American Byways

Pallavi Aiyar
Los Angeles Review of Books
By zooming in close to specific moments at particular times in his characters’ histories Hessler reveals more about the broader context in which they live than conventional news reporting on subjects such as the Three Gorges Dam. 

Review: Ai Weiwei's Blog (The Book)

Alec Ash
Los Angeles Review of Books
On May 28, 2009, the readers of artist and activist Ai Weiwei's blog — hosted on Sina, a popular Chinese internet portal — logged onto blog.sina.com.cn/aiweiwei to find the message "This blog has already been closed. If you have queries,...