LOS ANGELES – It was the first year Hauser and Wirth publishers partnered with the LA Review of Books to put together a little literary festival, better known as "Lit Lit."
"A lot of these smaller, independent publishers often aren’t able to be part of these giant book festivals because of how expensive it can be to be an exhibitor," said LARB/USC Workshop Publishing Director Irene Yoon.
She helped coordinate and plan the premiere event at Hauser and Wirth gallery. It's part of an arts complex located in a former flour mill. There were also panel discussions with authors and publishers on topics ranging from activism to humor writing.
"They’re able to provide representation for a really diverse body of authors and writers and speak to the communities that they’re in," Yoon said.
Crowds wandered through the indoor/outdoor space, browsing works from local publishing houses.
Red Hen Press was one of the oldest local publishers at "Lit Lit," hitting its 25-year milestone and still going strong.
"We publish about 25 books a year, everything from poetry to fiction, creative non-fiction, and memoirs," said Red Hen Press Media Manager Monica Fernandez.
One title in particular from the collection stood out to her, Everyone Wants to be Ambassador to France, a series of short stories by Bryan Hurt.
"They're really funny, but also really poignant," Fernandez said. "It just inspired me to start writing short stories, so that one is very near and dear to my heart."
She says the advantage of the independent publishers is their ability to better reflect the diverse communities they serve, covering topics that commercial presses may shy away from publishing.
"It’s really intimate. It’s really grassroots...and you get to know a lot more people just much more intimately," Fernandez said.
"Anything that’s kind of from Los Angeles and from California, I’m going to give a bit more credence to and a little bit more interest," said Michael Koger, who was visiting from San Pedro to see what the festival had to offer.
He’s a regular at the L.A. Festival of Books at USC in April but was searching for something different.
"Trying to get more of those authors that we don’t see so much in the major mainstream bookstores," he said. "I feel like L.A. is really starting to focus more on stuff that’s local."
He even got the author to sign a copy of a book about female sherpas in the Himalayas.
"Both of these are totally new to me, so they will be going on the ever growing stack of books on the bedside table," Koger said.
His curiosity led him from table to table
"It’s been a good day so far," Koger said.
A day of literary discovery he hopes will encourage others to open more books and minds.
Organizers considered the festival a success and hope to have it again next year. They say at least half of the small presses in attendance were born in the last decade.
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