Book Expo party challenge

Bruce Bauman (left) and Steve Erickson (right) from Black Clock with Los Angeles magazine's Kit Rachlis.

When Book Expo is in New York, the only thing between you and party-hopping is the number of invites you can score. When it's in L.A., transportation is the issue.

BEA's activities are downtown at the Los Angeles Convention Center, but Friday night the parties were all over the place. The famed Knopf dinner was at Lucques in Beverly Hills. Harper Collins served cocktails in West Hollywood, as did Weinstein Books up the hill at Chateau Marmont. Me, I was all the way out in Santa Monica at Bergamot Station for the Los Angeles Magazine/Black Clock party.

As if writing novels and nonfiction and running the writing program weren't enough, Steve Erickson is also the film critic for Los Angeles magazine. Kit Rachlis is its editor -- years ago, the two worked at LA Weekly together. And CalArts' Black Clock -- which takes its name from an Erickson novel -- is edited by Erickson and Bruce Bauman. Luckily, they were all taking a break from their writing and editing responsibilities to throw this lovely (if extremely Westside) party.

Tonight there is one party right near the Convention Center, at the Figueroa Hotel. Whew!

Carolyn Kellogg