David L. Ulin's new role at the Los Angeles Times

 

David L. Ulin, Times book editor for the last five years, is shifting gears and taking on a new role with the Los Angeles Times as book critic.

In an announcement made Thursday to the newsroom, Assistant Managing Editor of Features Alice Short called it "a natural step" for Ulin to make, citing his background both as an author ("The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith") and as an editor (his anthologies included the award-winning "Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology") before coming to the Times in 2005.

Ulin says he's excited by the challenges of this new position. He’s also proud of how, under his watch, the Times' book coverage went online, adding several columns devoted to popular genres, establishing the blog Jacket Copy and thinking about books "in a multimedia environment."

Ulin notes how, in the last five years, The Times' book coverage has also been able to focus on "independent presses and lesser known writers and literary fiction, at a time when many papers were looking to cover other kinds of books."

Though Ulin's role is changing, Short said in the announcement that he will "continue to work with the editors of the Book Review and be a guiding light for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books."

Ulin's work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, the Atlantic Monthly, Newsday and the Nation, as well as on NPR's "All Things Considered." His new book, "The Lost Art of Reading" -- which grew out of a widely read essay that appeared in The Times in August -- is forthcoming in November.

-- from the Times staff

Photo: David L. Ulin in 2002, after the publication of "Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology." Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times 

 

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Comments

[Cedric's Mom]

I think this will be a great boost for local authors and indie bookstores, as David is very good at promoting their work and getting the word out about the importance of supporting your local bookseller. Congratulations, David!

[Isaac]

Who will be the new editor of the books section?

[Zack]

Sincerest good luck and best wishes, David. I have used (and will continue to use) your "Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology" for more than five years in my California Lit class, and you did a marvellous job with it. It is a treasure trove of fine writing. You did an excellent job of selecting and editing. Thank you.

[Ron Abrams]

To David Ulin

I just finished Jim Carroll's The Petting Zoo, an extraordinary book that his beautifulkly written, haunting and disturbing about a young painter who becomes an icon in the New York art world, while he struggles with his own demons. This is a bookk that should be brought to the attention of thoughtful readers.

[Ron Abrams]

To David Ulin

I just finished Jim Carroll's The Petting Zoo, an extraordinary book that his beautifulkly written, haunting and disturbing about a young painter who becomes an icon in the New York art world, while he struggles with his own demons. This is a bookk that should be brought to the attention of thoughtful readers.