L.A. Times Festival of Books to move to USC

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will move its weekend-long celebration of the written word to the USC campus next spring after 15 years across town at UCLA, officials announced Wednesday.

The change of venue to USC's main University Park campus south of downtown Los Angeles will offer a more central location, better access to public transportation, easier parking and the use of newly expanded university facilities for the annual event, leaders of the newspaper and USC said.

The 16th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is scheduled for April 30 and May 1, 2011. It will feature the traditional array of talks by authors, book signings, musical performances and sales booths that have made the festival a major event in the city's cultural life and the nation's largest public literary festival. Last year, an estimated 140,000 people attended the event at UCLA's campus in Westwood.

"After 15 years on the Westside, we are very excited to move the Festival of Books to its beautiful new home and have the opportunity to work hand in hand with USC to ensure we grow bigger and better in the future," Times Publisher Eddy Hartenstein said in a statement. "Attendees and exhibitors can expect more to see, do and experience in addition to great access and a refreshing change of scenery."

USC President C.L. Max Nikias said he was delighted to provide the festival a new home.

"The festival is a great fit for our world-class faculty authors and writing programs, as well as for our literacy work in the community," Nikias said. "USC and the Los Angeles Times are two of the oldest institutions in Los Angeles, and it's fitting that we would be joining together for this event that is so important to the intellectual life of Southern California."

  
Their agreement is for three years with an expectation for long-term renewals after that. Details of financial arrangements between the newspaper and USC regarding the festival are not being publicly released, spokespeople for both parties said. Times spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan also declined to say whether there had been negotiations with UCLA aimed at keeping the festival at that school.

UCLA is a larger campus, but USC spokesman James Grant said USC had plenty of room for the festival's many outdoor activities and indoor seminars and lectures. He said he expected the festival to be anchored at the campus lawns and plazas known as Alumni Park and McCarthy Quad, which are near Doheny Memorial Library and Leavey Library.

-- Larry Gordon

Photo: C.L. Max Nikias, left, president of USC, and Eddy Hartenstein, publisher of the Los Angeles Times, on the USC University Park campus. Credit: Steve Cohn / For The Times

Comments

[Salima]

As a UCLA student, all I can say is...ouch.

[madsircool]

What a ridiculous decision. The USC neighborhood is unsafe and the campus isnt nearly as attractive and welcoming as UCLA. The Festival of Books was awesome while it lasted.

[Confused]

What was wrong with UCLA? If it was bigger, in a better neighborhood, Lord knows prettier, it doesn't make much sense to move it to USC.

[Ricky]

Great decision. UCLA is an awful campus with an increasing crime rate. USC will give this event the proper venue it deserves.

[Elaine]

I will no longer be attending the yearly event!

[Right]

Better access to public transit?! UCLA has Metro, Big Blue Bus, AND Culver Bus lines. USC only has Metro and DASH... what a joke.

[D]

With the Expo line opening next year, this is a smart decision

[Jay]

Seriously? USC is in a really dangerous part of town, and if anything, parking is even more difficult to find downtown...what were they thinking?!

[XCordova]

Its obvious that it came down to money. I'm very disappointed that it has been moved. As a Bruin Alumni, I was proud to make the trip to campus for this event. I highly doubt the Festival will be as successful at USC. They wont be able to fit as many vendors or visitors! Believe me, that campus is much too small.

[jay]

The excuse for transfer from UCLA to USC is a lie. Several bus routes go to UCLA. This is the next logical step in LA Times' unending worship of USC-better yet, the next step down.

I am still waiting for LA times to give UCLA being rankedf the one of the top universities in the world, the same treatment as it gave to USC being ranked above UCLA in US News & World Report for the first time. But I am not holding my breathe

[K]

madsircool - I couldn't have said it better.

[HelenofPeel]

I avoid downtown like the plague, only going there when I absolutely must.

I wonder how much USC paid the LA Times for the Festival?

There is nothing convenient about going down to USC. The freeways are a mess. The transit system has nothing for Westside residents. The neighborhoods are economically depressed and, often, unsafe.

Why would I go downtown for an experience that is frustrating and dangerous?

[HelenofPeel]

I know I won't be going. I avoid downtown like the plague. I don't feel safe, traffic is horrendous, and the USC campus is in a crime-riddled area.

Great move, LA Times.

I predict attendance will fall... precipitously.

[Deborah]

USC, without a doubt, does have better transportation access. And just because the neighborhood is not as "pretty" or "cleaned up" as Westwood, doesn't mean it's unsafe. (Just don't walk around alone, drunk, at midnight, flashing your expensive gadgets!! Use common sense! To be able to do that anywhere is NOT the definition of safety.)

[Robert]

I think the move to USC is a step in the right direction. Parking at UCLA for the Festival was a nightmare and public transportation left a lot to be desired.

[Marija Kavazov]

UCLA safer than USC? There were sexual assaults popping up all over the UCLA campus last year. And let's not forget, USC ranks higher than UCLA academically. Sound choice altogether.

[katy t]

What?! I guess money talks. Just ridiculous.

[Diane]

Even as a UCLA alum, I say it's a good decision. UCLA is out of the way for many low-income people. Public transportation is lacking and parking is expensive. Looking forward to going to the event at USC next spring.

[Sorry, Bruins]

USC usafe? When it comes to on-campus crime, UCLA has the worse statistics. And USC's campus is far more attractive, as the university paid attention to ensuring the buildings matched in materials/architectural elements, unlike UCLA's mishmosh of styles and periods.

The USC campus is much easier to navigate for those with walking problems (no hills/Janss steps), has better parking on and close to campus (they're used to parking 92,000 people for football games) and a far more customer service oriented attitude than the state-funded bureaucrats at UCLA. And there are two freeways feeding into USC (the 10 and the 110), plus public transport, unlike the overcrowded 405 feeding UCLA.

USC has a nationally renowned PhD program in creative writing and literature (UCLA only offers creative writing as a certificate via Extension) so it's a good match of cultures. And USC is much closer to the LA Times headquarters downtown. It's a great decision for the Festival of Books.

[Thomas K Nagano]

Excerpt of an e-Mail I wrote.

On Saturday, April 24,2010 I attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books; the children learned how many people love books and knowledge. On Sunday, April 25,2010 I attended Fiesta on Broadway; the niños learned to wait patiently in lines. Both are important lessons for our young citizens of the 21st Century.

Begs the question, why is the LA Times Festival of Books and Fiesta on Broadway the same weekend? The Latino demographic is fastest growing economic group in Los Angeles , California, United States and the “Fiesta” is now right in front of the “Globe Lobby” at the Los Angeles Times.

I remember discussing the inaugural “Festival” with Richard Schlosberg III, the then publisher of the Los Angeles Times, and founder of the “Festival of Books” at the Times' stockholders meeting following the first. “We’ll be back and better.”

There were dated conflicts with the Festival of Books and the School Year at UCLA. This change to USC addresses this issue. Fiesta on Broadway will be on April 24, 2011; LA Times Festival of Books will be held April 30 – May 1, 2011

TK

[Don]

A wonderful event. Hope you get thousands of neighborhood people walking to the event like we do at UCLA. Met John Wooden there one year, Ray Bradbury another. Once you are on campus, USC, like UCLA, is a pleasant location. Wishing USC well.

[Disappointed]

What a shame. My family and I were talking about planning a trip to California to spend time in Westwood and see the festival. I haven't been in a number of years but I always enjoyed it. Parking is like it is everywhere in LA - a pain. At least at UCLA you not only had campus but also had the village. Not exactly the same situation in its new location.

Doesn't sound like it'll be worth the trip now.

[sophie]

LOL at all the Bruins screeching about USC paying off LA Times, and then simultaneously whining about the "economically depressed" and "unsafe neighborhoods" around USC. There is probably more crime taking place RIGHT NOW at UCLA and Westwood, then in the USC area.

I'm assuming everyone posting is a 70-year-old Westside snob who can barely drive.

[Lawrence]

This is a smart move. The festival will now be accessible by transit via the expo line and will be adjacent to the county museums which are also a large draw for visitors and residents alike. If Westwood had subway access already this move might not have been considered. Sorry - the bus just doesn't cut it.

Also - Westwood Village is a shadow of it's former self. It has more empty retail space than most areas of L.A. I wouldn't consider it that interesting to visit at this point. I honestly hope it improves and becomes economically viable once again. I love the look and feel of it, but going there is just depressing these days. Meanwhile downtown L.A is still on the up and up.

[Jon]

As a USC alum and festival attendee, I too am concerned about the space on USC's campus. The festival is a huge event; it's not surprising that there's essentially a three-year trial run before a lengthier term is agreed to.

Yes, it stinks that my wife and I will no longer be able to walk to the event. But I recognize that the new location will make the festival more accessible for Angelenos as a whole, albeit at the expense of us westsiders.