We’ve finally reached that point. Now that classes are winding down, USC students are scheduling study sessions and negotiating internships and research plans, all in the hopes of acing their finals and relaxing into an enjoyable but productive summer. But the nagging question remains: What happens after senior year? Though it’s easy to imagine landing [...]

The Los Angeles Times Festival of books this weekend was a cornucopia for young people interested in beginning a career in the publication of literature. During a conversation at the Salvatori Computer Science Center on Sunday afternoon, several dozens of festival-goers learned about the world of publishing as “The Technological Frontier.” Los Angeles Times contributor [...]

The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books has arrived, the time of year where literature nerds can come together and freak out over their passion for all things crafted with language. Authors, publishers, professors, journalists, performers and chefs alike come together to celebrate the written word in a two-day festival that draws out even the [...]

With spring break quickly approaching, many Trojans will shelve their difficult course material in favor of a trashy beach read. As they dig their toes into the sand and try to forget about the stress of midterm hell, enjoying a mindless bestseller seems like the perfect way to take a break from hardcore literary analysis [...]

This Sunday marks the 85th Academy Awards, which means that the annual race for best picture will finally come to an end. All things considered, it’s been a pretty good year for film. The artsy Beasts of the Southern Wild holds rank with the conservative Lincoln. The awkwardly funny Silver Linings Playbook is keeping up [...]

The romance genre currently faces a bit of a conundrum. Mass-market paperbacks offer readers “sweeping tales of love,” but their covers often flaunt top-heavy women curled up on four-poster beds. Colorful hardbacks boast moonlit silhouettes of shirtless men crouching in bedroom windows but still promise “genuine romance.” This, scream the Fabio-inspired illustrations, is the 21st-century [...]

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” So says author J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first installment of her best-selling Harry Potter series. Though Rowling might be subtly referring to Harry’s future death and resurrection in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, she’s also commenting on [...]

In the City of Angels, literature offers a creative way to shape perspectives about the city.