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 [...]

The university hosted the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Saturday and Sunday, bringing Angelenos to campus to celebrate and enjoy reading, books and music. Families listened to actress Julie Andrews read her new children’s book, visitors watched Betty White speak about her new book, authors signed fans’ books, and many shopped for new reads [...]

Oscar award-winning actor and author Julie Andrews reads her new book A Very Fairy Princess at the Target Children’s Stage in McCarthy Quad at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday. Andrews recounted when Disney asked her to star in Mary Poppins and her role as Maria von Trapp in the Sound of [...]

Actress and author Betty White discusses her new book Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo at the Los Angeles Times stage in front of Doheny Memorial Library on Sunday. White spoke about her new show Betty White’s Off their Rockers on NBC and her work with zoos and how they help prevent animal [...]

Student reading habits aren’t what they used to be, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is entering its second year in its new home, and books look significantly different than they did even five years ago. Any way you look at it, reading — both here at USC and in the world beyond our campus — is undergoing a fundamental turn of the page.

Though books aren’t exactly glamorous, they still have the ability to bring more than 140,000 people together to gain knowledge and share the ideas that inspire them. The fact that this university is able to bring so many people together is an honor — but it’s also representative of our school’s far-reaching responsibilities.

With the onset of warmer weather and the last day of classes just a week away, one can practically hear the final sighs of spring in the air. There’s another sound, though, and it’s virtually inescapable. It’s the pervasive clanking of tent construction.

Aimee Bender is a professor of English in the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. Her latest book is The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.

Panelists largely drawn from USC’s faculty will consider the role of queer culture, art and activism in the City of Angels. Moderated by English and gender studies professor Chris Freeman, the panelists plan to cover the years from 1950 to the present, a groundbreaking period for the LGBTQ community, by any measure.

Celebrity-penned books tend to create buzz and, as a result, sell.