LITLIT Panel: West Coast Publishing

Explore the world of publishing and literary arts with Chris Heiser, Nicole Katz, Douglas Messerli, and Michelle Tea, who will be joined in conversation by LARB Radio’s own Kate Wolf. As the opener to LITLIT, a festival all about the West Coast, this panel will dive into what the literary landscape is, where it is going and where it’s been, and what inspires them to dedicate their lives to the world of books and art.

Join us June 6 + 7 at LITLIT for this and other panels! Held at SCI-Arc, LITLIT: The Little Literary Fair, is a free festival celebrating the West Coast Literary Arts, presented by the Los Angeles Review of Books. Learn more about the presses, publishers, and the whole weekend here!

This panel will take place on Saturday, June 6, at 11 a.m. at the SCI-Arc Library. It is made possible with the support from the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles Breakfast Club.

Douglas Messerli is a writer, professor, and publisher based in Los Angeles. In 1976, he started Sun & Moon, a magazine of art and literature, which became Sun & Moon press, and later Green Integer press. He has taught at Temple University in Philadelphia, and Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles.

Nicole Katz leads Design & Production for Getty Publications, where she helps shape a broad range of art and scholarly publications. Previously, she led Paper Chase Press, the Los Angeles–based press founded by her parents, Aharon and Bonnie Katz, in 1976, where she collaborated with thousands of clients to produce design-driven printed matter distinguished by craftsmanship and quality. She later guided the company through its acquisition by the Hemlock Group of Companies and went on to serve as Hemlock’s VP of eCommerce before joining Getty.

Chris Heiser has been publisher of The Unnamed Press since its founding in 2014. He is also an acquiring editor, seeking fiction and nonfiction titles. Previously, he was deeply involved with starting up nonprofit translation press Phoneme Media (now an imprint of Deep Vellum) and worked at the Los Angeles Review of Books. Before that he worked at The New Press and John Wiley & Sons in New York.

Michelle Tea is the author of many books, most recently the novel Little F, on The Feminist Press. She is the founding editor of DOPAMINE Books, an innovative publishing collaboration with Semiotext(e) and a queer literary organization that aims to elevate LGBTQI+ writing and writers through publishing, reading series, literary tours, and workshops.

Kate Wolf is a writer and freelance editor based in Los Angeles. She is one of the founding editors of The Los Angeles Review of Books, where she is  currently editor-at-large and co-host and producer of its weekly podcast, The LARB Radio Hour. Her short fiction, criticism, interviews, and essays have appeared in exhibition catalogues, anthologies, and publications including Bidoun, Bookforum, Art in America, The Nation, n+1, Momus, East of Borneo, Frieze, Night Papers.

This event is made possible with support of the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Los Angeles Breakfast Club.