The Times has named David L. Ulin to run the Book Review. Ulin authored most recently The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith, was book editor of the old L.A. Reader, and is a contributing editor to the Bloomsbury Review. Ulin also edited the collections Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology and Another City: Writing from Los Angeles. He was on the short list of rumored names back in June. Ulin of course replaces Steve Wasserman, who left in May to run the New York office of Kneerim & Williams at Fish & Richardson. The Times memo on Ulin follows (* Thursday update: Here's the LAT story by James Rainey and initial reaction):

To: The Staff
From: John Montorio--Deputy Managing Editor
Tim Rutten--Associate Editor

We are delighted to announce that David L. Ulin has been named Book Editor of the Los Angeles Times. His appointment concludes a search that involved an extended and careful consideration of highly qualified candidates from both inside the paper and across the country.

In David, we believe we have found a blend of talent, experience and accomplishment that is tailor-made for this vital assignment. As a literary journalist and critic, his work already is well known to Times readers, but what sets David apart as an editor is a uniquely intimate knowledge of writing from Los Angeles and the West and its place within the wider American and international literary context. The result is a sensibility that is singularly unafraid to appear parochial because it never is provincial.

Obviously, we aren't the only ones to share this view of David's work. In 2002, the Library of America chose him to edit "Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology," which received a California Book Award from the Commonwealth Club of California and was selected by our review as one of that year's Best of the Best. In 2001, City Lights, one of the state's leading independent publishers, chose David to edit "Another City: Writing from Los Angeles," which also was honored as a Best Book by The Times.

David also is the author of "The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes,
Prediction and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith," which was
published last year by Viking and selected as a Best Book of 2004 by the Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle. That same year, his essay, "The Half-Birthday of the Apocalypse," was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. David's work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic Monthly, Newsday and the Nation, as well as on NPR's "All Things Considered." His editing experience includes a three-year stint as book editor of the Los Angeles Reader, and he is currently a contributing editor to the Bloomsbury Review and recently served as nonfiction editor of the Los Angeles Review.

As The Times' Book Editor, David will oversee the Sunday and daily
reviews, as well as assume an expanded role in strengthening coverage of books, publishing and literary news and analysis throughout the paper. He'll continue to write regularly.

David's appointment is another affirmation of The Times' deepening
commitment to providing our readers with book reviews and literary
journalism that continue to expand in volume, scope and quality. Please join us in welcoming and congratulating him as he takes up his new duties in October.