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The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is at USC this year, pushed back a week to April 30 and May 1. A quick glance at the schedule finds many of the usual panel topics and participants plus some fresh names, more emphasis on live music, a panel on mapping L.A. and conversations with Peter Guber, Michael Connelly, Dave Eggers, Patti Smith, Walter Moseley, Carolyn See and others. LA Observed contributors Bill Boyarsky, Veronique de Turenne, Cari Beauchamp, Denise Hamilton and David Rensin are on the schedule as panelists or moderators. One other name pops out: conservative activist (or as the Times puts it, Internet entrepreneur) Andrew Breitbart on stage in a featured conversation with Times staff writer Robin Abcarian.
The $1 service charge for panel tickets continues. Also, it appears as if the message point for Times journalists will be that the "demographic" of attendees will be broader because UCLA was too far west and USC is said to be easier to reach via public transportation. The Times left UCLA after 15 years over money.