L.A. Times cuts book review freelancers and outside columnists

All book-related pieces will now be done in-house, part of another cost-cutting move at the paper. Among those out of a gig: Susan Salter Reynolds, a former staffer who had been let go in an earlier round of cuts and then came back as a freelancer. Also out is Richard Raynard Rayner, who wrote the “Paperback Writers” column, and Sonja Bolle, who wrote about children's books. From Publisher's Weekly:

Four staffers remain in the book review section: David Ulin, Carolyn Kellogg, Nick Owchar, and Thurber. In December 2009 the Times laid off 40 features writers, including Reynolds and Bolle, but brought many of them back to work part-time. “We were paid about one-third of what we had been making, and lost our health insurance,” Reynolds says. "Then two months ago we were shifted to freelance status, which meant none of us were allowed to enter the Times building.” Thurber did make an exception for Reynolds so she could come to the office to pick up the multiple review copies she received daily in order to produce her column.

As Kevin has been reporting, the newsroom is bracing for a large number of staff cuts.