When:
6/15/2012 - 6/15/2012
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM

Where:

The Last Bookstore
435 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Event Website
MAP

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Dana Johnson Book Launch: Elsewhere, California

Dana Johnson‘s debut novel Elsewhere, California will be published June 12 by Counterpoint Press. It has received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and garnered advance praise from writers like T.C Boyle, Michelle Huneven, Oscar Hijuelos, and Aimee Bender. Dana is also is the author of the short story collection Break Any Woman Down, which won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and was a finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Born and raised in and around Los Angeles, California, Dana is an associate professor of English at the University of Southern California. Johnson will be reading from and signing copies of her new novel.

“In this debut novel, Johnson brilliantly knits the dual narratives together, maintaining a dynamic balance between nimble language and rowdy, vulnerable characters. The real achievement is the honest, compassionate, and unflinching willingness to honor teenage struggles for identity, confidence, and love while listening to Led Zeppelin and rooting for the Dodgers.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Beautifully wrought. A contemporary Bildungsroman with a wise and winning heroine at its heart.”
—T.C. Boyle

“Reading Elsewhere, California, Dana Johnson’s luminous, intelligent, linguistically dexterous first novel about growing up in Southern California, made me understand exponentially more about my own state, my own growing up, and the private lives of families in the homes all around me. An impressive, inspiring debut!”
—Michelle Huneven, author of Blame

“I love listening to Avery talk about anything and everything, from the Dodgers to the art world to neighborhood negotiations to certain brands of shorts. Here is a character with an intensely engaging voice, surrounded by an equally riveting cast, all created by a writer who knows how to make word and people sparkle on page.”
—Aimee Bender, author of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Where:

The Last Bookstore
435 S. Spring St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Event Website

MAP