Attended the LA Times Festival of Books over the weekend. As usual, it was a mixed bag. There are panels and individuals that are insufferably pretentious. Fortunately, I avoided most.  The panels I went to on Saturday and Sunday had both intelligence and humor.  This time, I had friends on panels which added a lot to the experience. Still, it’s crowded and most writers I know get uncomfortable with crowds after a couple of hours (if that!). Tweeted it over the weekend.

It did inspire me. Still in the pondering stage for the new novel, but my process lines is similar to others I heard and that helps give me patience for the process (OMG, I should be WRITING! fades a bit)

The prizes:

Current Interest: “Zeitoun” by Dave Eggers

Fiction: “A Happy Marriage” by Rafael Yglesias

Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction: “American Rust” by Philipp Meyer

Graphic Novel: “Asterios Polyp” by David Mazzuchelli

History: “Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance 1950-1963” by Kevin Starr

Mystery/Thriller: “The Ghosts of Belfast” by Stuart Neville

Poetry: “Practical Water” by Brenda Hillman

Science and Technology: “The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom” by Graham Farmelo

Young Adult Literature: “Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don’t You Grow Weary” by Elizabeth Partridge

Innovators Award: Dave Eggers

Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement: Evan S. Connell