publishing houses in LA???

WistfulWriter7 · Apr 23, 2008

Hello everyone,
I've been doing a lot of research looking for publishing houses close to where I live. (Whittier, CA) You would think there would be a bunch of publishers in Los Angeles...but I can't seem to find any. I want to submerge myself into the writing/publishing world this summer and I figured an internship is as good a way to do that as any. My question is, do any of you know of reputable publishers in that area I could look into. I think Scholastic has a branch in Glendale, CA but I'm not 100% sure about that. I'm really surprised about this. All the big ones seem to be in New York. I can hear the conversation now..."Hey mom...can I go to New Yo..."
"NO!"
"Okay..."
=p
So ya, any help or ideas is appreciated.
Thank you, Jen

JoNightshade · Apr 23, 2008

One up north of LA a little bit is Sage. I believe it's in Thousand Oaks.

http://www.sagepub.com/

Deleted member 42 · Apr 23, 2008

UC Press is in Westwood, and Berkeley.

IceCreamEmpress · Apr 23, 2008

If I were you, I would get to the LA Times Festival of Books this weekend and check out the exhibitors.

cletus · Apr 24, 2008

If I were you, I'd listen to IceCreamEmpress. If you absolutely, positively cannot make it to the LA Times festival this weekend (though it would be a damn good idea to make sure you did go), at least have a look at that website. Click on exhibitors, where there is a list of all the exhibitors plus their addresses and phone numbers.

Charlie Horse · Apr 24, 2008

You're correct, most major publishers are centered around NY with some in Boston. I'm not sure if there are any major houses in L.A.

Harcourt has an office in San Diego but that's the only major I know of that's close to you.

One thought, you might check to see if there's a career resource center at Whittier College or Rio Hondo. But then again, unless you're a student at either one of those schools they might not be of much help.

It seems L.A./Hollywood makes movies, NY makes books. If you are really serious about a career in book publishing, you need to convince the folks that NY is where you need to be. Even if you did find a publisher to intern at in L.A. it wouldn't be the same as a NY experience.

Good luck

kullervo · Apr 24, 2008

California has more publishers than any other state. Keep digging.

I am being published by Iota Publishing this fall. They are in Irvine.

plaidearthworm · Apr 24, 2008

That convention sounds good, and if you ever venture to San Francisco, they also have an excellent conference, I'm told. Also, Chronicle Books is based in SF.

maestrowork · Apr 24, 2008

Behler Publications in Lake Forest.

Charlie Horse · Apr 24, 2008

plaidearthworm said:
That convention sounds good, and if you ever venture to San Francisco, they also have an excellent conference, I'm told. Also, Chronicle Books is based in SF.

L.A. and San Francisco are in two different states.

Well...not technically. But they might as well be.

WistfulWriter7 · Apr 24, 2008

Haha, Charlie Horse, it's so true. Thank you guys for your help. I am trying to convince my dad to take me to the LA Times Festival. It's not that far away! But, he's been sick, so I'm not sure. I'm actually going home (from San Diego, where I go to school to Whittier, where he is) for his birthday this weekend. I should be buying a car in a few weeks though, so an internship anywhere withing 40 miles or so is okay by me. Please keep sending suggestions and I will look into the ones posted. Hearing of just one make me happy. =) I've honestly done tons of searching without any results. =/ Thanks again, Jen

IceCreamEmpress · Apr 24, 2008

If you can't make it to the festival, maybe you can get a list of the exhibitors from the website or from someone at the Times. Good luck!

cletus · Apr 24, 2008

IceCreamEmpress said:
If you can't make it to the festival, maybe you can get a list of the exhibitors from the website or from someone at the Times. Good luck!

The list of exhibitors is on the website.

windyrdg · Apr 24, 2008

If you don't find a suitable match, or can't get hired by a book publisher, consider other aspects of the publishing industry. There are a lot of agents in and around LA. (Search the internet) There are also newspapers. While it may be hard to get your foot in the door at the LA Times, your local community paper might be happy to have you around for the summer. Summer was my busy season when I published a community newspaper and I always put on a journalism student as a stringer/roving reporter to cover the County Fairs, etc.
Good Luck

IceCreamEmpress · Apr 24, 2008

cletus said:
The list of exhibitors is on the website.

Ah, so it is! You have to pull down to "2008 Exhibitors" to find it rather than just clicking on the "Exhibitors" tab, hence my confusion.

Well, Wistful, there's a place to start--a list of local book-related businesses, what they do, and their addresses, telephone numbers, and websites.

Hey, American Math Publishing may not be the setting for the next The Devil Wears Prada but they're probably lovely people who could use a hand...

kullervo · Apr 24, 2008

I hope you do get a chance to come to the Festival of Books. I've been going for years. It's an all-weekend wonder. Take the bus if you have to.

xiaotien · Apr 24, 2008

Charlie Horse said:
Harcourt has an office in San Diego but that's the only major I know of that's close to you.

the san diego branch just closed recently.

alas.

WistfulWriter7 · Apr 27, 2008

I went to the festival. Yay! It was a lot of fun, but as far as publishers, it wasn't very helpful. Thank you guys for your suggestions and I will be sure to check out other options as well.

David I · Apr 28, 2008

I'd move to NY for the summer. If that doesn't work...

Given the forum we're in I assume you're intersted in novels. The big dog in California is up in the Bay Area, MacAdam/Cage. Top-notch, and with some bestsellers like Time-Traveler's Wife in their list. There's als a couple of small indies down here in SoCal (Red Hen, Iota, Buehler). But MacAdam/Cage is a major emerging player.

It really is an NY biz, though, I'm afraid...

Smiling Ted · Apr 28, 2008

WistfulWriter7 said:
Hello everyone,
I've been doing a lot of research looking for publishing houses close to where I live. (Whittier, CA) You would think there would be a bunch of publishers in Los Angeles...but I can't seem to find any. I want to submerge myself into the writing/publishing world this summer and I figured an internship is as good a way to do that as any. My question is, do any of you know of reputable publishers in that area I could look into. I think Scholastic has a branch in Glendale, CA but I'm not 100% sure about that. I'm really surprised about this. All the big ones seem to be in New York. I can hear the conversation now..."Hey mom...can I go to New Yo..."
"NO!"
"Okay..."
=p
So ya, any help or ideas is appreciated.
Thank you, Jen

Jen-

Do you want to write, or do you want to work in publishing? The two really are very different.

If all you truly want to do is write, then do that. A publishing internship would be a waste of time. If, however, you love the world of books, then make that your focus and put writing itself on the back burner.

Publishing is a creative field, but it is not, in itself, creative...it's a business like any other...except less well paid and with longer hours. If you want to write, don't con yourself into thinking that working in publishing would somehow advance you to your goal. Better to make more money elsewhere and write in your spare time than to make the sacrifices in time and money that are involved in a publishing job. If you want to write, that is.

My two cents.

publishing houses in LA???

WistfulWriter7

passionate dreamer

JoNightshade

has finally arrived

Deleted member 42

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

cletus

I'm a king bee

Charlie Horse

Speaking in metaphors

kullervo

minion

plaidearthworm

Rock and Squiggle

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

Charlie Horse

Speaking in metaphors

WistfulWriter7

passionate dreamer

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

cletus

I'm a king bee

windyrdg

New kid, be gentle!

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

kullervo

minion

xiaotien

bedazzled /bootay shaker!!

WistfulWriter7

passionate dreamer

David I

Smiling Ted

Ah-HA!