Slake Magazine
A launch party for the new Los Angeles-based literary magazine Slake, featuring writers and premiere-issue contributors Mark Z. Danielewski, Jonathan Gold, Michelle Huneven, and David Schneider! Slake is founded by former LA Weekly editors Joe Donnelly and Laurie Ochoa, who put together a 232-page first issue that's filled with substantive content from an impressive list of local writers, artists, and photographers. Want to learn more? The Los Angeles Times book blog Jacket Copy covered this new mag -- read about it here -- and Brand X has an interview with Slake's founders here. Mark Z. Danielewski was born in New York City and now lives in Los Angeles. He is the best-selling author of the novels House of Leaves and Only Revolutions, a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award for Fiction. Jonathan Gold, restaurant critic for the L.A. Weekly and author of Counter Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los Angeles, is the first food writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. In addition to his writing for Gourmet, Saveur, and other national food and travel magazines, Gold has a shady past as a composer and performance artist, spent time as the rap and heavy-metal correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, was the L.A. Weekly's music editor, and wrote about music and popular culture for Spin, Rolling Stone, and Details. Michelle Huneven's most recent novel, Blame, was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award and named a finalist for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her first and second novels, Round Rock and Jamesland,, were New York Times notable books and finalists for Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. She has received the Southern California Booksellers Award for Fiction, a G. E. Younger Writers Award, and a Whiting Award. She teaches creative writing at UCLA and lives with her husband in the town where she was born, Altadena, California. David Schneider was born and raised in San Francisco. He has worked in commercials, film, television, and theater since moving to Los Angeles in 2002. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS JULY 11, 2010.