The Los Angeles that shows up in these books doesn’t much resemble the one on the postcards.
Vroman’s Bookstore tonight hosts a free author discussion and signing featuring three Angel City Press writers — Carribean Fragoza, Lynell George, and D.J. Waldie — whose work shares a preoccupation: what Southern California actually looks like once you set aside the myth. Moderating the conversation will be Naomi Hirahara, the Edgar Award-winning mystery writer born in Pasadena and raised in Altadena, whose newest novel, “Crown City,” is set in 1903 Pasadena. The event is part of the national Indie Press Month and begins at 7 p.m.
Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library — which was founded as an independent publisher in 1992 and later donated to the Los Angeles Public Library — has published more than 135 books on the social and cultural history of Southern California. Each of the three featured authors has contributed to that catalog with a distinct approach. Waldie’s “Elements of Los Angeles: Earth, Water, Air, Fire” uses the four classical elements as a framework for meditations on the region’s contradictions. George’s “After/Image: Los Angeles Outside the Frame” assembles essays, photographs, and reportage from her years as a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Weekly. And Fragoza, a writer and artist from South El Monte who co-edits UC Press’s California cultural journal Boom California, co-edited “Writing the Golden State: The New Literary Terrain of California” — a collection of 25 essays pushing past the clichés of the California Dream.
According to the Vroman’s event page, the three authors will discuss “their work on capturing the essence, history, and diverse narratives of Southern California” as part of a “celebration of the spirit of indie publishing.” A public book signing will follow the conversation.
The event is free, though tickets are required via Eventbrite; a link is available at https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2026-03-27/celebrate-indie-press-month-angel-city-press. Optional book purchases — one title per featured author — are available through Vroman’s. For questions, contact promo@vromansbookstore.com.
Waldie is a Lakewood-based cultural historian who received the California Book Award for nonfiction in 1996 and the Whiting Award in 1998. George, in addition to her three books of nonfiction, won a 2017 Grammy Award for her liner notes to “Otis Redding Live at the Whisky A Go Go.” Fragoza’s short fiction collection “Eat the Mouth that Feeds You,” published by City Lights, was a PEN Award finalist.
Vroman’s Bookstore, at 695 E. Colorado Blvd., has operated in Pasadena since 1894 and is described as Southern California’s oldest and largest independent bookstore.
