Michael Cho and Chip Kidd

For our four years of existence, Live Talks Los Angeles has largely focused on established authors and personalities packing larger venues.  That doesn’t mean we aren’t sympathetic to how difficult it is for the lesser-known writers out there.  This Fall, we’re proud to be launching a series of events that celebrate debut authors and ‘newer voices.’

Periodically, we’ll feature a debut author, or someone who has flown under the radar, who we feel deserves a little more attention.  We’ll pair them in conversation with more established authors or storytellers.  These events will be free, but for the price of the book we’ll offer two reserved seats. Our goal is to be able to host these monthly.

Our first event in the Live Talks Los Angeles Newer Voices Series features Michael Cho and his debut graphic novel, Shoplifter, about a young woman’s search for happiness and self-fulfillment in the big city.  He will be interviewed by a man who admires Cho’s work, and whose work you likely know: the estimable Chip Kidd, the four-time Eisner Award–winning designer and author of Batman: Animated, Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, and Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross. As an editor of graphic novels for Pantheon Books, he has worked with some of the very best talents in the medium, including Chris Ware, Dan Clowes, Art Spiegelman, Charles Burns, and David Mazzucchelli.  

> on Michael Cho in The Los Angeles Times, Sept. 3, 2014