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Books: A literary woman with a hidden past

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Books Editor

Hi, I’m books editor Carolyn Kellogg with our weekly newsletter.

THE BIG STORY

This week we’ve dedicated all of our print pages to a single story that tells the tale of Anna March, a writer who came to L.A. with a hidden past. Written by reporter Melissa Chadburn and me, the article is online now (come for the gifs, stay for the story). Here’s how it begins:

Who is Anna March?
(Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín / For The Times)
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She threw a welcome party for herself at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, a beautiful old building with black and white marble, Alice-in-Wonderland floors. The guests, more than 400 of L.A.’s literati: authors, editors, publishers, book reviewers, literary agents, the local independent presses.

Anna March whisked in and out, a flash of pink hair in a polka-dot dress. The 2015 party at the Ace’s mezzanine bar, serving free drinks, was packed to overflowing.

March had never published a book but had been quietly working literary Los Angeles’ social media connections for months. A spunky, unapologetic, sex-positive feminist ready to raise hell, she was supportive and flattering. She was also conspicuously generous — concerned about the line of people waiting to get into the party, March asked a pair of new acquaintances if she should give $20 bills to those stuck on the sidewalk. The bill for the night would total more than $22,000.

Why is she doing this? people asked, stealing glances at March.

Some had a larger question: Who was Anna March?

Read the rest….

From the story of Anna March
(Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín / For The Times)

BESTSELLERS

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Now entering its whopping 96th week on the fiction bestseller list is “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles.

On the nonfiction side, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” is also long-lived; it’s in its 60th week on the list.

You can find all the books on our bestseller lists here.

Thanks for reading!

carolyn.kellogg@latimes.com

@paperhaus

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