Random House buys Ten Speed Press, the indie Berkeley publisher. “They have a lot of eclectic and quirky books, and I think maybe the soil in Berkeley helps grow that,” Crown Publisher Jenny Frost tells the New York Times. “I wouldn’t want to take that away.”

The Los Angeles Times announces its Book Prize nominees — and for once doesn’t make a production of running to NY to do it. At Jacket Copy.

Frances Dinkelspiel shares a video from the final author event at Stacey’s Books in San Francisco.

Former OC Register editor Diana McCabe has a new paranormal romance blog.

Long Beach author Alan Rifkin publishes his new novel, Alt. Country, in online installments, starting March 19.

Fresno author Mark Arax has a new collection of California stories, West of the West coming in April.

Aris Janigian, Mark’s cousin, has a new novel, Riverbig, too.

Heyday Books imagines Mother Goose in California.

California girl Barbie turns 50 — gets her own Malibu pad and a paperback edition of Barbie Loves L.A. too.

CaliforniaAuthors.com is now on Twitter.