Contributing Writer

Liz Ohanesian

Liz Ohanesian is an L.A.-based journalist who covers arts, culture and music.

Claire Hoffman is the author of “Sister Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson.” (Photo by Davis Guggenheim / Courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

100 years later, ‘Sister Sinner’ tells LA evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson’s story

July 7, 2025 at 2:16 p.m.

Author Claire Hoffman discusses her book on the celebrity preacher, 'Sister Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson.'

People watch and listen to Buddy Hollywood and Shannon Lay perform at a community arts and ecology series called Living Earth: Music Beneath the Pepper Tree at the Audubon Center at Debs Park in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Pearson, Contributing Photographer)

Outdoor arts programs offer another way to connect with nature

June 4, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

For those who aren’t science-minded, inclined to garden or don’t enjoy hiking, the arts can be a meaningful pathway to engage with the outdoors.

(L-R) Photographer Arnold Hylen and “Los Angeles Before the Freeways: Images of an Era 1850-1950 by Arnold Hylen with Nathan Marsak. (Courtesy of Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library.”

How a lone photographer documented ‘Los Angeles Before the Freeways’

April 30, 2025 at 2:47 p.m.

A newly expanded version of a once-obscure book of photos by Arnold Hylen is now available from Angel City Press at Los Angeles Public Library.

Debbie Millman is the author of “Love Letter to a Garden.” (Photo by Roxane Gay / Courtesy of Timber Press)

Debbie Millman describes her personal growth in ‘Love Letter to a Garden’

April 15, 2025 at 10:49 a.m.

Millman, who is married to Roxane Gay, is an award-winning, author, illustrator and graphic designer and host of the long-running podcast, “Design Matters.”

Cal State L.A. professor Ericka Verba is the author of a biography of Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra, “Thanks to Life.” (Courtesy of The University of North Carolina Press)

Violeta Parra influenced artists and resisted a dictator. A new book tells her story.

April 29, 2025 at 9:09 a.m.

Cal State L.A. professor Ericka Verba, director of the Latin American Studies program, discusses her new biography of the Chilean folk singer.

The Iran-born and LA-raised Sanam Mahloudji is the author of “The Persians.” (Photo by Amaal Said / Courtesy of Scribner)

How embracing her heritage allowed Sanam Mahloudji to write ‘The Persians’

April 5, 2025 at 10:33 a.m.

The novel by this Iran-born and LA-raised author has been shortlisted for the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction.

The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Art house chic: Across the region, repertory cinema is cool once more

April 1, 2025 at 2:54 p.m.

You won’t find luxury seats or a fully loaded concessions stand, but you likely will be introduced to everything from new documentaries to vintage, foreign films rarely seen in the...

“Blob” is the debut novel from Maggie Su. (Photo by Andrew Evans / Courtesy of Harper)

How the world’s ugliest fish inspired Maggie Su’s novel ‘Blob: A Love Story’

March 27, 2025 at 4:21 p.m.

At least in the beginning, the blob is based on the blobfish, which lives deep underwater near Australia and New Zealand.

Summer camps allow kids to “disconnect,” get off their phones and try an activity outside their comfort zone. Noelle Hajducko, 8, dangles from safety lines after jumping 50-feet off a tree. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG). (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Summer camp guide 2025: The benefits of camp far outlast a single summer

March 23, 2025 at 7:03 a.m.

Attending summer camp can build independence and social skills and expose children to people from different backgrounds.

Henry DeHart, interim CEO of the American Camp Association, advises involving children in camp selection from the start. “It’s very helpful,” he says.
At Wilderness Survival Camp in Anaheim, campers practiced first aid during a mock heat stroke drill, with students graded on their responses. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Summer camp guide 2025: What you need to know before sending your child to camp

March 24, 2025 at 2:14 p.m.

Parents should familiarize themselves with the camp and ask key questions of the counselors and their children.

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