30 L.A. writers choose L.A.’s best literary places

Best literary places: I often think of places that don’t exist anymore, or places that are personal to my own literary journey. Because for me the most literary place in Los Angeles is a bungalow in Santa Monica Canyon on E. Channel Road — on Peter Graves’ property, inexplicably — where I spent years in a writing workshop with my mentor Tom Filer. He called the workshop “Goat Alley.” It’s here where I read the books that would change my life, made literary friendships that would sustain me, and found the courage to write the stories that have meant the most to me over the years.

Best places for literary inspiration: In my first book [“Fake Liar Cheat”], I spent pages and pages writing about a now-defunct restaurant on Melrose called Intermezzo in hopes I’d get to dine there for free in perpetuity. But they closed shortly after the book came out, and I never got even a free Coke. The places that inspire me most, though, often don’t have names: Long stretches of desert highway, broken up only by car headlights far off the road. What are those people doing? Why are they there? Why aren’t they moving?

Best places to encounter other writers: I have the benefit of directing the Low Residency MFA at UC Riverside, which meets twice a year (provided the plague cooperates) at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas resort in Rancho Mirage. I bring out two dozen guest writers/agents/publishers/producers, along with permanent faculty members, to teach our MFA students. For those 10 days twice a year, that hotel is literary Valhalla. I get to see all of my favorite writers and friends at once, but also, plans get made, problems get solved, deals gets made, all over beautiful desert sunsets. … It’s the off time, in the evenings, where a lot of L.A.’s finest writers have their fill of social interaction … at least for six months. As far as getting work done, there’s only one place I’m actually capable of writing: Right here, at my desk, near to my espresso machine and chocolate-covered almonds.

Goldberg’s books include “The Low Desert” and “Gangsterland.”