Laurie Ochoa

Laurie Ochoa is co-editor of the Los Angeles literary and narrative journalism quarterly Slake, which debuts this spring.  Previously, she was editor in chief of the LA Weekly, which consistently won more national journalism awards under her tenure than any other alternative newspaper in the U.S. She lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband, Jonathan Gold; their two children; one cat, and a snake. Read more about her below.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A. I thought I wanted to be a teacher, but I do remember taking a bus ride when I was about 10 years old through Utah and to Vegas and back home to Los Angeles. There was something about staring out the window that made me think about writing. And in fact a lot of editing has an element of teaching, so I’ve combined both.

Q. What is your favorite cocktail?

A. It used to be the martini, straight gin, classic. But since my husband Jonathan Gold found the Varnish downtown it’s whatever they’re pouring – drinks with lavender and other wonderful things.

Q. If you were about to be executed, what would you want for your final meal?

A. There’s something great about a perfect omelet, very simple, cooked right, with the clean taste of egg and butter.

Q. If you could take only one more journey, where would you go?

A. Home to Los Angeles.

Q. If you could live in any other time, past or future, when would it be and why?

A. I’ve thought about what it would be like to live in other times – there are certain things I couldn’t do because of the color of my skin and so on. Today so many things are open to me – my career, my family, who I’m married to. I don’t know if that would have been possible in other times, so I would stay right here.

Q. What profession would you like to practice in your next life?

A. I’d like to be a doctor.

Q. What is your fondest childhood memory?

A. The smell of my grandmother making fideo, which is basically vermicelli in coils that come dry. You fry them in onions and oil and make a soup out of it.

Q. Whose talent would you like to have?

A. I’m always reading new people and still, even though I know the technical aspects of putting a story together, when you discover a new voice you think, how did they do that? It still has a sense of mystery. Right now I’ve been loving Yxta Maya Murray.

To read more about Ochoa’s panel on L.A. writers, click here.

*Photo by Miguel Izquierdo.