Los Angeles Times book editor to step down

David L. Ulin, editor of one of the last great daily newspaper books sections, will become a full-time book critic for the LA Times:

Ulin says he's excited by the challenges of this new position. He’s also proud of how, under his watch, the Times' book coverage went online, adding several columns devoted to popular genres, establishing the blog Jacket Copy and thinking about books "in a multimedia environment."

Ulin notes how, in the last five years, The Times' book coverage has also been able to focus on "independent presses and lesser known writers and literary fiction, at a time when many papers were looking to cover other kinds of books.".