Since 1980, the Los Angeles Times has given out annual book awards. The Los Angeles Times Book Prize now has nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award, added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller (added in 2000), poetry, science and technology (added in 1989), and young adult fiction (added in 1998). Additionally, the Robert Kirsch Award is given each year to a living author who has a strong connection to the American West. This award is named after Robert Kirsch, a Los Angeles Times book critic who worked from 1952 until his death in 1980. He was the person who started the book prize program.

The Book Prize program was created by Art Seidenbaum, a Los Angeles Times book editor from 1978 to 1985. An award named after Seidenbaum was added in 1990, one year after his death. Books are eligible if they are published in the United States for the first time in English during the year they are entered. Books may have been originally written in languages other than English. The author of each winning book and the Kirsch Award winner receive a citation and $500. The prizes are given the day before the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Winners

The Los Angeles Times Christopher Isherwood Prize for Personal Stories has been given in partnership with the Christopher Isherwood Foundation since April 2017. This partnership began with the 2016 award.