The Los Angeles Times has named a new book editor to replace David Ulin: In another terse press release the paper announced rather joylessly that managing editor Jon Thurber will be switching to Ulin’s former desk. Thurber had been ME for exactly one year, headquartered in the paper’s newsroom, and before that had been obituary editor for 11 years.

Editor Russ Stanton, author of the release, does not detail any literary or other cultural writing, nor any experience writing books or working in the book industry, in Thurber’s background, and does not otherwise explain why he got the job.